Neighborhood Redevelopment in Denver

This research reviews the process of neighborhood rehabilitation in Denver, Colorado. The findings of this research are presented in topical discussions of neighborhood boundaries, roles of city government agencies, the rationale for the focus areas, variables of neighborhood planning, urban renewal plan types and effects, and evaluation of player roles.

Three neighborhoods provide the focus for this research. These neighborhoods are Cole, located in the north central area of the city, the Golden Triangle, which is immediately south of the Civic Center located in the central area of the city, and Uptown, located between East 17th Avenue and East 20th Avenue on the south and north and between Grant Street and Clarkson Street on the east and west.

Denver is a city with many defined neighborhoods·more than 80 in number. The city is laid-out in an east-west grid that faces the Rocky Mountains (Savage, 1997). Most of Denver's neighborhoods have at least two boundary lines that are streets conform to the city's east-west grid. Natural features (such as rivers), man-made features (such as freeways), and artificial features (such as city limits) provide other neighborhood boundary lines.

The role of Denver's city government agencies in neighborhood redevelopment efforts has been one primarily of guidance and coordination (Bramhall, 1992). In this effort, the city a

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ork together for a common purpose. Each of these variables·institutions, relationships, and attitudes·constitute a civic asset (Wallis, 1993). As a group, the civic assets of a community constitute the civic infrastructure which is essential to the success of neighborhood rehabilitation efforts. Denver's Cole neighborhood lost a quarter of its population between 1986 and 1989 (Bramhall, 1992). The neighborhood had dwindled to about 3,700 people, largely blacks and Hispanics. Almost 200 residential structures were vacant, and unemployment had reached 17 percent. The city realized that it had to do something immediately to stop the blight. The planning office took the lead, initiating discussions with the mayor, the planning board, and the city council. The result was an unprecedented decision by the city to include more than $2.6 million in its capital budget over three years (1990-92) to address housing and economic problems in the Cole neighborhood. The planning board then recommended that the project become a demonstration program so that it could be evaluated for transfer to other neighborhoods. As the city's initiative was a top-down action, it was necessary for the city planners to enlist the residents of the Cole
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1546
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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