Community Streets Program

To activate public spaces, promote safety through community-led art and placemaking, amplify marginalized voices, and create accessible opportunities for Denver residents to actively participate in community placemaking. We believe art in public spaces transforms how we engage and use public spaces as it fosters safer and more vibrant streets, expands conversations on equity, and builds stronger, more connected communities by celebrating diverse cultures.

By using art as a tool for social change and community building to strengthen unity and resilience, we envision a future where Denver's neighborhoods come alive with community-driven artwork that sparks creativity, safety, and connection.

Denver's Vision Zero program aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by designing streets that anticipate human mistakes. The Community Streets Program uses innovative, low-cost strategies like asphalt art to slow traffic and increase visibility for pedestrians and cyclists. According to a 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Study by Bloomberg Philanthropies, asphalt art can significantly improve street safety performance. Researchers in the study compared before and after crash data in areas where art was installed, and observed the following outcomes:

• 50% decrease in the rate of crashes involving pedestrians or other vulnerable road users

• 27% decrease in frequency of drivers immediately yielding to pedestrians with the right of way

• 37% decrease in the rate of crashes leading to injuries

Placemaking is a community-driven, people-centered process that shapes public spaces to reflect shared values and enhance quality of life. We prioritize health, safety, and spaces that encourage physical activity, with placemaking central to our mission. We bridge the gap between the built environment and the community.

     

    

Downtown Denver Partnership 16th Street Art Installation Initiatives

Intersection Mural at Castro Elementary School

"This mural concept is essentially a representation of coming together. Because we are in a time of uncertainty and uneasy days, we have to continue to be united. The kois and water element represent the strength and rebirth of our communities as we get through this together. It is a refreshing reminder that new beginnings are in our future. As an artist who grew up in the Westwood neighborhood, I know how resilient the community is and that we can overcome not only adversities but this global pandemic. To me this piece means a hopeful rebirth of the future of Southwest Denver as the community is facing challenging times. Art for me is a reminder of new perspectives."

NACTO Bloomberg Asphalt Art on Morrison Road (Before and After)

Artwork by Ratha Sok & Galen Shoe

Place-keeping is the active care and preservation of the historical, cultural, and physical places that shape our communities and social fabric. Community place-keeping supports our goals of shared leadership and a unified community vision. By maintaining these spaces, we ensure they remain welcoming and inclusive for all.

Larimer Street between 14th and 15th Streets downtown Artwork in ROW

As part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, DOTI created an approval process to allow restaurants and bars the ability to provide outdoor seating in the right-of-way. Larimer St was closed between 14th and 15th Streets Downtown as a part of the expansion program and artists painted the street to welcome people visiting Historic Larimer Square.

As part of RiNo’s annual CRUSH walls event, when artists from all over the world paint artistic murals on building walls, local artists painted an intersection mural at the intersection of 39th Street and Wynkoop Street.

The Greater Park Hill Community (GPHC) partnered with the community and local schools to install two intersection murals to bring awareness to climate change.  The two murals are located at the intersections of E 19th Avenue at N Elm Street and E 30th Ave at N Dahlia Street.

During Summer 2020, DOTI participated in the national event known as (PARK)ing Day.  The event seeks to bring awareness to how much space is dedicated to on-street parking, and how those spaces may be repurposed for other uses.  Local advocacy organizations and SPIN hosted parklets throughout Downtown Denver.

“Frankie” the Falcon was painted at the intersection of W 41st Avenue and N Franklin St.  The project was led by Denver’s CALC team with local advocacy partners such as WalkDenver.  Frankie’s artwork was originally installed in 2017 and refreshed in 2019.