[bigstrat2003]

I also live in Denver. The biggest problem with downtown isn't zoning (though that may be a part), it's the homeless people. Who's going to want to go hang out on 16th when there's a dude asking you for money on every street corner? I don't know what the solution is, but it seems clear to me that revitalizing downtown starts with removing the "I'm going to have to deal with vagrants" factor.

[mw1]

The only solution is to provide stable long-term housing and social support. Most else has been tried, but it doesn’t seem that you can punish people and make them less poor. Cops continue to sweep through and steal their belongings, but that clearly won’t solve the problem, and hasn’t. You can throw them all in jail, but that’s more expensive than providing non-jailed housing and rehabilitation services. You can forcefully or enticingly move them along with cops or free bus tickets, but that just shifts the problem elsewhere temporarily. As long as we continue to decide to solve this by increasing funds for cops above all other services in a city, this is the result we will get.

[mixmastamyk]

Solution, 1) abundance of cheap housing. 2) effective mental health treatment with mandatory attendance when necessary.

Of course this utopia would attract folks from other areas, so can’t be solved only locally. Needs national support.

[ottah]

Homelessness is a choice that society has made. We have enough excess that we can feed and house these people. People are a lot less scary when they have some measure of security.

[nathanaldensr]

Oftentimes, the homeless themselves don't want to be fed or housed. In fact, they--especially the ones with mental health and/or addiction problems--often destroy public housing. Reality does not match the propaganda that all homeless are just down-on-their-luck unfortunate people who would otherwise fit into society.

[lotsoweiners]

It’s the raving drug addicts that cause the problem. That is a choice those people made.

[ottah]

None of us are so enlightened that we cannot fail and stuffer equally.

[coderc]

When I worked off of 16th street, years ago, many of those homeless people had jobs with the Denver VOICE, selling newspapers. I even bought a few. Are they still around?

[binary132]

Last time I went to Denver I actually got chased.

[collingreen]

Last time I went to Denver I didn't get chased and everyone I met seemed pretty great.

[dulakian]

Last time I went to Denver (downtown) a homeless lady 10 feet from my niece said she had a gun and reached into her jacket. I tackled her, immobilized her, and then me and my family waited 90 minutes for the police to show up after many 911 calls.