The new movement is this transportation initiative, which seeks to put in place a comprehensive transport system by 2019, but faces the challenges of a slowing economy and lack of tax revenue. The challenge is making it a reality. Probably the most curious thing is how private investors have responded to this plan already and built towards what they understand will be.
Thats the cool thing about riverfront park, is that it has created the end of this 16th Street Axis and transformed it to become this vibrant center of life and downtown living.
One of the most interesting things about Union Station in Denver is the fact that it is not in the center of downtown. Union Station is actually on the fridge of downtown, no doubt at the edge of a what was a large rail yard. When restructuring the transit plan for the city it was critical to tie the CBD to Downtown. Luckily for a few decades work has been progressing on the 16th street pedestrian mall. This mall, filled with chain stores and walking streets, seems to be a great move towards fighting the condition that exists in many cities of the lifeless downtown. The best part about it is that there is a free bus which runs down the mall stopping frequently but allowing movement through this axis to be easy and simple. The axis is also extending into the river walk development which I touched on earlier.
As for the urban quality of the mall, I’d say its not bad. In parts the road widens and the center becomes this shaded hang out space. Like New York, pianos have been set up for the public to come play so that creates this calm, fun vibe.
The reoccurring issue of the viability of the chain is ever present here. I think especially some of the new developments I have seen have to harbor these chains because they are the only ones with the viability and capital to invest right now. Denver seems like the prototypical city for many of the most successful chains, notably Chipotle. Those of you who know me know that I love chipotle, but its funny to think of the roots of the operation as being in Denver and not Texas, for example. Nonetheless the aesthetic predispositions and menu were first tested here and then expanded to the large chains they are today. I guess what makes chains so much easier to run instead of independent stores is simple economies of scale. The fact that all the research, distribution chains, signage, and menus can be mass produced makes the entry costs for a new restaurant easy as well as virtually ensuring its success. Theres very little risk for these kind of enterprises, and cities jump on because its easy to permit and build something like this because it’s a fairly standard product type.
From meeting with some development investors they harped on the notion that Denver contains a lot of pockets of Viability. This was something that I definitely ran across a lot when I was here. A couple block walk in any direction and suddenly the grid disintegrated and parking lots and 1 story buildings ran amuck. Even on the riverfront development, the actual axis was very successful but any divergence from that and you were back into light industrial. The same went for a drive along state highway 6, as I went there were places with a lot of economic activity and strip malls that had recovered and then there were places that were run down and abandoned, within a matter of blocks.
Another interesting development pattern of Denver is the clustering of government and cultural institutions. This can either have positive or negative consequences. One of the benefits is the fact that you can see a variety of things without driving, as is the case with the Denver Art museum, history museum, and a theater all within the civic center cultural complex. In addition Denver has a performing arts building that houses the theater, ballet, opera, and symphony. While this makes it cheaper and easier to build the cultural institution vs. individual buildings, one can argue that this concentrates evening economic activity instead of dispersing it throughout the city.
The choice that Denver made in developing its light rail is an interesting approach to this expanding city planning. The easiest path forward was to build along the highway. But in doing this they are directly competing with Cars, which is either a good or bad thing. I think in certain cases that approach is not ideal because it makes little difference for some people to drive and park, but in downtown it is a good thing because you can offset taking the train with the cost of parking, making it more efficient and cheaper to take the train. It varies though based on the location.
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