Viva Las Vegas indeed, Elvis. Thank you, thank you very much. For better and oftentimes for worse, there really is no city like Las Vegas. Now hold that thought for a moment. The "Las Vegas" 99.9% of the world imagines isn't actually even part of the city of Las Vegas. It's really part of the unincorporated town of Paradise, Nevada. The real "Las Vegas" from an official standpoint is the area surrounding the usual tourist and casino concentrated area. So when you're landing at McCarran International Airport, attending a class at UNLV, sipping a cocktail in the MGM Grand, playing poker at the Wynn, and watching the Bellagio evening fountains performance, you're not even inLas Vegas. That's it. No more gambling. We're going home and want a refund. Las Vegas, whatever is really considered Las Vegas, is the 31st most populated city in the country. Columbus, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis, among many others, have much higher populations. But their tourism revenue isn't exactly Vegas. For our first Las Vegas map, which also happens to be our first map project since landing in Las Vegas this month as part of the Downtown Project and Vegas Tech Fund's Progression Labs program, we decided to concentrate on the roughly 9.5 miles between Interstate 215 to the south just below the airport and Downtown Las Vegas (the REAL Downtown) to the north. No, no, no. For the last time, the Strip is NOT Downtown Las Vegas. City Hall is on South Main St. between Clark and Lewis. Besides our opportunity being actually in the region to conduct thorough research first-hand, our map also received extensive local input from Las Vegas residents on and off the Strip, some working at the heart of it all in casinos, while others work in Downtown and see the Strip a handful of times a year. Just by reading the map's analysis of Las Vegas, you get the quick flavor of how casino greatly differs in design, theme, and socioeconomic level. There's a big difference between the Bellagio and the Luxor, and it's not just Italy and Egypt. You get the new City Center with its sparkling venues like Aria, Vdara, and the Mandarin Oriental. Then across Las Vegas Boulevard is a McDonald's, a Walgreens, and a Hawaiian barbeque spot. When you're walking down the Strip, you'll meet a lot of interesting people. A LOT of interesting folks, all times of day. The majority will be your regular tourist in awe of all the other interesting folks they're seeing. I've only walked by one Elvis impersonator in my time here, so that might be more of a movies or tourism office image of the Strip. But yes, the casinos are casinos. The Eiffel Tower looks just like the real thing, though a bit smaller. You might be in the middle of the Nevada desert but the Mandalay Bay "beach" is awesome. The Panorama Towers look fit for millionaires but really are the home of well, look at Interstate 15 and Harmon on the map. On the Strip, you're walking from Venice to Rome to Paris to Egypt to New York to a three star family castle that is not fit for a king. And then there's the rest of Las Vegas. If you think the Strip is quite the character show, spend a little time at the Fremont Street Experience (and get a "heart attack" while you're at it). Industrial Road that runs along Interstate 15 really fits its name. You could also call it Gentleman's Club Drive. Hey, this is Sin City, they should do that. But this is also a city. It's a city in the desert with an enormous reliance on cars. That means pollution and water issues are exponentially amplified. Add the ever-present cigarette smoke and you'll be dreaming of a pure, tropical island (ah, the Mirage!). In future maps, we'll see the rest of the 'burbs like affluent Summerlin, comfortable Henderson, and even go hiking or boating or stand-up paddleboarding at the beautiful outdoor venues of Red Rocks, Lake Las Vegas, and Lake Mead. Wait, lakes? They're man made. Parks? On this map it looks like there are three green spaces. Look closer. They're all golf clubs. Nice try. This is casino land first and foremost. And then there is a city continuing to grow and striving to improve outside of them. There is excitement here for the future in Vegas that hopefully won't stay here. In the meantime, it's Las Vegas. It's the desert. It's a fantastic town and also a "parking lot wasteland." Indeed, Viva Urbane Las Vegas.
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