| District | Name | 4. Blueprint Denver established a holistic vision for a city of complete neighborhoods and transportation networks with a common-sense approach to new growth forged through the lens of social equity. What do you see as the role of parks in attaining this vision? |
| 1 | Amanda Sandoval | Having access to open space is essential to new growth. |
| 1 | Sarah Truckey | Parks play a paramount role in ensuring the physical and mental health of communities. Green spaces allow for safe spaces for community to exist. From playgrounds for children, to spaces for families, and space for our unhoused neighbors to exist as an alternative to shelters that are unsafe and inaccessible for too many in our communities. |
| 2 | Kevin Flynn | With the passage of 2A for parks expansion, we need to identify opportunities to purchase and develop open space in under-parked areas like the west side. I came within a hair of purchasing such a new park in my district for a large community garden, until the seller chose a lower offer (!). I will continue pursuing these opportunities. |
| 3 | Jamie Torres | The South Platte River runs through my district so this question is highly relevant to me and my neighbors. Our only parks are those that sit along gulches that lead to the Platte. We have to take care of our river system and restore what has been ignored and taken for granted for generations. Yes, the city can and should take a more active role in transit, especially the opportunity we have in micro-transit. Not scooters – but neighborhood circulators. We have seen a highly successful pilot in Montbello that GES, Valverde, Westwood, and other neighborhoods would love to welcome. And even more effective, if the transit providers were an employee-owned CoOp model. If we are going to spend public dollars, let’s really ensure its impact is also local. |
| 4 | Tony Pigford | I’ve been fighting for Denver’s parks and open spaces for a long time. The presence of parks and green spaces improves air quality, social connections, and so much more. We should be expanding our number of parks across the city, but especially in the frontline communities currently bearing the brunt of Denver’s biggest polluters. |
| 5 | Amanda Sawyer | Looking at the Social Determinants of Health, access to open green space is extremely important for both physical and mental health for residents. In Denver’s case, there isn’t much open green space left and what remains needs to be prioritized. Blueprint and its companion “Game Plan for a Healthy City” plan try to set forth a vision for how and where to achieve this goal. The execution of these plans, in my opinion, is somewhat lacking. |
| 5 | Michael Hughes | We need a clear priority list for different park types in different locations – regional, local, neighborhood, playgrounds, dog parks, trails and should ensure that neighborhoods that have too few parks and amenities or are missing the type of park they most need can move to the top of the list – to advance the role of parks in creating equity |
| 6 | Paul Kashmann | A neighborhood cannot be called complete without a neighborhood park. DPR has a large, ever-growing pot of money to increase Denver parkland. I would look for opportunities to build new small neighborhood parks as well as continue mining opportunities for major additions to our park system. |
| 7 | Nick Campion | Around the nation, we frequently see major polluters’ operations be located/placed in low income communities of color, which in turn, leads to disparate negative health impacts on these communities, including heart and lung problems. To address this deep inequity, I will prioritize efforts to support environmental justice and create equity in disproportionately impacted neighborhoods. First, I will work with communities to identify sources of pollution in these neighborhoods and develop a plan to reduce and eliminate these sources. Second, I will advocate for policies that prioritize the health and well-being of these communities, such as increased multimodal transportation and affordable housing. Third, I will work to ensure that these communities have a voice in decision-making processes that affect their lives by working with RNOs and community organizers to increase civic engagement. Fourth, I will continue Councilman Clark’s work to expand green spaces outside of just affluent communities within District 7. Finally, if we hope to make a difference in our communities, we as a city need to hold ourselves to the same standards. We need to hold government agencies and contractors accountable for enabling environmental injustices to disenfranchised communities. It is crucial that we address the systemic issues that have led to this disparity and work towards a more just and equitable society for all. |
| 7 | Adam Estroff | Parks are an essential community space for recreation and community gathering. In my neighborhood, Dailey Park is central to our sense of community. Every year there is an ice cream social that brings neighbors together. The park has a playground for folks to take their kids to play and run around. Additionally, this park is critical to combating the heat island effect in our neighborhood. We need to make sure that funding is reaching every park in the district, with an emphasis on long backlogged maintenance projects. |
| 7 | Guy Padgett | Green spaces help mitigate the urban heat island, encourage outdoor activity, assist in pedestrian access through neighborhoods, and increase the level of residents’ happiness and productivity. There is no question in my mind that parks play a tremendous role in the vibrancy of any city, but even more so in a place like Denver. No neighborhood is “complete” without city parks. |
| 7 | Arthur May | I see parks as hubs for community. If residents are commuting collectively during the week, seeing the same faces, I would expect our parks to reflect this activity in the evenings and on the weekends. |
| 8 | Shontel Lewis | The health of our city is the wealth of our city. We know the economic security of families in District 8 depends on having accessible neighborhoods, infrastructure development that makes our communities easily connected to the rest of the city and green space that supports clean air. |
| 9 | Candi CdeBaca | Parks should have a goal for how much parkland we want to protect/acquire per individual we add to the city and we should actively REQUIRE that like we do other things from developers. If developers do not create it, then they need to be charged for it. |
| 10 | Margie Morris | Parks must be seen as equally important as the created infrastructure being built within the blueprint, in order to ensure communal and open space within the city. Parks have long term health and wellness benefits to residents, and we should ensure they are accessible to all. Parks are also a form of accessibility for alternative transportation through neighborhoods and moving throughout the city. By fulling implementing the Strategic Acquisition Plan, with particular focus on its equity goals, we will secure the values we articulated through this plan: community, sustainability, growth. |
| 10 | Noah Kaplan | A holistic neighborhood will afford its residents access to open space, recreation, and community opportunities to congregate, socialize, and build connections. Parks are a remarkable resource, and the programming and opportunities afforded there and by our Parks Department are essential community infrastructure to minimize unnecessary commutes and help neighborhoods stay walkable. A district must have these opportunities to satisfy a holistic vision. Therefore, establishing and maintaining parks and their programs will be one of the keys to fulfilling the goals of Blueprint Denver. |
| 10 | Shannon Hoffman | I approach parks-related issues from a climate justice perspective. Denver’s greenspace is deficient overall, but it is the most lacking in areas that are predominantly made up of Black and Brown neighbors and people with lower incomes. The City should equitably increase our tree canopy and open space in Denver by first prioritizing the neighborhoods who need it the most. Additionally, overall our parks to people ratio is below average nationally, which is shocking, really for a place that considers itself to be so environmentally conscious. Our city is lacking a short, comprehensive plan that does not only prioritize development but recognizes and brings together multiple plans that considers development, transit, pedestrian sidewalks and trails, parks, and other social determinants of health. Other plans can be used to provide supplemental details, but one unified plan that provides direction, which includes the need for green space, would be helpful for our city. |
| At-Large | Sarah Parady | Community parks provide a broad range of benefits — cleaner air, greater social well-being, places for kids and families to play, space for outdoor community events. Unfortunately, not every neighborhood has equal access to these parks and benefits – we need to be expanding park space in the historically excluded part of the inverted L, and engaging with the community in and around new developments about parks as a part of the planning process. |
| At-Large | Marty Zimmerman | According to a study that was dated March 3, 2023, by the Denver Historians Colloquium, “today we only have 9 acres of parkland for every 1000 people, when the national average is 13 acres per 1000 people.” Every neighborhood should have a park that is within walking distance and often, times pocket parks do not fulfill the needs of a neighborhood because there is not enough room for sport fields or recreation areas. Just as Blueprint Denver says that each neighborhood should be in walking distance of public transit, local shops and food, I believe that neighborhoods deserve the substance of open space and larger parks as well. |
| At-Large | Penfield Tate III | For years, Denver has been advertised as the “city within the park” but we are losing that attribute more and more each day. The city’s own analysis of its park system identifies that there is now a 1,400-acre deficit in parkland citywide. Today we only have 9 acres of parkland for every 1,000 people, when the national average is 13 acres per 1,000 people. Development has been taking over open space in our community and once it is lost, we will never get it back. Parks should complement — not compete with — growth. Not all residents have easy access to a park or affordable public transit. Both should be priorities. |
| At-Large | Jeff Walker | Parks provide a respite from residential structures, especially in areas with smaller yards, adjacent to industrial uses and full of or filling with large multi-unit buildings. Parks can act as storm water drainage control facilities, pollinator gardens, learning centers for natural resources and centers for community functions. |
