Comment by hosh

Before Phoenix the city was founded, there was a canal built by the indigenous people who live there in the lower Sonoran.

That canal became the basis for Phoenix, and eventually, the big canal that transport water long range through the state.

The other is that, with sufficient water, you can grow year round.

Not that I think industrial ag is good for society.

Phoenix itself is a metro area whose primary economic driver is real estate speculation. Many older citrus orchards has been surrounded, and sometimes bought and redeveloped.