Small shops manage to operate in, say, Arizona during those hours.
That said, I think Spain's hours are a more natural adaptation to the climate than Arizona's.
That said, I think Spain's hours are a more natural adaptation to the climate than Arizona's.
Spain, like most Europe is a lot more pedestrian/cyclist friendly and I'd imagine that traffic drops off a lot during the heat of the day.
I live in Canada which isn't anything near as hot as Arizona or Spain and I walk/cycle everywhere and I specifically avoid going anywhere from 11am-2pm in July/August if I can help it. sample-size=1, your mileage may vary.
It is much easier in local towns and villages to walk around and get what you need rather than take a car, often a more difficult thing to do given parking scarcity, and really not necessary given that there are many options for going local. I have two supermarkets within a KM of my home, 16 (!) cafeteria/bars/restaurants, and most other services are covered (banks, dry cleaner, gas station etc). In larger cities (Barcelona, Madrid and smaller cities) the neighborhoods tend to have most things. You really only do the long drive to hit larger supermarkets or to go to a mall or something.
I've been to the south of Spain it's hot but 35c isn't unbearable in the middle of the day.
I'm in the humid Maritimes it's 28C but with the humidity it feels like 40C.
Melbourne has summers that are nearly as hot as Phoenix. AC isn't so prevalent here, yet the shops don't change their hours in summer.
For the same reasons you mention it makes 2pm in the afternoon the worst time to be on break and out of your air conditioned office or workplace.
I'd take 37 C air in the shade over 35 C in the midday sun any time.
Apparently that's rapidly ending, so maybe the standard schedule will change as well someday.
Those hours are pretty ingrained in US culture, though, and virtually no one (compared to the present population) would live in Arizona without massive amounts of air conditioning anyway, whereas conserving water has a direct economic advantage in the here and now.
I presume you mean south of Flagstaff. It's actually quite nice in the north :)
There are many plants that are not native that still grow very well ranging from Mediterranean species to some that are from the desert regions of Asia.
*edit (Thu Jul 20 13:35:05 EDT 2017) I about parts of Chandler and Gilbert still have water rights tied to the property.
My point is how much water does it take even for that. If what you were saying is true, I'd expect to see that grass growing all over Phoenix and it would be green rather than red.
But instead California gave away massive free water rights to landowners who use it to farm in their deserts. Over 90% of their fresh water is given to farmers to grow crops a little cheaper than farmers in other states who aren't raping water supplies, and so bad farming and water usage drives out good.
People exist in Chicago despite the fact that it would be completely inhospitable without heating sources. The only difference is that air conditioning is a newer invention so people like you view it as some kind of opulent luxury rather than a technological tool like anything else.
Not everyone works in an office, though.
You do have to go outside to get anywhere. We don't have completely domed cities yet.
People definitely don't faint within minutes in a typical Phoenix sunlight. The biggest risks are sunburn and dehydration, both of which take a lot longer.
That cannot possibly be correct.
I would take 110F dry over 80F humid any day. I would also take 10F dry over 30F humid.
Personally speaking I've never seen much value in living by the clock if it puts you in conflict with the seasons. The notion that people everywhere should adhere to the same schedule regardless of local conditions is inherently absurd.
I was visiting in April a few years ago and was really surprised how empty the sidewalks were despite the beautiful weather - you would see more people outside walking in a non-central residential neighborhood in berlin in the rain.
Restaurants refer to those hours specifically as "dead hours" in my experience.
With full on blaring air-conditioning and everybody driving around gus-guzzlers to go 1km further down.
That's not how Spanish cities are built, or the culture they enjoy.