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Community Planning and Development
  1. Community Planning and Development
  2. Planning and Design
  3. Blueprint Denver

Image of Cover of Blueprint Denver Plan linking to downloadable documentBlueprint Denver

Plan  adopted in 2002 as a supplement to the Denver Comprehensive Plan 2000

Blueprint Denver: An Integrated Land Use and Transportation Plan calls for a balanced, multi-modal transportation system, land use that accommodates future growth, and open space throughout the city.  

There are three basic themes within the plan:

•   Areas of change and areas of stability
•   Multi-modal streets
•   Mixed-use development

Areas of Change and Areas of Stability

Areas of stability include the stable residential neighborhoods where no significant changes in land use are expected over the next twenty years. The goal is to maintain the character of these areas and accommodate some new development and redevelopment that maintains the vitality of the area.

The majority of new development will be directed to areas of change; areas that will benefit from, and thrive on, an infusion of population, economic activity and investment.  These areas include the new growth areas of Lowry, Stapleton, the Gateway area, downtown, around transit stations, and along major street and/or transportation corridors.

In 2014, Denver saw a 5 to 1 ratio of private investment in areas of change compared to areas of stability.

Multi-modal Streets

Multi-modal streets are streets that can comfortably accommodate multiple modes of transportation, including

  • public transportation
  • pedestrians
  • bicycles
  • private vehicles

Multi-modal streets consider all types of transportation to be equally important and accommodate more trips by more people in the same amount of space by improving transit and providing better pedestrian and bicycle facilities.  

Mixed-use Development

Mixed-use development refers to urban places where residential, retail and commercial uses are intertwined, including downtown, corridors such as along main streets, transit-oriented development around rapid transit stations, town centers, and other urban centers. 

 

Logo for Denveright citywide planning initiative

Blueprint Denver, the city's 2002 integrated land use and transportation plan, is currently undergoing an update as part of Denveright, a community‐driven planning process that challenges Denverites to shape how our community evolves in four key areas: land use, mobility, parks and recreational resources. As part of Denveright and other recent citywide planning efforts, the city will also update its 17-year-old Comprehensive Plan 2000 with a new, user-friendly comprehensive plan that will reflect the voice of Denver today and chart its course for the next two decades.

For more on the Blueprint update, visit DenverGov.org/blueprint

To learn more about Denveright, visit DenverGov.org/denveright

Comprehensive Plan Supplements

Various City departments prepared detailed plans that are adopted by city council as supplements to the Comprehensive Plan 2000:

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