The 102-mile circle that would become the Denver beltway sees no sign of completion as one city--one of Colorado's oldest--vociferously opposes it. But, at a regional level, it may be too late to curb decentralization and sprawl.
"Because Denver's partial belt was built over time, with many assuming that the project would one day be finished, business owners and residents made decisions accordingly. Decentralization and sprawl, said one prominent planner, Patrick Phillips, have already happened. Golden's pushing the fight to the last man standing will not change what the region became along the way, he said.
'The cow has left the barn,' said Mr. Phillips, the chief executive officer at the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization based in Washington. 'It is an incorrect argument that if you can hold out against that last segment and not complete the ring it will be a bulwark against sprawl, because the sprawl already exists. From a regional planning and transportation perspective it makes more sense to have a full beltway than three-fourths of a beltway.'"
FULL STORY: No Closure for Denver’s Beltway Loop
Op-Ed: Downtown Denver's Homogenous Renaissance
There's a lot to like about the resurgence of downtown cores. But as is the case elsewhere, Denver's core has only attracted a small subset of the wider city's population. Most people still call the suburbs home.
Report: Benefits in the Billions for a New Highway Through the Denver Suburbs
The proposed 10-mile Jefferson Parkway expansion would cross land once home to the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant—site of one of the country's largest environmental crimes.
More Colorado Cities Banning Public Smoking
Something is missing from a lot of the walkable downtown business zones in cities around Colorado: tobacco smoke.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service