The Gazette, July 28, 2019: Mile high growing pains | Candi CdeBaca | ‘Gentrification is neither natural nor inevitable’
Mayor Michael Hancock also found himself fighting for his place in a city becoming whiter and wealthier. It was a battle royale of developers waging war to define the future of our communities.
While many reluctantly supported Mayor Hancock, they made one thing clear: Denver’s unchecked growth and development would no longer be tolerated. July 15 marked the swearing in of five new council members, including myself, dedicated to fulfilling the seemingly absent checks and balances on a mayor enamored of the allure of shiny new buildings piercing the limits of our once humble skyline nestled in the Rockies.
In March, Denver was recognized in a report called “Shifting Neighborhoods” by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition as the city leading the nation in displacement of Latinos.
The new leadership of council enters with a historic amount of Latinas, mounting social and economic challenges from growth and a new Denver Comprehensive Plan 2040 for the city.
