ULC VP of Master Site Development Discusses 303 ArtWay with Shelterforce Magazine
Tony Pickett, ULC’s Vice President of Master Site Development, recently published an article for Shelterforce, a publication created by the National Housing Institute (NHI) and dedicated to community development. Pickett begins the article with a simple phrase: “Denver is doing well.” Across the board, many would agree. Denver was recently ranked the best place to live in 2016 by U.S. News and World Report, and has seen a recent boom in economic growth and development. However Pickett is quick to point towards the flip side of that coin : displacement, gentrification and a loss of cultural identity is quick to follow the recent insurgence of residents to Denver.
Pickett explains that while Denver’s growth has created billions of dollars in new development and thousands of freshly constructed residential units, it has also led to many long time Denver resident’s losing out. “Thousands of people are battling the market forces of unrestrained growth in order to hold onto not just their physical homes within the community, but their cultural identities, traditions, and heritage.”
In order to counter these losses, Pickett introduces 303 ArtWay, a nine-mile art, health and heritage-themed bike and pedestrian trail that will connect various destinations throughout the Northeast Park Hill Community. The urban trail will start at the 40th and Colorado commuter rail station, and end at Holly Square. In partnership with Northeast Transportation Connections and PlatteForum, 303 ArtWay is currently in the community engagement phase. Pickett noted this as a primary focus moving forward, to ensure the inclusion and involvement of local community members.
“ULC and community partners are utilizing the 303 ArtWay’s arts and culture components to promote increased social cohesion and to address specific problems along the route, which has a history of gang violence and as a result, low public-safety perception,” Pickett explained. “We are using creative visioning activities to fully engage stakeholders in determining what should be highlighted along the proposed trail…Youth engagement has consistently increased thanks to the creative arts focus of planning work versus traditional methods of gathering input. A community survey regarding the 303 ArtWay has been distributed and is currently approaching 1,100 respondents.”
You can read the article in full here to learn more about the future of 303 ArtWay.