Denver's Turnaround City

"In 1969, 13 neighborhoods with distinct characteristics and very different personalities finally came together to form Lakewood.

...More recently, this city of 145,000 - the fourth-largest in Colorado - tamed the ugly beast. Lakewood forced Wal-Mart to alter the design of a proposed super-ugly supercenter to fit the city's vision of what the West Colfax Corridor ought to look like."

Planning director Frank Gray has been central to the effort. According to Gray, "high city standards and rigorous urban design add value for the neighborhood, the city and the property owner - in this case, Wal-Mart."