Denver’s growth dilemma: More housing, less breathing room
Neil Wolkodoff | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
In the past, residents enjoyed Denver for a positive lifestyle and outdoor recreational activities. That was the past; is the push to control housing changing that for the worse?
Regrettably, the answer is yes.
Let’s start with the overzealous and yet misplaced idea that affordable housing, which increases density, is positive. You are correct: large, four-story apartment complexes now occupy nearly every large, vacant lot or former grocery store.
The first issue is that adding density to a climate with limited airflow because of being in a basin is bad for health. More people, increased density and personal greenhouse gases, heat and waste increase. Has this made a difference?
The health issue is that air quality affec...



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