October 2004

Livable Communities Support Center and Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center

Executive Summary | News Release

Download the full report. (PDF, 1.9 MB)

The build out of the proposed regional transit system envisioned under FasTracks would present the Denver metro area with an enormous opportunity to create new exciting transit-oriented neighborhoods and communities that will offer new housing options, small urban centers throughout the region and expanded lifestyle choices. A high quality transit system, because it provides efficient access to an entire region, will attract people to live, work, shop and be entertained near transit stations.

All across the country, cities that are building transit systems are seeing a new wave of transit-oriented development (TOD). Transit-oriented development occurs when local municipal planners actively work with developers and community leaders to design compact, multi-use communities around rapid transit stations. These communities typically have a one-quarter to one-half mile radius around the transit station which serves as the central focal point for the community. Office space, retail shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and residences can surround a single transit station, creating an active and exciting area to live, work, or experience entertainment and shopping.

With only one real transit line in operation and another nearing completion, transit oriented development in Denver is still mostly a vision for the future. But what little transit has been built here has already begun to spur transit-oriented development along the Southwest line, including the Englewood City Center, and along the Central corridor, including the site of the old Gates Rubber factory at I-25 and Broadway. Other transit oriented developments are already springing up along the T-Rex line even before it opens.

This report examines the potential for transit oriented development if the FasTracks plan passes and analyzes the likely impact of those developments on regional land use and transportation patterns using data from the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ (DRCOG’s) own preliminary analysis of the impact of urban centers.