If you feel like Denver is getting more crowded every day, it’s not your imagination. According to the Denver Post, the city has grown by more than 100,000 people since 2000.
Fueled by those moving here from other states, as well as millennials trading the suburbs for urban living, the higher density may cause some to grumble about clogged traffic, higher home prices, etc. But many welcome the change, noting the advantages of living in a vibrant and blossoming city.
“What we’re seeing is a whole generation of younger families that don’t want to shut it down and move to the suburbs,” one developer told the Post. “They want to continue to live urban and get all the benefits of transit connectivity and be able to walk and bike places, and take advantage of all the energy.”
When it comes to “transit connectivity,” Denver is doing remarkably well. Recent statistics released by the Downtown Denver Partnership show that more people are ditching their cars and seeking other modes of transport. The DDP’s 2015 report on the state of downtown noted that:
- More than 60% of downtown workers say they use transit, walk, bike or share a ride to work.
- More than 43% take buses or light rail.
- 6.6% ride a bicycle to work; in the last year, those bicycling to work in the downtown area increased by an eye-catching 43%.
- 4.5% walk to work.
Such non-automobile mobility not only helps the environment by reducing pollution and the city’s carbon footprint, but it contributes to making Denver an attractive place to live.
“A lot of exciting things are going on,” one member of the city’s Community Planning and Development Department told the Denver Business Journal, noting other transit programs in the planning stages. “We are getting downtown Denver ready for the next 20 to 30 years while also focusing on real implementation needs.”
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