Sustainable Development

Colorado Real Estate Journal, June 6, 2002

Denver's Stapleton Redevelopment project was a finalist for an award from the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities. The winners of the awards were announced on June 5, 2002.

What is sustainable development, what made Stapleton a candidate, and who are the Stockholm Partnerships?

The "Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities" program is managed by the City of Stockholm, Sweden to commemorate the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment that took place there. The awards are part of an exposition and conference involving participants from all over the world. The "partners," sponsors of the program, include a broad range of international and Swedish organizations in private industry and the public sector. Awards were given in a broad range of categories with names like "The City in Nature," "Learning, Education, Thinking," and "The Caring City."

The Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities awards focus on the respective roles of industry, local government, and communities in enabling sustainable urban development, and how these roles evolve and influence each other. Nominees included projects from all over the world that show innovative solutions for sustainable development in urban areas. The conference and exhibition brought together "all possible stakeholders" to participate, view, discuss, and learn. The mission of the program was to facilitate interaction among representatives of national and local governments, industry, non-governmental organizations, academia, media, finance institutions, and international organizations so they could share knowledge and experience in the fields of applied technology and management.

Stapleton Redevelopment was nominated in "The Caring City" category. The description of the project on the Stockholm Partners web site is: "A 20-year development project that utilizes the three legs of sustainability as its base for implementation: environmental responsibility, economic opportunity, and social equity."

The Stapleton Redevelopment project is the largest urban infill redevelopment site in the country, and the only airport site to be redeveloped into something else. It has a "Sustainability Master Plan" that was prepared by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The plan addresses the general areas of site orientation, design and landscaping; energy efficiency; water management; recycling and building materials; and indoor air quality. According to the Master Plan for Stapleton, "The challenge of the next century will be the creation and management of urban environments that meet social needs and provide economic opportunity in a manner that preserves rather than degrades the natural environment." Sustainability is defined as managing natural, economic, and social systems and resources in a manner that enhances quality of life, yet does not diminish the ability of future generations to meet their needs as well. Social sustainability includes a commitment to diverse housing choices and prices, creation of employment opportunities, creation of opportunities for lifelong learning and education, and provision of adequate, affordable transportation. Environmental sustainability includes valuing and promoting energy efficiency, recycling, and indoor air quality, and conserving energy, water, and natural resources. Anything that increases sustainability in one area (such as energy efficiency) also enhances other areas (energy efficient houses more affordable and comfortable, and have less negative impact on air quality).

Putting principle into action, the project is recycling over 1,100 acres (six million tons) of concrete runways. The material is being used at Denver International Airport, Buckley Air National Guard Base, E-470, and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, as well as areas on the Stapleton site itself. More than 200,000 tons of asphalt from parking lots and the former commuter runway have been recycled as road base. More than 50% of the debris from demolition of the terminal was reused and recycled, including rebar, sheet metal, and concrete.

The Stapleton Development Corporation, The City of Denver, and Stapleton's Master Developer, Forest City, have been working with the Partnership for Advanced Technologies in Housing ("PATH"), a federal partnership of twelve agencies coordinated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to promote sustainability and energy efficiency in the residential development at Stapleton. The project includes mixed use zoning, pedestrian-scale neighborhoods, and convenient public transportation. The design of the residential areas represents a return to "traditional" Denver neighborhood models like Washington Park, Park Hill, and Highland, featuring small retail and business areas within walking distance of homes, and with front porches and alley loaded garages to encourage a "sense of place."

Stapleton hopes to have existing RTD bus routes extended into its neighborhood areas, which will be on the same street grid system as the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, the transfer station that is currently located there will be retained, and a multi-modal transfer station connecting downtown and the airport will be on the north end of the site. Bike and pedestrian paths, sidewalks, and parks will facilitate human-powered transit within the project. Almost one-fourth of the site, over 1,100 acres, will be regional parks and open space. Its 13 mile public greenway will link the Highline Canal trail system with the Platte River Greenway, creating a 50 mile loop of off-street trails in East Denver.

The problems of growth in Colorado can, to a great extent, be more precisely described as problems of poorly planned, poorly managed growth. Stapleton comprises 4,700 acres, or 7 1/2 square miles. It is planned to include more than 12,000 homes, 3 million square feet of regional and village retail space, and 10 million square feet of office and industrial space. Stapleton will be home to some 30,000 residents and 35,000 workers when complete. With more open space, greater density in areas where there are buildings, adequate public transit, energy efficient construction methods, diversity of housing types and prices, creation of job and business opportunities, and attention to creation of a sense of place and community, perhaps, as the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities web site states, "sustainable urban development is already possible."