From the August 14 edition of the Denver Business Journal, unedited. The recent Denver municipal elections revealed a significant shift from the past 30 years and the emergence of two dominant factions, neither of which bode well for leading the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions and Rants
Detroit – The Other 90% of the Story
The plight of Detroit has been on my mind throughout the summer. I’ve had some connection to the city since I was born. My mother lived in the Motor City in the 1950s, raised two kids (my half siblings) and … Continue reading
The Deal That Should Have Never Been
In recent years, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching a class on urban revitalization strategies for graduate students at the University of Colorado Denver Masters of Urban and Regional Planning program. For our “incentives and ethical trade-offs” session, we’ve used … Continue reading
Anna Jones for Denver City Council
Anna Jones, vice president at P.U.M.A. and my professional colleague of nearly 15 years, is a candidate for the open City Council seat in District 10 of Denver. Anna entered the race after the progressive candidate, Roger Sherman, unexpectedly withdrew. … Continue reading
Cultural Arrogance: A Threat to Downtowns?
Last week, NewGeography published an interesting post by urban planner Pete Sanders entitled A Typology of Gentrification. Sanders made the case that gentrification is more likely to thrive in cities with older, walkable urban neighborhoods and, somewhat provocatively, cities with … Continue reading
Lou Reed, David Byrne, Downtown Coolness and Stifling Creative Talent
Yesterday, I read every memorial that I could find on Lou Reed and his passing. The one that resonated the most with me was Michael Musto’s column. Michael Musto, formerly of the Village Voice, the newspaper that I grabbed feverishly … Continue reading
New Change Agents in Downtowns
Lately, we’ve noticed that there is a real entrepreneurial spirit brewing in the downtowns that we are working in that is creating excitement! It seems that a single person, often “hipsters” or a non-traditional group is creating activities, businesses and … Continue reading
Urban Gardens – Great trend, but should they be placed on a retail street?
I’ve walked and driven by the Santa Monica Community Garden countless times, but I’ve never actually taken a minute to walk around and it observe it. So, while savoring an amazing custard from Rita’s (www.ritasofsm.com), I urged my husband and … Continue reading
Déjà vu at Main Street
My primary motivation to attend the National Main Streets Conference this year (other than visiting New Orleans!) was to hear about Main Street’s great reset. After more than a year of planning and soul searching, the National Trust for Historic … Continue reading
Colorado’s Economic Trifecta
In three seemingly unrelated decisions, Colorado voters this past week advanced a policy platform that should contribute to the state’s economic development for many years to come. The combination of legalizing marijuana, electing a Democratic statehouse and passing school bonds all … Continue reading