This is our fifth joint podcast between DenverUrbanism and UrbanDesignPodcast.com, a great podcast run by local urban designer Arina Habich. Once a quarter, DenverUrbanism hosts a roundtable discussion about a timely Denver urbanism topic which Arina produces as a podcast on UrbanDesignPodcast.com. Our four previous podcasts covered the Denver Union Station project, Downtown Denver’s 14th Street Initiative, the future of Downtown’s Arapahoe Square district, and Denver’s vibrant Civic Center area. This quarter, we take a look at the Downtown Denver’s Auraria Campus.

Located immediately west of Denver’s Central Business District, the Auraria Higher Education Center is home to three growing institutions: the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the Community College of Denver. Together, over 44,000 students attend the Auraria Campus. Built in the 1970s in an automobile-oriented suburban manner, the campus and the rest of Downtown are separated by major streets and challenging pedestrian connections. Now, the Auraria and Downtown communities are working together to forge stronger connections, both physically and socially, and to better integrate the campus into its Downtown setting.

Our conversation about the Auraria Campus, hosted by Ken Schroeppel, includes Jill Jennings-Golich, the Auraria campus planner, Chris Geddes, campus planner and urban designer at studioINSITE, and Gary Desmond, principal at NAC Architects and chair of the Connecting Auraria Coalition.

http://urbandesignpodcast.com/index.php/2012/220/

You can also download the podcast from iTunes by clicking here.