Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments : www.terrain.org Issue No. 17 : Fall/Winter 2005 : Metropolitan Mosaic Theme PDF Version. View full version online at www.terrain.org/archives/17.htm. Contents Columns • Guest Editorial: “Sustainability in the Mile High City” by John Hickenlooper, Mayor, City and County of Denver • The Literal Landscape: “Anonymous Metropolis: A Patchwork Quilt” by Simmons B. Buntin, Editor/Publisher, Terrain.org • Bull Hill: “Fifteen Minutes of Freedom” by David Rothenberg, Editor, Terra Nova • View from the Summit: “The Mobile Metropolis” by Catherine Cunningham, Editor, Terra Nova Interview • “We Leave Our Doors Wide Open” Terrain.org interviews Terry Tempest Williams, author, naturalist, and environmental activist UnSprawl Case Study • Glenwood Park in Atlanta, Georgia ARTerrain Gallery • Ten paintings and murals by Stephanie Johnson Poetry • One Poem by Marianne Poloskey • Three Poems by John Horváth, Jr. • Three Poems by Charlotte Matthews • Three Poems by J.D. Smith • Three Poems by Jake Adam York • Three Poems by Michael J. Vaughn • Three Poems by Margarita Engle • Two Poems by Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb • Three Poems by Lynn Strongin Essays • “Diversity as if It Mattered” by Emily Talen • “Hazelhurst at 75: A Culture of Conservation and Service,” essay with online slideshow by David R. Foote • “Wu-Kuo Yu” by William R. Stimson • “Through the Dragon’s Mouth: Exploring the City Museum of St. Louis” by Carolyn Steinhoff Smith Issue No. 17 : Fall/Winter 2005 : Metropolitan Mosaic Theme 1 Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments : www.terrain.org Contents Fiction • “Encounter at the Zoo” by David Watmough • “The Boy” by Edward M. Turner • “The Crestwood Wars: Parts 1-3” by Thomas P. Straw • “A Rich Man’s Joke” by Steven Mayoff Articles • “Denver’s Stapleton: Green Urban Infill for the Masses?” by Michael Leccese • “Can the Way We Eat Change Metropolitan Agriculture? The Portland Example” by Martha Works and Thomas Harvey • “Public Involvement Best Practices: Linking Land Use and Transportation” by Harrison B. Rue Reviews • “Mythmaking” : Peter Huggins reviews Riverfall, poems by Simmons B. Buntin • “Connecting with ‘Crow’s Range’” : Ken Pirie reviews Crow’s Range: An Environmental History of the Sierra Nevada, by David Beesley • “A Language of Beauty and Power” : Terrain.org reviews Canyon Spirits: Beauty and Power in the Ancestral Puebloan World, photographs by John L. Ninnemann and essays by Stephen H. Lekson and J. McKim Malville Issue No. 17 : Fall/Winter 2005 : Metropolitan Mosaic Theme 2 Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments : www.terrain.org Guest Editorial by John Hickenlooper : Mayor, City and County of Denver Sustainability in the Mile High City Sustainability is a central value in the Mile High City. By focusing on the interconnectedness of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of our policies and programs, we in Denver seek to ensure that our future generations will enjoy a quality of life characterized by environmental beauty, economic opportunity, and resource abundance. As an exploration geologist-turned-small businessman, I learned early in my career that the best solutions often balance economic, environmental, and social considerations. As The Mile High City at dusk. mayor I am excited to convert this principle into Photo courtesy Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. systemic action. The City of Denver has supported innovative sustainable development strategies for many years and was recognized this year by the national group SustainLane as one of the top 10 sustainable cities nationwide. Some highlights of Denver’s historic and ongoing commitment to sustainability include: • In the early 1990s, the City of Denver created the first Green Fleets program in the nation by purchasing alternative fuel vehicles. In 2004, we expanded the program with a biodiesel pilot for 60 heavy duty vehicles; and in 2005, we increased our use of biodiesel from one fueling location to four, putting the City on track to utilize about 500,000 gallons of the cleaner-burning fuel this year and to decrease the City's dependence on foreign oil by Denver's Lower Downtown (LoDo). 4%. Photo by Randy Brown, courtesy Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. • Denver International Airport realized award-winning success in 2004 by becoming the first major airport in the Issue No. 17 : Fall/Winter 2005 : Metropolitan Mosaic Theme 3 Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments : www.terrain.org country to implement an environmental management system—regularly recycling 19 substances and monitoring environmental performance for continuous improvement. • Denver is a pioneer in the use of light-emitting diode (LED) traffic signals. With the largest LED traffic signal inventory in the country, we saved nearly $800,000 in energy, material, and labor costs in 2003 alone, and reduced pollutants by an amount equivalent to the effects of planting more than 777 acres of trees or the permanent removal of 371 automobiles from local roads. Our City buildings use LED exit signs and are transitioning to more efficient indoor lighting sources, resulting in lower costs, longer life, better light, and less energy consumption. • We are developing new green building standards for all City buildings. Experience has shown that a small initial investment in design and materials will reap years of energy cost savings and improved worker productivity. Our forthcoming Justice Center—Denver’s largest capital project in nearly a decade—will be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard. • Last fall, the seven-county Denver metro region passed FasTracks—the most ambitious local transit project in our nation’s history, with 119 new miles of light- and commuter-rail. Once completed, with a redeveloped Denver Union Station as its multimodal hub, this regional transit system is expected to benefit over half a million riders a day. Regionally, it is estimated that 51 of 57 FasTracks stations have transit-oriented development potential. • Denver is home to two national models of innovative urban infill development. Our former Lowry Air Force Base and former Stapleton International Airport have been redeveloped into thriving, sustainable communities, with diverse housing stock, vibrant retail opportunities, schools, job Denver is among the nation's big-city leaders for the centers, recreational amenities, and number and quality of parks. open space. Photo by Randy Brown, courtesy Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. • This summer, we converted our citywide recycling program to a single-stream process, enabling us to expand the number of materials eligible for recycling and increase convenience by eliminating the sorting requirement. Thanks to aggressive marketing of our ReThink Recycling campaign and the active participation our residents, we have already recycled 268 more tons than during the same five-week period in 2004, an 18.5% increase. Issue No. 17 : Fall/Winter 2005 : Metropolitan Mosaic Theme 4 Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments : www.terrain.org It is important to ensure these are not random actions, but part of a larger citywide strategy that benefits all taxpayers. That is why we launched the City’s Sustainable Development Initiative this spring, to honor Denver’s environmental record and promote sustainability’s “triple bottom line” of economic, social, and environmental benefits. Our Sustainable Development Initiative is convening stakeholder groups, catalyzing new projects, and promoting the importance of sustainability. It concentrates on three main areas of activity—water, energy, and land use/transportation—as these basic drivers of economic and environmental health offer opportunities for government innovation and leadership. The initiative’s earliest efforts have focused on water, a precious resource for Colorado residents and businesses. With increasing awareness of a Denver International Airport. Photo by Chris Carter, courtesy Denver Metro potential regional water crisis, as well as debates Convention & Visitors Bureau. statewide on trans-basin diversions, in-stream flows, and a host of other issues, it is clear that the decisions made in the next five years about the region’s water are likely to shape the next 50. It is also clear that, while Denver Water and other municipal utilities are leaders in innovative water management approaches, there is also a role for local government to play. We can utilize best practices for conservation, identify cooperative opportunities with other cities, and advance public awareness. One preliminary effort in this area has been our “Community Conservation Gardens” project with a youth water corps. Since more than half of Denver Water’s treated drinking water is used on private landscapes in the summertime, Denver Parks and Recreation—with help from our Workforce Development Division, Denver Botanic Gardens, and Denver Water—launched a program this past summer to convert four prominent public landscapes to model “water- wise” gardens. Local at-risk youth helped to build Redevelopment of Lowry Air Force Base in Denver is and maintain these gardens, while being trained in both innovative and successful. job skills for the growing green industry. Photo courtesy Denver Urban Renewal Authority. The second project underway is the South Platte Water Quality Initiative. Denver’s Departments of Public Works, Environmental Health and Parks and Recreation are developing