When I landed in Denver, Colorado recently for the All-America City selection competition, I did what many travelers do. I reached for my phone and started to think about calling an Uber.
That would have been the easy choice. It also would have been the expensive choice.
Instead, I decided to try something different. I took the RTD train from Denver International Airport to Union Station in downtown Denver. The trip was about 23 miles, comfortable, easy to navigate and, to my surprise, cost me only $2.70 because of the senior fare. The normal fare would have been about $10.00, which is still a bargain compared to the $85 to $95 I likely would have paid for an Uber ride.
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Now, I am not opposed to convenience. There are times when a ride-share makes sense, especially when you have too much luggage, arrive late at night or are going somewhere that transit does not easily reach. But on this day, the train made more sense. It was simple, inexpensive and gave me a different first impression of Denver than I would have had from the back seat of a car.
That may sound like a small thing, but it matters.
Too often when we visit a city, we pass through it rather than experience it. We go from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the meeting, from the meeting back to the airport. We see the city through windows and windshields, but not always from the sidewalks, stations, plazas and public spaces where the real life of a community is on display.
Union Station was a great place to arrive. It has the feel of both history and renewal. There is something special about a train station that still serves its original purpose while also becoming a gathering place. People were moving through with suitcases, meeting friends, grabbing coffee, heading to work and exploring the city. It reminded me that good public spaces do more than move people. They connect people.
From Union Station, I made my way to the 16th Street Free Ride, which dropped me within a couple hundred feet of my hotel. Again, it was simple, practical and welcoming. For a visitor, that matters. Cities sometimes forget how important first impressions can be. The question is not only whether a city has restaurants, hotels, attractions and meeting spaces. The question is whether a visitor can figure out how to move around without feeling lost, frustrated or overcharged.
Denver did that well.
Downtown was active with tourists, families and children playing in the splash pad. There was movement, energy and a sense that people wanted to be there. That is not something every downtown can claim today. Across the country, many cities are still trying to recover from the disruption of remote work, changing retail patterns and public safety concerns. Downtowns have had to reinvent themselves, not as places where people simply report to work five days a week, but as places where people want to gather, explore, eat, walk, attend events and spend time.
Denver appears to understand that challenge. It is a city with plenty to do, but it also offers the basic ingredients that make a city enjoyable: walkability, public transportation, public spaces and a sense of activity. Those things do not happen by accident. They are the result of planning, investment and a belief that the public realm matters.
My short ride from the airport became more than just a transportation choice. It became a reminder of what cities can be when they work well.
For local officials, the lesson is not that every community needs a train from the airport or a downtown transit shuttle. Most cities do not have Denver’s size, density or visitor base. But every city can ask a version of the same question: How easy is it for people to experience our community?
Can visitors find their way? Can residents move around safely and affordably? Are there public spaces where families feel comfortable gathering? Does downtown feel like a place to pass through or a place to stay? Are we making it easier for people to enjoy the community, or are we unintentionally putting obstacles in their way?
Those questions matter in large cities, small towns and everything in between.
As a former mayor, I have always believed that the little things often tell the bigger story. A clean sidewalk, a helpful sign, a welcoming public space, a reasonable transportation option and a downtown that feels alive all send a message. They tell people that the community is paying attention.
Denver sent that message to me.
I arrived expecting a routine trip from the airport to the hotel. What I got instead was a good reminder that a city’s character is often revealed not in its skyline, but in how it welcomes people at street level.
Sometimes, the best way to understand a city is not to drive through it.
Sometimes, it is to take the train, ride the shuttle, walk a few blocks and watch the kids play in the splash pad.