It is spring in Denver and its harder than ever to want to stay inside. People are running, riding bikes, driving their convertibles, fixing the lawn and eating on the patio at El Noa Noa. Denver is sunny year round, but the spring is especially nice.
One of my favorite spring time activities is going for a nice walk in the city. I like the reasonable pace of walking and the ability that it gives you to experience the Denver neighborhoods. When you go for a walk you can better appreciate how people inhabit the city and how the buildings and landscapes function. I especially like discovering the design decisions that have been layered on top of each other over the last hundred years and how they are manifested in the details of buildings, fences, sidewalks, plantings and artwork. At a walking pace you can appreciate the hole in the fence cut at the dog’s eye level, the sidewalk drawings crafted by children, the growth of buildings through addition and the way that each neighbor has created their own interpretation of the tree lawn. The real beauty of urbanism is often what happens after the builder completes the houses and storefronts and the people are allowed make them their own.
So, go out and enjoy the spring weather and find a new neighborhood to take a walk in. You’ll make some interesting discoveries.
