Preface Introduction. From "Queen City of the Plains" to the "Mile High City" Chapter 1. Physical Landscape and Natural Surroundings Chapter 2. Historical Development Chapter 3. Demographics and Culture Chapter 4. Image and Place Making Chapter 5. Political Landscapes Chapter 6. Sustainable Futures Conclusion. The Next Frontier Notes Index Acknowledgments

"This is book is a classic geography, presented topically, that addresses the physical environment and human geography of Denver, Colorado, from its founding to the present…[It] contains a wealth of knowledge about city planning processes and how these relate to Denver…[and] is valuable for its careful survey of the growth and planning of an important city of the US Mountain West and for what policy makers in and outside the academy might learn from it."

Preface Perhaps no city symbolizes the American West more than Denver, Colorado. It was founded in 1858 during the Pikes Peak gold rush, and its origins and early growth were tied to mining, railroads, agriculture, and cattle ranching. It has grown in step with the growth of the West from frontier outpost to major metropolis, driven by an economic base in the energy, defense, aerospace, government, telecommunications, information technology, medical, tourism, and recreation industries. Its proximity and orientation to the Rocky Mountains has provided Denver with its essential identity as the Mile High City, where the blending of Old West imagery and New West reality is on full display. As we contemplated our approach to creating a portrait of metropolitan Denver in this book, the themes of growth and change emerged as the dominant story line. While growth and change are evident for virtually all metropolitan areas, they are especially relevant for Denver, with its history of extreme boom-and-bust cycles, including its current major boom. Grappling with growth and its challenges are an ever-present concern, and the lessons of Denver's experiences have significance for other cities that are faced with extreme growth pressures. The purpose of this book, therefore, is to capture an image of contemporary Denver through its interrelated human, social, economic, and physical landscapes and to provide a geographic perspective on growth and change in the Mile High City. Among large urban places in the United States, Denver has been one of the top three fastest growing from 2010 to 2016. For cities over 500,000 in population, Denver's rate of growth trails only Austin and Seattle. For metropolitan areas over 2.5 million, only Houston and Dallas had faster growth. And for combined statistical areas over 3 million, Houston, Orlando, and Denver were the fastest growing. Denver has become a destination of choice for millennials, consistently ranking as one of the top metro areas for in-migration among eighteen- to thirty-four-year-olds. Outdoor recreation, especially skiing, snowboarding, camping, hiking, and rafting, are major attractions, in addition to a vibrant arts and music scene, a thriving microbrewing industry, and the recent legalization and growth of the recreational marijuana business. The current wave of growth has created significant challenges, especially affordability, equity, mobility, and sustainability. The rapid influx of population has increased demand for housing, but supply has not kept pace, leading to sharply increased prices for houses and apartments. Demand for housing in the city of Denver has resulted in neighborhood gentrification and displacement of lower-income residents who can no longer afford the higher rents or property taxes. Increased population has led to more traffic congestion and demands for improved transportation infrastructure. Expanding urbanization has contributed to urban sprawl and increased pressure on resource consumption and impacts on the natural environment. Denver is trying to address some of these concerns through a smart growth strategy emphasizing the development of higher-density pedestrian- and biking-oriented urban centers served by an expanding rail transit system. While some progress has been achieved, many of the growth challenges still remain. We hope that this exploration of Denver's past and contemporary identity sheds new light on what the poet Walt Whitman first described as "this curiously attractive region."