Scottsdale, city in central Arizona, in Maricopa County and the Phoenix metropolitan region, on the Arizona Canal. The city is a popular winter resort and an arts and crafts center; some electronic equipment also is manufactured. In the city are the Taliesin West architectural school, established by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright; the Cosanti Foundation, containing the workshop of Italian-American architect and craftsman Paolo Soleri; and a community college. Scottsdale is noted for its efforts to preserve desert environments within the city. The innovative Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt, a flood control project, uses a system of parks, lakes, and golf courses as an alternative to a conventional concrete channel. Scottsdale Municipal Airport has commuter air transportation services.
The Hohokam people farmed the region around what is now Scottsdale for centuries, building an extensive system of irrigation canals. The present community was founded in 1888 by army chaplain and homesteader Winfield Scott; it incorporated in 1951.
