Your Turn: Let's be like Denver
by Drew WillseyArticle Tools
A common motto I've heard among the Front Range anti-growth crowd is, "We want cows, not condos!" I understand the sentiment, but what these people don't understand is that the motto doesn't work; it's not one or the other.
Some claim more should be done to prevent the "Denverization" of Colorado Springs. There are so many in El Paso County who demonize Denver and demonize growth, and they simply don't get it. They say the city and all its ills are the result of growth that was too rapid, growth that has exceeded the city's ability to plan for many years. Growth is criticized as a drain on city coffers, since constant infrastructure improvements are necessary to support it.
The thing is, Colorado Springs as we know it is not the result of a lack of planning or foresight. Indeed, the vast majority of the city has been carefully planned, all according to the will of a few land developers who have embraced, wholly and to the extreme, modernist and irresponsible American urban dynamics.
Ever wonder why the traffic is so bad here and why public transportation is such a joke? All a result of planning. Modern neighborhoods are designed to have streets that make no sense and only connect in one or two places to a few major arterials on which all traffic is dumped. This, combined with awkward geography, a lack of limited-access freeways and low population density, has made this place the way it is.
If you love open space and public transportation, you should want "Denverization." Denver is responsible growth. Colorado Springs is not.
Food for thought: Denver has almost 4,000 people per square mile, and that increases when you subtract the international airport. Colorado Springs has fewer than 2,000 people per square mile, and it's one of the least-dense major cities in the country.
Denver has an adequate freeway network and a complete street grid, making navigation simple and evenly distributing traffic across more and smaller streets, which makes the city far more pedestrian-friendly and actually makes traffic better, for the most part. It also makes public transportation there viable and effective, something that could never be the case even in 50 years in this city, outside of downtown and the Old North End.
When people try to prevent condos, they're not preventing growth. The growth will still happen. Instead of condos, however, you get low-density tract housing, which takes up significantly more space and requires significantly more money to supply infrastructure for the same amount of people. It is a lose-lose situation.
The sentiments toward growth here are ironic in that they are incompatible with conservative fiscal attitudes. Colorado Springs must spend significantly more per capita on everything because there is no density and no contiguity between neighborhoods. This means more spending to provide the same level of services to the population. Growth is not the problem; growth done wrongly is the problem.
And considering El Paso County's property tax is almost five times less than the average for the state's nine largest counties, and the fact that Colorado Springs has a double dose of TABOR-ratcheting with which to deal, it's no wonder that we suddenly lack the money to pay for such things as watering the parks and a Fourth of July fireworks show.
The city, the concept of the city, is fundamental to the human condition and to the civilized condition. We have cities for a reason. Cities that try to serve the purposes of both rural and urban, and cities that depend on the car to serve those purposes, succeed in doing neither.
We need to move back to the human scale. We need infill development. And we need it now.
Perhaps in 50 years, things will change. And for people who actually prefer to live in a city, things will be much improved.
If Colorado Springs ever wants to become a livable, decent city, the best thing it can do is try really hard to be just like Denver.
Drew Willsey is an economics major at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
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Gee. Give the kid a break. I'm encouraged that UCCS has such bright, thoughtful students, and so should all of you. It reflects well on the beautiful city of Colorado Springs. (Note: I live in the Denver area). He's right on a lot of levels, and a bit idealistic on others. But to call him names and use caveman-like dismissals because you disagree is, well, silly. I like him. He thinks outside the box. He should be very successful in life.
Posted by Madre2
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I suggest that people re-read this article . The author may only be 22 but he gets it. Denver is a very good model of smart urban growth and planning.
Colorado Springs on the other hand is a poster child of bad development practices and poor planning. The eastside sprawl is a tragedy. Our transportation system is a joke . East/West Corridors are insufficient for traffic, Powers is still not complete, Public transit has been cut back, the citizenry refuses to chip in and pay for improvements, affordable Downtown residential projects are rejected by neighborhood associations, parks and other public amenities are suffering and Doug Bruce is regarded as a hero .
It's time to wake up , we're on the Titanic and the band is still playing a waltz instead of reveille.
Posted by actionjackson
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Drew i almost entirely agree with your argument here. Expansion and development are a necessity for an economy to be successful. However, i do worry that the renting costs of condos (specifically) will cause a back draft of subsidized housing units and low rent apartment complexes to shoot up all over. A tremendous number of people cannot afford to write a $1700 monthly rent check. With the increase in low income housing, so follows an increase in low income households-and not just people down on their luck. I’m talking about drug dealers, illegals and burdens of the state living off unemployment and bogus disability and social security checks while pumping out 3 or 4 kids. I think this is one of bigger reasons people worry about Colorado Springs becoming too much like Denver. (aside from the loss of natural beauty and clean smelling air) I think that with the expansion of high class, there is a substantial expansion in the lower class. if lots of nice houses go up in your neighborhood; property values and renters rates increase. then the people who can't afford their payments anymore move into cheaper and cheaper neighborhoods. (and by cheaper I do mean tatty and squalid with a meth lab down the hall and 17 illegals in the one bedroom unit next door) Your argument is good in theory, but my big concern is with the lack of planning that you pointed out, will the city planners have the foresight to anticipate how many people will be flushed out of decent homes into crappy ones?
(keep ‘em coming Drew, this is one of the better articles I’ve read in a while)
Posted by little_dirty_birdie_feet
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Loved the article. So true! Thanks. I posted it on my facebook and am sharing it with people in Pueblo. I often hear the same sentiment here--- We don't want to be Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, much of the development will lead to another Colorado Springs. Fortunately, in Pueblo it's taking a lot slower and hopefully, in another 5 years, the principals of walkable and bikeable communities will be the norm.
Posted by mmurillo
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You are right on, Drew. The first two comments must be from old fart land-owners :) This city needs to change, and I think a lot of that begins downtown. This city needs something to point at, to be proud of as its soul. Is anyone excited about the sprawling neighborhoods and strip malls on the north, east and south side of town? This city has a whole lot going for it with its colleges, natural beauty, parks...I hope its leaders have enough foresight to change the way it is developing. Although this will make many people bitter, I think we could learn a thing or two from Boulder. Its core is quirky and independent much like ours, but its ALWAYS full of life. I think if we have one part of town really doing it right, other neighborhoods with lots of potential (old colorado city, the developing north end, gog, etc) will catch the vision and start developing the right way. I've seen it happen in other cities that don't have near the potential we have. Just my feelings.
Posted by colojw
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