A sketch shows the outline of the Denver Public Library’s downtown branch. Inset top: A view of the Denver Public Library at Colfax Avenue and Bannock Street, with the Capitol in the background, in the 1920s. Inset bottom: Rick Ashton, left, Brian Klipp and Michael Graves discuss limestone samples for the exterior of the library in 1991. (Courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture & Design; Rocky Mountain Photo Company, Denver Public Library; Courtesy of Klipp Architects)

Beneath the placid surface of the May municipal election in Denver, a political tremor has shaken the city’s establishment. In key City Council races, voters chose upstart candidates who tend to favor neighborhood stability over development. June runoff elections will force some candidates to reckon with the new power of neighborhood politics. Across the city, diverse neighborhoods are anxious or angry about more dense development, and that suggests a new balance between growth and stability must be struck in the Mile High City.

Denver has been on a pro-growth path under the last five mayors. They pursued mega-projects to chart the city’s comeback after the turbulent 1980s, when the oil crash, real estate meltdown and savings and loan crisis devastated the economy. By investing billions to build Denver International Airport, Union Station and the Central Platte Valley redevelopment, Civic Center projects, museums, libraries, sports arenas and even the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver laid the foundation for the economic benefits and cultural amenities that it now enjoys.

The pro-development consensus that governed and shaped Denver for the last three decades has been shaken, possibly shattered. This consensus was developed in extensive public processes that led to repeated voter approvals of more than $10 billion in investments in projects benefiting Denver

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