As a third generation Phoenician, I've always wondered why we have hid our canals behind residential areas. The rebirth of our ancient Hohokam canals is what made our city great! Using our current system of canals, we could create running water features and other unique places for the community to gather. Tempe Town Lake has been a huge success because they developed a water resource that already exsisted. Why not take advantage of our existing canals and develop pockets of oases with lots of palm shade next to the water's edge? Think of all the great cities that used canals to transform their locale: Venice, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg (Russia), Birmingham (England), and now Dubai ... well, we already have the canals, it is just a matter of creating looped tributaries in and around open spaces. These canals would also accentuate the history of Phoenix, while raising property values.