Stapleton

I have visited this wonderful community several times this summer, with many different friends. For those of you who have not heard of Stapleton, this is one of the largest infill redevelopment projects in the country, right here in Denver. It is on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport, and is based on New Urbanism planning concepts using the Built Green program as a standard for all the homes, and other sustainable measures as well.

This community has several wonderful things about it, but the one I want to focus on today is water conservation, and the effect that has on sustainability. One of the things they have done, is require build to lines for most of the homes within Stapleton. What this does, is require homes to be built close to the street, rather than set way back from the street. Being close to the street has many advantages, among them social interaction, but the best part of it, is that this discourages people from planting front lawns. Most of the homes are set back 8, 10 up to 15 feet from the sidewalk. This dimension is not sufficient to efficiently irrigate turf, so what most people have done is plant it up! The street scape is vibrant with the colorful array of perennials, ornamental grasses, flower pots, and shrubs! It is absolutely gorgeous! The only grass you find here, is in the parkway strips between the street and the sidewalk.

Of course, there are other wonderful water conservation landscape techniques that Stapleton employs, and I will talk about these in future episodes.