Who Are We? North Phoenix? NoPho? NoVa?

February 7, 2017February 12, 2017 Robert Roy Britt

For 15 years, In&Out Magazine has been the definitive source of “Everything that’s going on” in and out of the community. We thank you, our readers, as well as the businesses that support the magazine through advertising, for that opportunity. But with little going on, and many businesses suspending or canceling their ads during the Covid-19 crisis, we are suspending publication of the magazine and web sites for the month of May.

north phoenix sonoran desert — Looking northeast off Dove Valley Road and I-17. In&Out Staff Photo

Our Identity Depends on Your Point of View

We asked for your suggestions on what to call the broad and fast-growing region of In&Out Magazine’s readership―the I-17 corridor from Norterra to New River. Nearly 200 suggestions poured in. Most were unique. Many were awesome. Some were downright odd.

A few themes emerged, (see below). But beyond the six suggestions for NoPho (North Phoenix), no clear choice emerged.

Meanwhile, the Anthem Area Chamber of Commerce has been working to come up with a brandable name for the northern portion of this region—an area ranging from Loop 303 to New River, and including Desert Hills. The chamber seeks a marketable brand name that will appeal to people thinking of moving into the area to live, work and play.

The chamber assembled a large, “very diverse committee” of community leaders, business people, marketing experts and non-profits from New River, Desert Hills, Tramonto and Anthem, said Executive Director Heather Maxwell.

“Our committee settled on the Daisy Mountain Area,” Maxwell said.

The board approved the name and the committee is now working on how to roll out and develop the brand.

“We focused on the common threads that unite all these communities up here,” Maxwell told In&Out. “Those were lifestyle, educational opportunities, a sense of family, recreation amenities,” and being largely outside of Phoenix proper. “And one of the most common threads is that it’s anchored by Daisy Mountain.” From the top of the mountain, you can see the whole area, she pointed out. Plus, there are already many businesses using the name, not to mention a fire department.

Residents of New River and Desert Hills have lobbied previously to convince Maricopa County to use the name Daisy Mountain Area in their long-range planning documents. “There was a lot of consensus already behind that,” Maxwell said. But she understands that residents in the southern part of the region, south of Loop 303 and Dove Valley Road, may not identify with Daisy Mountain, and are apt to head to Norterra rather than the Anthem area to shop.

Which gets us back to North Phoenix. Or NoPho? New Valley anyone?

Your Ideas

A sampling of names submitted by readers and the number of times each was suggested.

Most Popular

6 NoPho (North Phoenix)
3 New Valley
3 NoVa (North Valley)
3 Sonoran Foothills
3 Sonoran Valley
2 Daisy Mountain Area
2 Daisy Valley
2 Norterra
2 Norterra Grande
2 North Valley Foothills
2 North17
2 Northdale
2 Sonoran Hills

Other Interesting Suggestions: Black Canyon Corridor, Carefree Valley, Desert Mountain Corridor, FarNoPho (Far North Phoenix), NorCor (North Corridor), NorNor (North of North Phoenix), Norridor, NuevoNorte, Phoenix Highlands, SoNo and SoNorth, (Sonoran North), Uptown Phoenix

Just Plain Odd: Kikoland, Burro Crossing, Gooseneck, NorMetroDor Javelina Corridor

Common Words Used in Various Names

62 North (including suffix or prefix “No” or “Nor”)
34 Valley (or Valle)
30 Sonoran (including prefix “So”)
27 Corridor (including suffice “Co” or “Cor”)
13 Phoenix (including prefix or suffix “Pho”)
11 Desert
9 Daisy Mountain
8 Foothills
8 Hills
5 Carefree

The Winner!
As promised, we picked one winner at random from the submissions. Jennifer Berlin of Anthem received a $100 Visa gift card. Her suggestion: SoNoVa (Sonoran North Valley)

All the Suggestions

Here are all the names sent in, sorted alphabetically:

@Carefree17
Anthem Alley
Anthem Corridor
AnthemAcropolis
ArcticPhoenix
Arroyo Grande Corridor
Baylor Trail
Bella Hills
Black Canyon Corridor
Brisas del Norte
Burro Crossing
Cactus Hills
Carefree Crossing
Carefree Landing
Carefree Valley
Carefree17
Corridor 17
Daisy Mountain Area
Daisy Mountain Area
Daisy Mountain Corridor
Daisy Mountain Draw
Daisy Mountain Foothills
Daisy Mountain Gateway
Daisy Mountain Passage
Daisy Mountain Scenic Freeway
Daisy Valley
Daisy Valley
Darring Drive
del Norte Grande
del Norte Sonoran
Desert Heights
Desert Mountain Corridor
Desert Mountain Exchange
Desert Mountain Gateway
Desert Mountain Pass
Desert Peaks
Desert Sky
Dove Valley
El Norte
FarNoPho
Gateway to the Unknown
Gateway17
GatewayOne7
Golden Valley
Gooseneck
HapNew
Happiver
Happy Javelina Trail
Happy River
Happy River Causeway
Happy Valley
HapRiVal
Highlands
Horizon Ridge
I-17 Citizens Corridor
I-17 North Valley Corridor
Javelina Corridor
Javelina Hills
Javelina Hollow
Kikoland
Madison Corridor
Madison Valley
Mareka Way
Marinor
Melena Drive
Metro Norte
MetroPhAn
Montana del Norte
Mountain View Summit
Mystical Way
New Happy Sonoran Valley
New North
New Valley
New Valley
New Valley
NoPho
NoPho
NoPho
NoPho
NoPho
NoPho
NorCo
NorCor
NorMara
NorMarCo
NorMariDor
NorMetroDor
NorMeVal
NorNor
NorPho
NorPhoCor
NorPHX
Norridor
NorSonor
NorSonoVal
NorTerra
Norterra
Norterra Grande
Norterra Grande
Norterra to New River Corridor
North Foothills Area
North Highlands
North Horizon Ridge
North Maricopa Rise
North Mountain Pass
North Passageway
North Rail
North River Valley
North Sonora
North Sonoran Desert Valley
North Sonoran Highlands
North Sonoran Passageway
North Valley Corridor
North Valley Foothills
North Valley Foothills
North Valley Passage
North Vista
North17
North17
Northdale
Northdale
Northeast Sonoran Desert Corridor
Northern Desert Heights
Northern Gateway
Northern Hills
Northern Hills Corridor
Northern Sonoran
Northgate
Northstar
NorValCor
NoVa
NoVa
NoVa
Nova17
NuevoNorte
Paloma del Valle
Paraiso Norte
Patriots Pass
Phoenix Highlands
PhoNo
Pima Palms
Plaza de Paz
Plaza de Vida
Pleasant Valley
Prickett Path
Psalms Way
Regal North
Rio Arroyo Corridor
River Arroyo Corridor
River Valley Road
Saguaro
Saguaro Ridge
SevNo
Skyline Hills
SonDeVal
SoNo
Sonora del Norte
Sonora North
Sonoran Burro Corridor
Sonoran Canyon Corridor
Sonoran Desert Glen
Sonoran Foothills
Sonoran Foothills
Sonoran Foothills
Sonoran Highlands
Sonoran Hills
Sonoran Hills
Sonoran Mountain Corridor
Sonoran North
Sonoran Ridge
Sonoran Valley
Sonoran Valley
Sonoran Valley
Sonoran Valley Hwy
Sonoran Vista
SoNorth
SoNoVa
Sunshine Corridor
Sunshine Valley
Thousand Palms
Upper Foothills
UpTown Phoenix
Valle al Norte
Valle de la Luz
Valle del Cielo
Valley Mountain Corridor
Valley Mountain Exchange
Valley Mountain Gateway
Valley North
Valley River Highway
Valley Way North
Vista Norte

This article first published on Anthem News.

Robert Roy Britt

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. .