Rocky Mountain News
Responsible way to grow

Concern over public subsidies shouldn't waylay transit-oriented developments, which are best way to ensure family friendly, environmentally sound communities

By Elise Jones And Carmen Rhodes
March 10, 2007

Jennifer Lang missed the mark in her Feb. 24 opinion piece, "New Urbanism's Flip Side." (To read and respond to Jennifer Lang's article go to com and type "Lang" in the search box. )

Lang raises questions and expresses fear about transit-oriented development and using tax dollars to support it. We share some of her concerns about lack of public involvement in the process but believe that transit- oriented developments are a good place to focus our limited economic development resources. If the public is involved and active in the process, this kind of development can be a catalyst for positive community change.

Coloradans loathe the Southern California image of traffic congestion and gridlock. Urban sprawl in California and our metro region has created an auto-dependent society leaving people no choice but to drive to work, the grocery store, and to pick up their children from school and child care. In addition to time, expense and annoyance, this car-focused sprawl carries enormous environmental costs - from air quality to global warming. In contrast, new urban and suburban villages provide a welcome alternative: compact, walkable communities where people, not cars, are the dominant residents.

Not only is this kind of development more energy- and water-efficient, it presents an opportunity to link people from mixed incomes with affordable housing and good paying jobs, creating an equitable and environmentally friendly economy. City planners should find ways to maximize transit-oriented development so that Coloradans of all incomes have the ability to choose housing near mass transit. This gives people freedom to live in quiet suburban areas while enjoying the benefits of jobs and entertainment in the city.

We share Lang's concern regarding use of taxpayer money in these new developments. We should require a high standard whenever public dollars are involved. Rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, urban renewal funds should only be used for infill development that would not happen without the subsidy. These funds should focus on the most difficult redevelopment areas (e.g., blighted areas or brownfields) that create residential and mixed-use communities near transit. However, when public money is used to support these private developments, we expect resource-efficient development, with a mix of housing that is affordable to diverse members of our communities, and good paying jobs with family supporting benefits.

The redevelopment of the Gates Rubber factory into a transit-oriented mixed-use development is a good example of this. A coalition of environmental, labor, and community representatives worked with Denver and the developer to maximize community benefits. The end product was an improved standard for environmental cleanup, a mixture of housing affordable to people of all income levels, construction jobs that pay sufficient wages and a local hiring requirement that links residents to the jobs created by the redevelopment.

Many cities have made decisions about the investment of taxpayer money without real community input. These processes must be more inclusive and transparent to the public. Communities should be involved and active in the planning and execution of these developments. We have an opportunity to create mixed-use and mixed income transit-focused communities that meet the diverse needs of neighborhoods, and only a democratic and inclusive process will accomplish this.

Transit-oriented development is an opportunity to strengthen the Denver region. With more citizen input, suburbs can create family friendly developments that maximize resident choices to live near transit and that feature high-quality community green-space, dog parks, or other amenities that fit the character of the community.

It's a worthy investment in Colorado's future.

Elise Jones is the executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition. Carmen Rhodes is executive director of the Front Range Economic Strategy Center.