The first of three events aimed toward educating students on urban development took place Feb. 3 in the Tivoli Multicultural lounge. The event featured two speakers, who addressed how Denver and Auraria are impacted by urban development.

Both the Auraria campus and Denver have developed plans that anticipate growth and urban development. “Blueprint Denver” and the Auraria Campus Master Plan impact neighborhood development and improvement of transportation services.

Associate Professor of Planning and Design at UCD Peter Park, explained how we “react to growth,” and his job is to anticipate growth so we as a city and region are prepared.

“We have challenges others don’t because of our challenge of growth,” Park said. He explained that Denver is growing rapidly and “great neighborhoods are built around transit.”

Auraria has developed a neighborhood plan as part of the campus Master Plan. The plan aims to help each school on campus create its own identity and develop neighborhoods with that identity.

A transportation study has also been developed as part of the master plan. The study focused on the Seventh Street and its use by pedestrians and bikers. It revealed what changes could be made to make the street more pedestrian-friendly, including adding more stoplights and bike lanes.

Thomas Clark, chairperson of planning and designs at UCD, began his speech with the intent to put our current problems into context. “I have a broader perspective of time that I want to bring to you,” Clark said.

Clark explained there are 47 municipalities in nine counties, and the lines drawn did not take regional differences into consideration. He continued to say there has to be continuity between groups when dealing with issues such as water distribution, sewage treatment and waste disposal.

Park, Clark and the Auraria campus have taken the lack of communication into consideration and all have plans to improve partnerships.

“Blueprint Denver has three primary strategies,” Park said. “First, to regulate land use, second, to setup public infrastructure, and third, to develop partnerships.

“Government can’t do it all. There needs to be partnership with other counties or the private sector,” Park said.

Park concentrated on zoning code updates, which is one of the largest projects under Blueprint Denver. He explained one of the most important issues with zoning is appeal for both the public and private sectors, and the difficultly finding a balance.

“We need tax money to build streets the private sector wants to buy land at,” Park said. There needs to be communication among the entire community to anticipate population growth and urban sprawl.

The Auraria Master Plan has taken into consideration the necessary public/private partnership. The plan proposed development on the campus to include retail, residential and office use.

Students need to be aware of urban development and what affect it has on our campus. Metro senior Ramsey Scott, who attended the event, said he believes it is pivotal for students to understand the situation, especially those without a car.

“I think people in college need to pay attention to how our infrastructure is built,” Scott said. “If it is built for those without cars then we can be a benefit for the city and ourselves.”

The second part of the Urban Development event will be held at 1 p.m. on March 3 in the Tivoli Multicultural lounge.