Urban Planning in Denver? Also - Is having a car a must?? (Aurora: home, construction)

[dundermifflin]

Hello - I am will be graduating from college this summer with a degree in urban planning. I must complete an internship this summer before I can get my degree. I am looking in Denver for a urban planning internship. Does anyone know if there are many oppertunities for urban planners in Denver? Specific employers would be great too. I am from Missouri but I really want to find an internship somewhere else and not move back. I am also looking into Portland, OR and Austin, TX. I am looking for a place that is fairly liberal (where I am from in Missouri it is painfully conservative), housing that I can afford, a good amount of things to do. What is the mass transit like there? Is the light rail clean, old, new? Can you take it and get around without owning a car. I have a car now but it would be great to sell it if I didn't need it - with these gas prices!!

[bhcompy]

what exactly is a degree in urban planning if you dont mind me asking...

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by dundermifflin

Hello - I am will be graduating from college this summer with a degree in urban planning. I must complete an internship this summer before I can get my degree. I am looking in Denver for a urban planning internship. Does anyone know if there are many oppertunities for urban planners in Denver? Specific employers would be great too. I am from Missouri but I really want to find an internship somewhere else and not move back. I am also looking into Portland, OR and Austin, TX. I am looking for a place that is fairly liberal (where I am from in Missouri it is painfully conservative), housing that I can afford, a good amount of things to do. What is the mass transit like there? Is the light rail clean, old, new? Can you take it and get around without owning a car. I have a car now but it would be great to sell it if I didn't need it - with these gas prices!!

I am known on this forum as a big supporter of Public Transit. I started a thread about living without a car in Denver Car Free living in Denver Please read it.

The Public transportation in the metro area is excellent and growing with new transportation projects under the Fastracks project--a massive multi-modal built-out of buses and commuter rail. This has been approved by voters, a few years ago. See information at FasTracks Home

Check out the the Public transit Website and become familiar with this system The Regional Transportation District Home Page

I regularly attend meetings on the planning for the Fastrack projects. In those meetings there are numerous sub-contractors, and I mean like bees to honey, to RTD, that are some of the largest transportation planners and urban planners in the area, as well as the nation. I have met and talked to so many, from engineering firms to urban planners. This is the largest built-out of commuter rail in the nation so all the companies are here getting contracts and looking for more work.

I would suggest you look into this issue and find the subcontractors which are already working on the project and you will find numerous jobs. Do not neglect to look into RTD, as they continual hire people for this project. In addition all the municipalities, cities and counties, are involved at these meetings. RTD will built the rails and provide buses but each city has to provide further infrastructure and there is major planning and current construction for Transit Oriented Development along these lines. Keep in mind that there are commuter lines in place that have just been completed and they are now building the TODs around these stations. So the public agencies involved are all hiring people in urban planning in this area. Look at each of those websites and you will see the planning that is now in the works. Also look into developers who are actively involved in transforming the metro area into the new urban world--there are numerous projects now and in the works.

There is massive information available on this project on the web and each government agencies. You can find the specific urban planning contractors and positions available.

Livecontent

[BlueWillowPlate]

Look into Colorado landscape architecture firms.
If you haven't already, you might want to check out the job-links section of the
ASLA. (Click on Career, then job links.) The internships go fast, but this time of year there are usually a few sprinkled thoughout the section.
Another site to check (if you haven't already) is Planetizen.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Also check out the American Planning Association Colorado Chapter website. They have internships as well as full-time jobs posted for both private firms and public agencies.

Light rail operates 2-1/2 lines, and there is housing located all along these lines. The light rail goes to downtown Denver and LoDo, and is clean and efficient. You would have access to sports events and entertainment, but not much for grocery shopping. The only true TOD (as an urban planner you know what those are) is at the Englewood Station. The Hampden Station is becoming one.

[Katarina Witt]

I would suggest taking all the above advice and also keep the car. You can't get very far into the mtns on the RTD (Evergreen, Nederland, maybe a few other mtn communities). You can get to DIA on the bus, but that's for long-distance travel. There is some Greyhound service available, but a car is a great convenience here in the west where distances can be great.

[dundermifflin]

Thank you for all of the replies. Is the traffic really as bad as some people say? Do many people take the transit or do people mainly have cars to get everywhere and only take the transit once in a while?

To answer the question of what is urban planning: it is planning of cities - revitalization, smart growth, transportation... things of that nature....

Thanks again!

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by dundermifflin

Thank you for all of the replies. Is the traffic really as bad as some people say? Do many people take the transit or do people mainly have cars to get everywhere and only take the transit once in a while? To answer the question of what is urban planning: it is planning of cities - revitalization, smart growth, transportation... things of that nature....

Thanks again!

I don't think the traffic is bad compared to say, LA or DC or even
Minneapolis. It's bad compared to Omaha and other smaller cities. There are many people in Boulder who regularly ride the buses. I don't know about Denver. My DD lives in Denver, car pools to school in Aurora, uses transit often when going to downtown, drives her car to go grocery shopping, etc.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by dundermifflin

Thank you for all of the replies. Is the traffic really as bad as some people say? Do many people take the transit or do people mainly have cars to get everywhere and only take the transit once in a while?

To answer the question of what is urban planning: it is planning of cities - revitalization, smart growth, transportation... things of that nature....

Thanks again!

This is a quote from one of my previous post in "Car Free Living":
--------------
"According to the 2000 Census, 13.86% of Denver Residences did not own a car.

14.25% of Denver Residences were non-car commuters which would include walking, biking and transit. Transit accounted for 8.75% of daily commutes. This data is before the expansion of T-Rex and the figures are higher now for transit use with the increase in fuel.

So at present there are many people in Denver, alone, using, public transit and many more which do not own cars--so living car free is possible and is being done.. The suburban cities have similar data where there are people that do not own cars and use transit. So again it is possible and is being done.

Remember many of these people are not using a car because of economics, disability and/or aging, and choice...."
-----------

My experience is that the closer you get to the core of the city--you will see more daily transit riders for many activities. If you are along the major routes that go into the suburbs--like Colfax or Broadway, you will see more active transit users. In addition major routes that run North and South through the suburbs like Wadsworth, Sheridan--you will see again, more transit users.

In addition there are numerous routes that are meant for work commuter that are heavily used. Some regional routes like B to Boulder is busy with commuters and transit user of all kinds. In the city of Boulder, there is heavy daily transit use because of the students.

In many of the areas where there is more transit use--it is because people have made the choice to live in these areas that have good public transportation options. I think this movement is going to continue and people are going to make more of these choices.

I think the commuter rails have caused much more people to use public transit and along the lines within the core city--there is heavy users. However, except for commuter use, as the lines that go farther into the suburbs, you see far less use except for special events or work commuting.

I have noticed in the past few years, that buses and rail have much more use--perhaps as a result of gas costs and the increased perception of people of public transit due to the building of the light rail.

I have lived in NYC, the example of big public transportation users. Howerver, I was continually surprised by the amount of people that drove in Manhattan from Queens, Brooklyn and even Staten Island. I do not think that there is any city in the United States that can claim most of the populous uses public transit on a daily basis, nor are these systems built for that capacity. If all the people in New York City, about 8 million, and plus the other 5 million in the suburbs used the buses and trains it could never handle to demand. So, I would not expect Denver to have all people using public transit.

Public transit serves as an supplemental transportation source to car traffic--it help relieve road and highway congestion, and provides services for people who cannot or who choice not drive. People who never use public transit benefit, because it gives them more room on the highways for them, and takes people who should not drive, like the elderly, of the roads, and gives transportation for the disabled and those who cannot afford to own a car.

Livecontent

[dundermifflin]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Public transit serves as an supplemental transportation source to car traffic--it help relieve road and highway congestion, and provides services for people who cannot or who choice not drive. People who never use public transit benefit, because it gives them more room on the highways for them, and takes people who should not drive, like the elderly, of the roads, and gives transportation for the disabled and those who cannot afford to own a car.

Livecontent

Great post - thanks