Each year, Mayor Mike Johnston outlines a set of shared goals to guide the city’s work. Since 2023, Denver has recorded progress across all goal areas, which includes the full reopening of 16th Street, the largest multiyear reduction in unsheltered homelessness in U.S. history and a significant decline in homicides.
Building on those results, the city’s 2026 priorities include reducing gun-related shootings and homicides, expanding housing opportunities, decreasing street homelessness and increasing green infrastructure. The city also plans to expand access to child care and strengthen downtown by filling additional office and retail space.
All of these goals bring us closer to making Denver a city that is vibrant, safe and affordable for everyone who lives here.
Denver is the best city to live, explore, and do business.
Denver must encourage entrepreneurship and attract business to maintain a thriving community. Strategic public investments can drive growth in an uncertain economy to create quality jobs, add more housing, and create more memorable places and experiences.
Everyone who wants to live in Denver can afford to call it home.
More than one-third of Denver households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, which means they can’t afford to live here. We need to increase the supply of housing for people at all income levels to stabilize and drop rental prices.
All Denver communities and public spaces are welcoming and free of violence.
Denver is near historic lows for firearm homicides, but violent gun crime still negatively impacts many of our communities.
Denver is a place where street homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring.
To continue reducing street homelessness – and ensure all residents experience timely resolution of their concerns – we must expand our ability to deliver the right intervention quickly and effectively to those in need.
Every Denver neighborhood is powered by clean energy and protected from climate risks.
Clean energy systems – like solar, battery storage, heat pumps and EV chargers – cut the carbon pollution that causes climate change. Green Infrastructure uses soils, plants and natural systems to reduce heat, capture more water and prevent flooding.
All Denver’s children have an equal opportunity to grow and thrive in our city.
Expanding access to affordable, reliable childcare and enriching opportunities beyond the school day supports families, keeps young people engaged, builds confidence, and prepares them for future careers and leadership in our city.
"Our strategies are proven,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “We will continue restoring trust between police and community, focusing intensively on areas seeing the most crime and the least joy. We will build more housing for people of all income brackets and ensure individuals experiencing homelessness receive constant and consistent support in making the leap to self-sufficiency. Along the way we’ll also add more clean energy systems, think bigger on how we support working families with childcare, and connect more young people with jobs. That’s how we’ll build a safer, vibrant, and more affordable Denver.”
In 2025, we focused on making Denver more vibrant, affordable and safe.
We fully reopened 16th Street and restored downtown foot traffic to pre-pandemic levels. We added or preserved more than 2,000 affordable homes and helped move 2,400 people off the streets, with 1,700 securing permanent housing -- and achieved the largest multi-year reduction in street homelessness of any U.S. city in history. Public safety improved citywide, with Denver recording its second-lowest homicide rate since 1990 and major declines in shootings and auto thefts. Voters approved the nearly $1 billion Vibrant Denver Bond to make key community investments in every neighborhood. We also secured long-term investments in Denver’s future, from keeping the Broncos in Denver to expanding parks, sports, arts and entertainment that will benefit the city for generations.
2025 Annual Results
WATCH: 2026 Goals Announcement