WhenDenver's new opened in 1995, the old closed.That leftnearly 2,000 hectares of prime urban land within ten minutes of downtownavailable for something else.
"Whatthey said they were going to design in Stapleton became what it is, acommunity," says George Johnson, who moved in with his family in 2001.
Hiswife wanted to live further out, but the Denver Public Schools facilitiesmanager says he liked the central location."All the jobs were close."
Stapletonis now eight years into its 20-year development plan. Eventually the communitywill grow to 30,000 people, making it one of the largest re-developmentprojects within a U.S. city.
Johnsonsays he likes what his neighborhood has become."We have pools.Wehave a decent community.It's safe tome.It's quiet in the evenings aftereverybody settles in."
Stapletonneighbors have schools and stores nearby.The airport's concrete runways are gone, torn up and recycled into bikepaths, walking trails and retaining walls.Four hundred hectares of trails and parks will eventually link Stapletonto a national wildlife refuge.
This"new urbanism" is a return to a previous era when neighborhoods werecompact says Tom Gleason, a spokesperson for , the realestate company developing the property. "They were the kind of places thatneighbors got to know each other."And so is Stapleton.
Thatis why Mark Mehringer chose to move here with his wife and 7-month olddaughter.His home has a front porchand small garden with native drought-resilient plants that thrive in the dryColorado climate.
Awork-at-home dad who gets around by bike, Mehringer says thepedestrian-friendly streets, nearby schools, shops and playgrounds suit hisgrowing family."It [thedevelopment] really speaks to us in terms of lots of open space and reusing theland."
Stapletonwas founded on environmental principles.Homes and other buildings are constructed to green standards with betterinsulation and windows that reflect the summer heat.Mehringer says these features and the solar panel on his housemake his home more energy efficient and less expensive to heat and cool.
"Itis such a sunny area that it really pays to take advantage of it, especiallywith the recent increases in utility bills."Mehringer says his investment has ended up being a smartfinancial decision, not just an environmental one."
TomGleason says sustainable development will continue to be central to thecommunity as it grows."What wetry to do here at Stapleton is recognize that the environment has to beprotected, that there are certain things you can do in terms of carefulselection of the landscape to reduce the consumption of water and the design ofhouses to make sure that they use as few resources as possible."
Whilethe 12-story control tower will remain as a monument to Stapleton's history,Gleason says there are few reminders that the thriving new community used to bean airport."If we do our jobright we will integrate this property into the surrounding neighborhood so thatit is an extension of Denver.It'sDenver's opportunity to grow from within."
Gleason says Denver's solution to suburban sprawl is onelesson city officials hope visitors to the Democratic National Convention takehome and recreate in their own communities.