Real Estate

The Urban Landscape Reimagined with Mayor Mike Johnston & Egon Terplan

September 25, 2024

The Urban Landscape Reimagined with Mayor Mike Johnston & Egon Terplan

Mayor Mike Johnston & Egon Terplan

Mayor of Denver | Strategist and Advisor on Urban Policy & Economic Development

Willy was joined by Mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, and Egon Terplan, strategist and advisor on urban policy and economic development, live from the University of Denver Educated Opinions Event.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Johnston, Mayor of Denver, and Egon Terplan, strategist and advisor on urban policy and economic development, at the University of Denver Educated Opinions Event. Our conversation centered on revitalizing downtowns, covering topics from homelessness in Denver to using license plate scanning technology in cities.

A considered approach to addressing homelessness

Homelessness is a significant problem in most large American cities. As Egon pointed out, it’s not just a matter of insufficient housing. Rather, the homeless represent a highly marginalized segment of the population—one that lacks economic opportunities beyond housing. Addressing the issue of adequate housing is a first step in opening the door to other opportunities for the population.

When Mike became the Mayor of Denver, homelessness was a huge issue; Denver was the fourth or fifth city in terms of the homeless population. The city saw very high levels of car break-ins and theft, large homeless encampments in the center of the city that made residents feel unsafe, and more outdoor deaths in 2022 than any year prior. Mike prioritized getting people off the streets by getting the homeless into homes and closing the encampments for good.  

After just over a year of working to mitigate this problem, the City of Denver has moved almost 1,900 people off the streets and into more permanent housing. Additionally, the city has closed all of the 18 major encampments around the city by converting hotels to permanent housing or building tiny homes, giving people a place of their own.  

Strategies to increase employment and job opportunities

Getting people off the streets is great, but it does little for them if they don’t have the means to earn money.  To help people stay off the street for good, Mike and the City of Denver are now working to ensure that recently housed people have jobs by opening up the city to international markets. The Denver Airport is expanding its list of nonstop services to countries like Turkey, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates. This makes U.S. expansion easier for companies in those countries and makes Denver a prime target for expansion.

How is Denver reviving public transportation?

During the pandemic, there was a shift away from public transportation worldwide. To revive public transportation in Denver, Mike knew that the city needed to implement a “loss leader” strategy to encourage people to give public transportation another shot. One way they did this is by implementing free use of public transport during the month of August. Additionally, in the long term, strategic developments need to be made near light rail hubs, so that safe, walkable neighborhoods are easily accessible.

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