State of the Cities: Metro Denver mayors weigh in on growing pains
 

The panelists at the State of the Cities event on Jan. 11.
photo by JONATHAN PHILLIPS, SPECIAL TO THE DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL

 

As metro Denver continues to expand at a rapid clip, issues like transportation, affordable housing and development are front-of-mind for five city mayors. 

Many residents are pushing back on the notion of adding more developments even as rail lines get delayed, housing becomes more expensive and roads are left unmaintained.
 
And those growing pains mean a need for both money and assistance from state leaders to improve citizen access to those systems, which is critical to healthy, sustained growth in the future, said the mayors from Aurora, Denver, Greenwood Village, Lakewood and Northglenn.
 
The five mayors spoke at the Denver Business Journal’s annual “State of the Cities: Mayor’s Economic Forum.” The event, sponsored by the City of Aurora, drew business and political leaders to the Westin Denver Downtown hotel Jan. 11.
 
The mayors did applaud the economic vitality of the region, somethingDenver Mayor Michael Hancock said would ensure that metro Denver continued being competitive.
 
“We’ve seen tens of thousands of jobs created, companies coming to the region — we have a lot to celebrate," said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
 
“This region has a lot to celebrate — we’ve seen phenomenal economic growth in the last several years,” he said. “We’ve seen tens of thousands of jobs created, companies coming to the region — we have a lot to celebrate."
 
But, like the other mayors, he said that same prosperity has exposed problems.
 
“With tremendous growth, and Denver’s economic renaissance, the issues of housing and mobility and managing growth really become the agenda. That’s where we’re going to focus,” he said.
 
Hancock said the region owes more to the individuals that are getting left behind — the same individuals who helped shape the new economy — as they deserve an opportunity to participate in what he referred to as an economic renaissance.  Read the story in the Denver Business Journal


  
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