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A month ago, Levi and I went to the Urban Land Institute’s Annual Fall Meeting in Denver. Vanessa and Micah are getting their own dose of the Mile High City this week at US Green Building Council’s 2006 Green Build Conference.

I for one am really excited to hear about what they’re learning.

And now, thanks to their absence, Denver’s on my mind again.

Its interesting that Denver hosted both of these conferences. I’d love to see Sacramento host some of these gatherings (we do have an international airport) and be recognized for some great city/community achievements. As noted in our earlier post, Denver has undergone an incredible Renaissance, and Colorado in general is becoming regarded as a forerunner in the Green Building Industry. I know that Sacramento is poised to enter its own Renaissance. Not that recognition of this sort is the end-all and be-all of city life, but I don’t think its too much to hope that the transformation we want for our city would target us in the future for some of these kinds of gatherings. Its a good kind of recognition: an affirmation of city health.

From what I gathered during my time there, for Denver to gain this momentum, it took about five years of accelerated growth according to conscientious and well-laid plans lead by a humble but far-thinking mayor who brought a lot of disparate people and organizations together. And the relevance of Denver’s story is that much greater because their transformation happened even in the midst of a significant economic downturn: in Denver’s case, the dramatic collapse of their major industry.. telecom. Let’s remember that every time we see something pointing to our falling housing market.

So, from my (admittedly limited) perspective, Denver’s lesson for Sacramento boils down to this: the key ingredients for city-wide change are basic common sense. Strong leadership. Forward-thinking plans. And a community that steps up and says, “we can make this city great, and we’re going to do what it takes to make that happen.” Saying it another way: good leaders, good plans and good people.

How do we fare?

People
We met with a group of people who live in Midtown a few nights ago–people from diverse backgrounds and interests–and were really impressed with the level of belief and commitment they had to making Sacramento a great city. The urban-core, especially, has a strong sense of community and interconnection. One of them later wrote to me and pointed to a “kind of a truism among downtown Sacramento people–the amount of interpersonal connections is downright stunning.” E’s comment that “people get it” speaks to the readiness of these good people to rally.

Plans
SACOG’s Blueprint and the Riverfront Master Plan are striking examples. If you haven’t spent some time thumbing through these bold advances, you should. They certainly make this Sacramentan proud.

Leadership
The big question for me then is “who will step up to lead this,” to gather people together around a common cause? Who will take on the hard work of bridging the divisions that have historically killed good plans and the faith of good people? Because, let’s face it: the connection between the “good plans” and the “good people” won’t happen without good leadership.

As a relatively new transplant, I don’t know enough to comment about our mayor, but I also know that leadership has to arise from more places than the civic sphere.

Part of why I’m with LJUrban is because I believe it has potential to offer some of this leadership. We certainly have the vision and we’ve even got a name for it–eco-urban community. But right now, we’re still in our formative stage: we have to prove some things to ourselves, we need to demonstrate our commitment to the community and we need to spend a good amount of time listening and observing and learning.

In the meantime, I’m looking for leadership… I think we all are. Any takers? Nominees?

Jason