Jack Healy explores Denver's conflicted relationship with its 16th Street Mall, the pedestrian-oriented street that runs for a mile through the city's downtown. Bustling by day, but deserted and dicey at night, it has become an icon of the city.
In a city that lacks a singular iconic image or place, the city's "melting pot" has become one of its most recognizable symbols, for better or for worse, only thirty years after opening.
"Unlike attempts by other cities to revive their downtowns by closing
major streets to traffic, Denver scored a major success and created a
new public square with its 16th Street Mall," says Healy. "It draws map-carrying
tourists, badge-wearing conventioneers and white-collar workers, all
weaving through a sprawling circus of buskers and petitioners,
transients, sunglass sellers and street artists. Each year, about 16
million people ride the free shuttle buses that carry people along it."
"'This is our iconic image,' the mayor, Michael B. Hancock, said on
Tuesday morning as he slipped on an 'I ♥ 16th Street Mall' T-shirt. 'It's the heart and soul of our downtown. This really is our identity.'"
Read the full story: Denver, Searching for Icon, Celebrates Downtown Mall
The Past and Future of Pedestrian Malls
Pedestrian malls, a common urban design goal of the 1960s and 1970s have so fallen out of fashion that failed examples from history are cited as boogeyman like "bridges to nowhere" and "big digs."
Denver's 16th Street Mall Rehabilitation Proposal
At 27 years old, Denver's 16th Street Mall is in need of an upgrade. A team of consultants has recently released their recommendation of what needs to be done to rehabilitate one of Denver's premier public spaces.
Instead of water, sediment from droughts and wildfire is choking U.S. dams
Sediment has filled 8% of dam storage capacity in the United States. Because of climate change, researchers expect it will only accumulate quicker.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Brightline Florida files for bankruptcy
The transit company is over $5 billion in debt.
St. Louis Metro to test if single-car trains can reduce operating costs, maintain rider satisfaction
The pilot program will run from October to spring 2027, and begin with one single-car train operating on Metrolink’s Red and Blue lines.
Pennsylvania is building data centers in abandoned mines
Housing data centers in mines provides an alternative to destroying local forests and may spare residents from data centers’ noise and air pollution.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello