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
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Seattle Legalizes Co-Living
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NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
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The City of Broken Sidewalks
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Why Some Affordable Housing Managers Are Running Education Programs
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Anchorage Bus Depot to Reopen
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Mapping a Greener Future: Cal Poly Tackles Urban Canopy Challenges
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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.
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City of Laramie
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport
Rockdale County Board of Commissioners