Anyone who knows me knows that I love the city. It doesn’t matter what city we’re talking about, all that matters is that downtown pulse. In my mind, cities are alive. They are creatures in their own right, never sleeping, and always on alert. Yes, I am an advocate for nature. But in many ways, city life is better for the environment than suburban or rural living. For starters, one’s carbon footprint is much smaller in a city environment. Public transit is almost always superior, and places are usually located close enough to walk to. In addition, the part of town I saw was filled with as much foliage as possible. Trees lined many sidewalks, and planters held flowerbeds. It truly felt like a nice place to be.

I only had a few hours to look around downtown Denver, but I liked what I saw. For starters, the city seemed fairly clean. Granted, I only really explored the area around the 16th Street Mall, which is a 2km long outdoor shopping mall. Nevertheless, it was clear that the city is well planned out and well managed. I couldn’t begin to count how many cyclists I saw, and the free shuttle service that runs along the length of the 16th Street Mall is a great idea. Yes, the rest of the city might have downfalls, but from a tourist perspective, the retail district is in relatively tip-top shape.

View more photos of Denver on my Colorado Flickr set.