Denver's 16th Street Revival - Resilient Urban Design
Transforming aging public assets should focus on public life balanced with thoughtful green infrastructure.
Dig Studio's Bill Vitek detailed the transformation of 16th Street for Urban Land, the publication arm of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). His in-depth article focuses on the team's people-first approach and the various green infrastructure aspects of the project.
The article explores the history of the iconic promenade, how its use has shifted over time, and how the team in charge of the renovation utilized detailed public life studies, environmental assessments, and historic preservation reviews to guide the new updates. The team also recognized that the experiential aspects of the project needed to be supported by the infrastructure below the street's surface. The project includes the country’s largest installation of suspended paving systems for trees, which uses Citygreen’s Stratavault soil cell technology. Elaborating on the engineering feats found throughout the mile-long corridor, the article utilizes diagrams and figures to tell the project's important green-infrastructure story.
Read the full article on ULI's website HERE.
-
Date
November 06, 2026
-
Tags
Thought Leadership, Project
Bill Vitek gives a tour of the 16th Street upgrades.
A paving soil cell system is used to support 16th Street’s paving while giving large caliper trees a continuous, uncompacted soil volume to help maximize root growth.
Stormwater planters along 16th Street’s cross streets are designed to clean runoff taken in from the pavement.
16th Street’s new curbless cross section is designed to allow for free-flowing street events such as markets, festivals, and concerts.
