SEPTEMBER 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
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will soon follow suit in response to main-
taining the strong foundation of a neighbor-
hood comprised of a highly engaged com-
munity of artists and makers.
Difficult decisions are being made at a transitional
time for Denver. Seek answers and ideas in the form
of precedents, pilot programs and productive dialogues
between communities and their leaders.
In July, the New York Times released an arti-
cle touting Denver’s continued appeal to millen-
nials. In an article aptly titled, “Denver’s Appeal
to Millennials? Jobs, Mountains, and Yes, Weed,”
statistics are shared that validate Denver as a city
that, described by author John Hanc, has “risen
from economic stagnation and urban irrelevance
to become a millennial magnet.” The article cites
a Brookings Institution analysis that suggests that
from 2009 to 2014, Denver had the highest migration
of people ages 25-34; the highest of “any metropolitan
area in the United States” – averaging about 12,682 new
millennial transplants arriving in Denver per year.
As if we needed the reminder, national articles and sta-
tistics continue to reaffirm that Denver will continue to
grow and our city, by nature of new residents and new de-
mands, will continue to grow.
My takeaway from Denver Design Week and the inclu-
sive dialogues it facilitated is that while urban develop-
ment can seemingly occur in silos, smart, long-term growth
is better facilitated through active collaboration between
invested and informed communities, businesses, and city
leaders. Ideally, decisions affecting the built environment
should be rooted in a shared consensus and sensitivity to
the idea that cities and neighborhoods are places with rel-
evant pasts, presents and a well-informed set of potentials,
defined as “future.”
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Creative Content
Dynia Architects
The Source Hotel is joining a newly vibrant mixed-use neigh-
borhood in RiNo.
