This document provides an abstract and introduction for a paper examining the gentrification of Denver's Five Points neighborhood. The paper will use a critical perspective to analyze how an urban renewal project has displaced poor and minority populations through a neoliberal redevelopment model. It will consider the social, economic, and cultural impacts of gentrification in Five Points and compare it to another Denver neighborhood. The introduction provides background on Five Points, defines key terms, and outlines the theoretical frameworks that will be used, drawing from Weber, Harvey, Adorno and Marcuse. It examines how urban renewal projects are facilitating gentrification and cultural changes in inner cities.

1. SOC 4710- Advanced Qualitative Methods
Gentrification of Denver’s Five Points Neighborhood:
The Displacement of Poor and Minority Populations and the
Commodification of Culture.
By Andrew Irvine
5/3/2016

2. 1
Abstract
Purpose: This paper will examine the gentrification process and displacement of poor and
minority populations who live in Denver’s Five Points-Curtis Park neighborhood from a conflict
perspective. The influential neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment and how this model
relates to the urban renewal project in Five Points will be considered from a critical neoliberal
approach. There will also be an examination of the social, economic, and cultural impact that
gentrification has had on Five Points and Highland neighborhoods from a critical perspective.
Methods: Non-Participant observational data collected through spending time in the field will
be analyzed. Primary sources and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community
Survey, the Piton Foundation, the City and County of Denver, and the Denver Urban Renewal
Authority (DURA) were disseminated and analyzed.
Findings: The Welton Corridor Urban Renewal Project was facilitated using a neoliberal
redevelopment model of deregulation of city codes and zoning and tax incremental financing
assistance through the quasi-government and private business entity of DURA. Private and
public money was used to fund the project. Urban upgrading causes gentrification of urban
spaces and displacement of poor and minority members of the community. Commodification of
historic African American and Latino culture is used to attract middle-class predominantly white
groups to gentrifying urban neighborhoods by advertising the diversity and multi-culturalism of
the area, marginalizing the original culture in the process. Displacement of poor and minority
populations do not cause mass evictions, areas of relocation often are safer and have better
amenities than the previous public housing where they were living. Urban renewal is a catalyst
for economic growth, and transforms blighted neighborhoods into usable urban space that has
less crime and a culture that reflects middle-class worldviews and preferences.

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Conclusion: The neoliberal model of urban redevelopment has been transforming the cultural
and socioeconomic dynamics of inner-city neighborhoods in American cities since the 1970s.
These urban renewal projects are funded jointly by public tax dollars and private capital, with
individuals and corporations who enjoy proximity to power and access to capital acting as both
the drivers of social change and gentrifiers of urban space. The historic quality and proximity to
prime downtown locations attract city officials and developers alike to blighted inner-city
neighborhoods. The goal of urban redevelopment is to gentrify, in order to introduce the cultural
preferences of the middle-class and upper-income strata into the urban landscape.

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Table of Contents
p. 4 Introduction
p. 7 Methodologies
p. 8 Theoretical Approaches
p. 11 Literature Review
p. 12 Methods
p. 13 Data Analysis
p. 15 Discussion of Results/Findings
p. 23 Conclusion
p. 25 HSIRB and Ethical Considerations
p. 26 Afterword: Policy Recommendations & Future Research
p. 27 Indexes: Tables, Figures, Photos
p. 29 Reference Page

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Introduction
This paper will examine the gentrification process and displacement of poor and minority
populations who live in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. The gentrification process of Five
Points began five years ago with the start of a multimillion dollar urban renewal and
redevelopment project in the neighborhood implemented by the City and County of Denver and
Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA). Furthermore, this paper will study the
socioeconomic and cultural impact that gentrification has had on Five Points using the
redevelopment of Denver’s Highland neighborhood as a comparative model. This project will
examine two target populations most vulnerable to urban redevelopment projects, the low-
income and minority groups—primarily focusing on the incumbent African American and Latino
populations who live in Five Points and Highland neighborhoods. Finally, this paper will
consider the net benefits and costs of urban redevelopment projects and gentrification of inner-
city neighborhoods.
For more than a quarter century tracing back to the economic and political crises of the
1970s there has been a trend in cities across the United States of economic and social
restructuring, of what is called urban upgrading in the form of a collaborative tax payer funded
city planned and private interest funded redevelopment projects of inner-city neighborhoods.
This urban upgrading of impoverished minority populated neighborhoods leads to the process
gentrification and changes the socioeconomic, racial, and cultural landscape of the urban space
into wealthier upper-income zones. “A great deal of recent attention in urban studies makes the
connection between the neoliberal turn and these disparate, but coherent, trends in urban
restructuring” (Fairbanks and Lloyd, 2011, 4). The links between the neoliberal approach to

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urban renewal projects, gentrification, and poor and minority displacement will be examined
throughout this paper.
In order to fully comprehend the analysis and findings presented in this study, key terms
need to be clearly defined. Population displacement will be defined as the involuntary migration
or movement of low-income and minority groups from an urban area or neighborhood within the
same city, or another population area within the same state or across state lines. The term lower
socioeconomic group or poor and impoverished will be defined as anyone within the urban areas
being studied who live at or below the poverty line (federally set as an annual family income of
$15,000 or less) and have limited access to basic resources such as housing, food, education, and
transportation. Minority groups will be defined as anyone who lives within the urban settings
being evaluated that are members of a minority group, e.g. African Americans, Latinos, Asians,
or Native American populations. However, this paper will primarily focus on the Black and
Latino populations that live in the neighborhoods being examined. The concept of gentrification
will be defined as the process of upgrading or redeveloping an inner-city neighborhood to
economically revitalize the geographical space displacing low-income occupants in order to
change the racial and socioeconomic make-up of the area.
The rational of this paper is to study the gentrification process of Five Points that began
with a multimillion dollar urban renewal project and the displacement of low-income and
minority groups living in the neighborhood; furthermore, to examine the socioeconomic and
cultural transformation gentrification has set in motion in the neighborhood. The first section of
this paper will focus on the Welton Corridor Urban Redevelopment Plan, the neoliberal
redevelopment model being used, what the plan entails, and the sources of funding for the
project utilizing a critical neoliberal approach. The Second section will be an ethnography of

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neighborhoods (Five Points and Highland), and examine the cultural impact of gentrification
utilizing a critical theoretical framework. This portion will use Denver’s Highland neighborhood
as a comparative model to Five Points and examine the commodification of African American
and Latino culture and tie in the concepts of culture industry and technological rationality to
explain the cultural changes in both neighborhoods. The third section will examine the process
of gentrification in Five Points, and investigate displacement of low-income minority groups
from a conflict perspective. The final section will consider whether urban upgrading and
gentrification is beneficial or detrimental to neighborhoods, cities, and society as a whole. An
examination of the City and County of Denver’s displacement assistance program using
information found on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority website will also be considered. The
paper will close with a brief overview of this project’s findings, advance some policy
recommendations and give recommendations for future research.
Location and History of Five Points
Five Points is one of Denver’s oldest and historically significant neighborhoods, its
establishment dates back to the 1860s. Five Points is located directly northeast of Downtown
Denver and the Central Business District. “Its boundaries include Park Avenue West and 20th
Street on the South, Blake Street on the West/Northwest, and Downing Street on the East”
(Tsuchiya, 2013, 2). The name Five Points refers to the five point intersection in the
neighborhood where Welton Street, Downing Street, 27th Avenue, 26th Avenue, and Washington
Street come together and intersect. Five Points was a prominent neighborhood for Denver’s elite
citizens from the 1860’s until the beginning of the 20th century when Denver’s aristocracy
moved to the newly established Capitol Hill neighborhood. Starting in the early 1900s Denver’s
African American population was segregated to the Five Points neighborhood, and by the 1920s

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the majority of neighborhoods population was black. At this time Five Points became known as
the “Harlem of the West” with a vibrant business district and Jazz scene centered on Welton
Street (also called the Welton Corridor), known as the “heart” of the neighborhood (see photos 1-
4). In the 1950s Five Points began to decline as crime, drugs, gangs, urban flight, and property
abandonment became a major problem and local businesses began leaving as the area became an
unsafe ghetto. For the last sixty years Five Points continued to be crime ridden, economically
depressed, and began structurally deteriorating from neglect. According to Tsuchiya, “The
neighborhood now sits in relative shambles, as private developers generally shy away from
investments in the area due to deterioration, poorly planned/zoned lots and unsafe working
conditions” (2013, 4). The neighborhoods situation only began to change with the demolition of
the Welton Street public housing project in 2008 and the implementation of the Welton Corridor
Urban Redevelopment Plan that was finalized in 2012 after numerous failed efforts to start
redevelopment dating back to 2007.
Methodologies
Throughout the process of data collection, the epistemological paradigm of positivism
was the framework for this research. Data was collected using mixed methods involving both
qualitative and quantitative data. The process of producing observable, objective data and social
facts about the cultural and demographic make-up of Five Points to analyze was the goal.
During the research process I disseminated and evaluated data in an attempt to find patterns in
demographic and socioeconomic descriptive statistics, and identify patterns in the shifts of
culture taking place in Five Points from gentrification using the redevelopment of Denver’s
Highland neighborhood as a comparative model.

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The topic of this paper requires that I study poor and minority populations living in areas
of the neighborhood that are derelict as well as examine ongoing racial tension and conflict that
can occur in communities that are in the process of gentrification. The process of gentrification
is very disruptive to incumbent residents of the neighborhood, especially lower
socioeconomically positioned and minority populations. As I conduct research it’s important to
be sensitive to the fact that the population of people I am researching are experiencing the
pressures of living in a neighborhood that is becoming more expensive as wealthier members of
the city move into the neighborhood.
This research will present some challenges due to my background and how I fit into the
community I am studying. This paper involves research of poor and minority populations, and I
am not a member of any of the social class and racial groups I am studying. I grew up in the
suburb of Littleton, Colorado, in a middle-class home. The neighborhood I was raised in was
predominately white and middle-class. As I gather non-participant observational data, it will be
important to remain aware of the biases I may have due to my Caucasian middle-class
upbringing. However, I do have over ten years of experience working with poor and lower
socioeconomic classes as well as minority populations as a paramedic. Through the experience
of my work as a paramedic I have seen first-hand the daily challenges people face when living in
poor and minority neighborhoods in Denver.
Theoretical Approaches
This research project will utilize three different theoretical perspectives as an analytical
framework for evaluating data and presenting the findings. These perspectives include conflict
theory influenced by Max Weber’s concepts, a critical neoliberal approach influenced by David
Harvey’s ideas, and critical theory utilizing the Frankfurt schools Theodor Adorno and Herbert

10. 9
Marcuse’s theoretical ideas. Although these theoretical approaches are distinct from one another,
they can coherently be used together as an analytical framework because these perspectives
encompass a common theoretical orientation—a collectivist-rational orientation. Furthermore,
all three approaches share the same theoretical assumption, that the upper-class wealthy elite
who have access to capital and proximity to political power are the economic and cultural drivers
behind the social change taking place in inner-city neighborhoods subject to multimillion dollar
urban redevelopment projects and gentrification.
Specific Theories and Theorists Applied
This paper will draw from Weber’s theoretical ideas on power, class, status, and parties,
derived from, “The Distribution of Power Within the Political Community: Class, Status, and
Party.” (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012). Weber defines power as, ‘The chances of man or of a
number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others”
(Appelrouth and Edles, 2012, 159). In Five Points, powerful private interests, for example real
estate developers backed by the city of Denver buy low-income housing which displaces the
occupants who resist but have no real political or economic influence. The developer then
demolishes the low-income apartments and builds upper-income mixed housing in its place.
Weber states that “Parties reside in the sphere of power. Their action is oriented toward the
acquisition of social power, that is to say, toward influencing social action no matter what its
content may be” (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012, 167). The goal of the Welton Corridor Urban
Redevelopment Plan is to use the power and capital of the city of Denver and moneyed private
interests to change the cultural and socioeconomic dynamics of Five Points from a historically
low-income African American neighborhood to a gentrified upper middle-class area. Thus,

11. 10
Weber’s concepts of class, status, and parties” is an appropriate analytical framework from
which to work from.
Max Weber (1864-1920) is a core classical sociological theorist, and his theoretical
orientation falls into the collectivist-rational. Weber is known for expanding on Marx’s
theoretical concepts and ideas, and adding more complexity to conflict theory. Weber argues
that power is connected to economic classes, status groups, and proximity to political power
(Appelrouth and Edles, 2012: 159).
The critical neoliberal theoretical approach is rooted in political and economic ideas.
David Harvey’s critical theories of neoliberalism will be the analytical framework for portions of
this paper. Harvey notes, “Neoliberalism is a theory of political economic practices proposing
that human well-being can best be advanced by the maximization of entrepreneurial freedoms
within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, individual liberty,
unencumbered markets, and free trade” (2007, 22). This theoretical framework is appropriate for
this analysis because the Five Points and Highland neighborhoods large urban renewal projects
were implemented using a neoliberal redevelopment model that uses private property rights, city
zoning deregulation, and unencumbered free markets to enact social change.
This paper will apply the Frankfurt school of critical theory as an analytical framework.
Theodor Adorno’s concepts of culture industry and pseudo-individualization and Herbert
Marcuse’s concept of technological rationality will be an analytical tool used to examine the
social and cultural changes taking place in the face of gentrification in Five Points and Highland.
Defined by Appelrouth and Edles, Culture industry “encompasses all those sectors involved in
the creation and distribution of mass-culture products” (2012, 386). Pseudo-individualization is
connected to the standardization of products and allows, as Adorno describes “cultural mass

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production with the halo of free choice or open market on the basis of standardization itself”
(1941, 25). Technical rationality is a systematic and “scientific approach to all human
affairs…While this form of reason has led to unprecedented material gain, under its sway
individuals are stripped of their individuality, not by external compulsion, but by the very
rationality under which they live” (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012, 384). Hence, Critical theory is
an appropriate analytical framework because its central concepts will be used to examine the
commodification of culture, gentrification, and “diversity” as a pseudo-individualized marketing
tool.
Literature Review
The national trend of large inner-city neighborhood urban redevelopment projects that are
jointly funded by public tax dollars and private interest money has interested scholars of urban
studies for the last twenty years. These expensive urban renewal projects are facilitated through
city administrations deregulating rigid zoning codes, changing traffic right of way and parking
laws to provide more retail parking, and issuing tax incremental financing (TIF) on public
projects and redeveloped property in an effort to minimize the use of tax dollars and tap into free
market forces to privately fund large portions of these projects. “In practice, city administrations
adopt some form of ‘lean[er] government’ with short-term forms of interspatial competition,
place marketing, regulatory undercutting, and privatization, creating conditions to accelerate
external investment” (Koehler, 2014, 18.) These methods of deregulation, place marketing, and
privatization constitute a neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment, and this has become the
standard model nationwide that cities and municipalities employ to undertake these urban
renewal projects. Harvey wrote about the ideological origins of neoliberalism and notes, “The
founding figures of neoliberal thought took political ideals of individual liberty and freedom as

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sacrosanct—as the central values of civilization…without ‘the diffused power and initiative
associated with (private property and the competitive market) it is difficult to imagine a society
in which freedom may be effectively preserved” (2007, 24). The quarter of a century trend of
the state adopting a neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment is a thoroughly studied topic in
academia. A plethora of literature exists on this topic, and this paper relies on the data produced
in these studies to produce findings of the transformations taking place in Five Points. Thus, the
influence of the neoliberal redevelopment model on Denver’s city administrators overseeing the
Welton corridor redevelopment project and the Highland renewal project is very important.
The phenomenon of urban neighborhood gentrification frequently alters the racial and
economic class dynamics of urban landscapes. Gentrification through urban renewal projects
has been a primary goal of Denver’s city government administrators since the 1990s, and has
been heavily studied by scholars. Denver’s urban transformation is an often cited example of
gentrification through urban revitalization projects. A substantial amount of current literature
exists on the topic of urban gentrification. The official city produced Five Points urban
redevelopment plan, and the neighborhood’s blight and deterioration report were used to study
Denver’s neoliberal urban redevelopment approach, and its gentrifying impact on urban spaces.
Methods
A. Qualitative Methods
1. Visual Data
Historical photographs of Denver’s Five Points-Curtis Park neighborhood were obtained
through the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library’s archived collection. Blair-
Caldwell library is located on Welton Street in the Five Points neighborhood. Other visual data
include personal photographs taken while walking the neighborhood, and show how the area
currently looks today.

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2. Non-Participant Observation
Non-participant observational data was collected by spending time walking the
neighborhood, walking along Welton Street—the “heart” of Five Points where many of the
infamous jazz clubs, restaurants, and the historic Rossonian Hotel built in 1912 and currently
undergoing renovation as part of the Welton Corridor Urban Renewal Project is located. Other
observations include visits to the local coffee shop, the Blair-Caldwell library and construction
sites where urban renewal projects are underway.
3. Demographic Data
Demographic data is an important piece of the research plan. Meso-level neighborhood
demographic data of Five Points obtained by the U.S. Census Bureau will be collected for the
years 2000 and 2010. For more recent data, demographics of Five Points collected by the
American Community Survey for the years 2010-2014 will be obtained. This neighborhood
level data was found on the City and County of Denver’s website under open public records.
4. Economic Data
Economic data will be collected to measure if there has been any significant change in
the socioeconomic dynamics of Five Points. Neighborhood level U.S. Census data found on the
website of the City and County of Denver’s open public records page will be collected for the
years 2000 and 2010. American Community Survey neighborhood data will also be used for
more recent economic data for the years 2010-2014. Average household income, percent living
in poverty, the number of homeowner’s verses renters will be some the comparison perimeters
analyzed.
Data Analysis
A. Qualitative Analysis

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Throughout the process of on-the-ground research collecting non-participant
observational data noting the rhythm, cultural atmosphere, social interactions, and demographic
observations were recorded. Observed details like whether young professionals were spotted in
the neighborhood signaling gentrification, the racial make-up of pedestrians walking down
Welton Street, and whether women were present walking dogs or jogging in the neighborhood
that could indicate how safe residents of the neighborhood feel were noted and recorded. This
data was then compared to the fifteen year span of U.S. Census and American Community
Survey demographic data in order see if what was seen visually matched the descriptive
statistics; and then further gage how these observations correlate to the amount of gentrification
and cultural change taking place in Five Points.
B. Quantitative Data
A comparative analysis of U.S. Census and American Community Survey demographic
and economic data spanning the years 2000-2014 was undertaken. The percentage of African
American, White, and Hispanic populations living in Five Points from the years 200-2014 were
compared to see if there was a significant change in the racial make-up of Five Points. If a major
shift in the racial composition of the neighborhood occurred this would signal the advancement
of gentrification and a substantial change in the culture of the neighborhood. These findings
were also compared to the observational data collected. A fourteen year comparison of the
average age and educational achievement of Five Points residents will be examined to determine
whether young professionals have been moving into the neighborhood. Significant changes in
racial composition and age of neighborhood residents can be an indication of an accelerating
gentrification process.

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A comparative analysis of economic data was also undertaken using U.S. Census and
American Community Survey data of the neighborhood spanning a fourteen year period.
Average household income, average family income, and percent in poverty will be analyzed in
order to identify whether significant changes in socioeconomic dynamics of Five Points
occurred. Gentrifying neighborhoods frequently exhibit a pattern of young professionals,
middle-class and upper-income groups moving into these areas.
Discussion of Results/Findings
Five Points Urban Renewal Project and the Neoliberal Redevelopment Model
The Five Points neighborhood urban renewal campaign is officially called the Welton
Corridor Urban Redevelopment Project, named after Welton Street, where the neighborhoods
central business district is located, and hence the focal point of redevelopment. The project was
adopted by the Denver City Council on September 10, 2012. The project is being spearheaded
by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA)—a quasi-city government and private
business entity and the Denver City Counsel. The Denver Urban Renewal Authority was
established by the City and County of Denver in 1958, and its purpose is to assist in
redevelopment of blighted property and provide financial assistance for urban renewal projects.
“Working with the City, Denver residents, businesses, civic leaders, area developers, and
financing institutions, DURA provides financial assistance to support redevelopment and
rehabilitation activities throughout the city” (DURA, 2016). DURA’s function is to recruit
developers to invest in blighted properties and redevelopment projects the city fosters by offering
tax incentives and favorable financing that the agency negotiates with the city of Denver. Thus,
these urban renewal projects become both privately and publicly funded. The city’s urban
renewal model is a classic example of neoliberal urban redevelopment.

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An affordable 223 unit apartment complex costing $43.5 million to build, located at 2300
Welton Street was the first approved Welton Corridor project and the first to receive TIF
assistance. “Of the 223 apartments, 212 are designated for renters earning 60% of the area
median income and the remaining11 units are designated for renters earning 30% of the area
median income’ (DURA, 2016). DURA is participating in $769,000 to the project. 2400
Welton Street is a $20.8 million project “Redevelopment of vacant land into a mixed used
project consisting of 82 apartment homes, 14 townhomes, and 3,500 square feet of ground floor
commercial space. 18 of the 82 apartments are designated for renters earning 80% or less of the
area median income. DURA is contributing $1,350,000 to the project. The redevelopment of a
5,000 square foot historic 120+ year old two story brick building into collaborative office space
and ground floor retail/restaurant space at 2801 Welton Street is also underway. This project is
receiving TIF assistance in the form of property taxes and sales taxes, and DURA is contributing
$350,000. DURA is involved in the restoration of the historic Rossonian Hotel; this project is
still in the planning stages.
Ethnography of Neighborhoods: Cultural Impact of Gentrification on Five Points and Highlands
As I walked down Welton Street, at the heart of Five Points Central Business District,
there are clear visual signs of accelerated gentrification taking place (See Fig. 1). The first thing
that is noticeable is the amount of construction taking place. At the intersection of 23rd Street
and Welton Street, the entire block on 23rd street is blocked off to traffic and all the structures
have been torn down (see Fig. 3). This is the site of the most expensive Welton Corridor project,
the $43.5 million 223 unit apartment complex. I also notice the presence of young professionals
and young women and men outside walking their dogs along Welton Street. As you walk east on
Welton Street towards 29th and 30th Streets and the Five Points intersection the decades of

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deterioration and blight becomes apparent on the facades of many businesses, many of these
shops are vacant and covered in gang related graffiti. However, the historic character and culture
of the neighborhood is still visible, and it is easy to imagine what the neighborhood looked like
when it was referred to as “the Harlem of the West.” On Welton Street between 27th and 28th
Streets is Cervantes’s concert hall a former jazz hotspot, adorned on the outside of the building
are historic photos of Five Points from the 1920s through the 1950s showcasing the jazz history
and African American heritage of the neighborhood (See Fig. 3). Along Welton Street I also
spotted many soul food restaurants that have been operating in the neighborhood for decades. I
detoured north on 30th Street and found the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center
on 30th Street and California Street, which was a reminder of the rich history African Americans
associate with the neighborhood (See Fig. 3).
I then turned and went north on 29th street into the residential area of the neighborhood,
gentrification again became apparent with the mix of old and new structures lining the block.
From 29th street I walked west on Curtis Street heading toward downtown Denver and newly
erected modern homes and row houses were interspersed among dilapidated and blighted
homes—many of which were vacant. Interestingly, I found a Montessori school located on 27th
Street and Curtis Street in an old renovated public elementary school signifying in-movers to the
neighborhood are changing the socioeconomic dynamics to an upper income area. As I walked
north on 27th Street toward what was the industrial area of Five Points I found new breweries and
restaurants along Walnut Street and Larimer Street (See Fig 3). First Draft Tap Room, Our
Mutual Friends Brewery, Altitude Brewery, and there is a new winery on Walnut Street called
Mile High Winery. These new business and restaurants have transformed the old industrial area
into an upper-class entertainment area. Langagger described a similar transformation that took

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place in Highland neighborhood noting, “As gentrification advanced these public spaces became
more comfortable more of the time for predominately white, middle-class and secular
newcomers. At home in Highland, newcomers work to reproduce their cultural norms in public
space” (2015, 3). From walking the neighborhood and observing the area it appears the same
gentrification phenomenon is occurring in Five Points. Demographic and economic data will
help clarify what kind of racial, cultural, and socioeconomic changes are occurring.
Data from the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census and the American Community Survey (ACS)
from the years 2010-2014 presents a clear picture of the demographic and socioeconomic
changes that rapidly occurred within Five Points. In 2000, 27.41% of the neighborhood
population was white compared to 25.44% black and 42.88% Hispanic (U.S. Census Bureau
2000). In 2010, a significant demographic shift occurred with the percentage of whites
increasing to 56.95% of the population, while the black and Hispanic population shrank to
15.23% and 22.52% respectively (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). The Caucasian population of Five
Points continued to increase, as of 2014 61.18% of the neighborhood was Caucasian while
16.55% were African American and 18.18% of the population identified as Hispanic (American
Community Survey). The comparative analysis shows a 33.77% increase in the white population
of Five Points from the years 2000-2014, indicated a particularly rapid acceleration of
gentrification between the years 2000-2010. The African American population of neighborhood
shrank 8.89% in a fourteen year period while the Hispanic population shrank 24.70% during the
same time. The data also indicates a substantial increase in the number of college graduates
moving into the area; 316 college graduates were reported in the 2000 U.S. Census to live in
Five Points, while 5,759 college educated residents were reported in the 2014 ACS. Clearly, a
dramatic reordering of the neighborhood demographics has shifted the urban space into a white

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college educated majority. Next, this paper will examine whether the socioeconomic dynamics
of Five Points-Curtis Park dramatically changed as well.
The average household income of Five Points in 2000 was $36,311 per year with a 31.5%
poverty rate (U.S Census Bureau). In 2014, the average household income was $73,343 per
year, and the poverty rate stood at 26.37% respectively (American Community Survey 2014).
The economic data of 2014 lies in stark contrast to the data collected in 2000, the neighborhood
has transformed into a middle-class area. The non-participant observations and demographic and
economic data presents a picture of the gentrification process of Five Points-Curtis Park
neighborhood that began accelerating around 2010 and this transformation has greatly impacted
the cultural dynamics of the neighborhood. The gentrifying effects on the culture of Highland
neighborhood will be used as a comparative model of the cultural changes taking place in Five
Points.
Highland is a neighborhood just northwest of Downtown Denver immediately west of I-
25 with Speer Boulevard running through the middle of the neighborhood. The area was the
focal point of a neoliberal private/public urban renewal project overseen by DURA that began in
the late 1990s. Prior to gentrification, Highland was a predominantly poor working-class Latino
neighborhood. The redevelopment project is now complete, and transformed the culture of the
neighbor and thus, a good comparison to the cultural changes happening in Five Points-Curtis
Park. Langegger notes about the cultural changes in Highland, “The symbolic economy of
middle-class, consumption-based ethos apparent in this temporal reading of liquor license
hearing transcripts illuminates how rhetoric came to privilege urban vibe, eclectic mix and
diversity as a profitable community asset over the ethnic diversity of the neighborhood” (2015,
10). This phenomenon of Adorno’s culture industry—the commodification of historic Latino

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culture in Highland to attract middle-class newcomers to the neighborhood by using rhetoric like
diversity, and eclectic mix as an amenity to be sold marginalizes the original Latino culture of
the area for upper-income cultural preferences. Five Points is an example of technological
rationality and culture industry at work by using the allure of entertainment and the areas historic
buildings and black culture as drivers of gentrification. “With an interest in diversity and
culture, inmovers hope to recapture a sense of urban history and community. City officials and
developers caught onto this trend and began restoring historic structures and attempting to create
urban communities” (Keohler, 2014, 20). Rent prices tend to increase in communities where city
officials and developers discuss investing money in the disinvested areas. The re-appropriated
uses of Five Points-Curtis Park’s old industrial warehouses on Walnut Street and Larimer Street
into “hip” new restaurants, breweries, and wineries illustrates how urban landscape can be
“reconfigured in terms of an urbane symbolic economy rooted in white middle-class
worldviews” (Langegger, 2015, 12). Hence, it cannot be assumed that everyone in the
neighborhood will feel the benefits of private/public reinvestment in the community.
Gentrification Induced Displacement of Minority and Low-Income Residents of Five Points and
Local Displacement Mitigation Efforts
Gentrification from urban renewal projects tend to cause housing prices to inflate and
rental rates to rise which can drive low-income and minority members of the community out.
Increasingly, cities are demolishing “public housing, in some cases as part of multimillion dollar
redevelopment projects” (Goetz, 2011,1581). One of the public housing projects in Five Points
near the Five Points intersection was demolished in 2008. While another public housing
complex at the intersection of California Street and Downing Street was spared demolition. The
demolition and removal of public housing projects in core city neighborhoods are done to
facilitate development of mixed housing communities. “The transformation of public housing, in

22. 21
fact, reflects several dimensions of neo-liberal urban policy in the US over the past 20 years…the
removal of concentrations of very-low income people of colour allows a reimaging of urban
spaces critical to the national and international competition for private investment” (Goetz, 2011,
1582). In Five Points, the removal of the poorest of the poor has encouraged private investment
in new mixed housing projects. It is important to emphasize that a small portion of the
population in the neighborhood have been forcibly displaced by the demolition of housing
projects. Many low-income and minority residents have left due to the economic pressures of
gentrification.
This projects research has found that many individuals, families, and businesses
displaced by the Welton Corridor Urban Renewal Project in Five Points have been placed in
other public housing projects and business locations within the city of Denver. “The Authority
(DURA) shall assist all persons, families and business concerns displaced by Project activities in
finding other locations and facilities and may make relocation payments to eligible residents and
business concerns in such amounts and under such terms and conditions as may be determined
by the Authority in accordance with a relocation plan or plans adopted by the Authority”
(DURA, 2012, 24). The City and County of Denver has adopted a progressive displacement
mitigation plan that other cities are studying, and in many cases adopting. The remainders of the
residents who have moved from Five Points-Curtis Park due to gentrifying social or economic
pressure have moved to other low-income neighborhoods within central Denver, or moved to
Aurora where rental rates are the cheapest in the Metro-Denver area.
The Societal Benefits and Costs of Neoliberal Urban Redevelopment Projects
Large urban renewal projects of core city neighborhoods work as a catalyst for economic
growth, and attract suburbanites to either relocate or visit the new upscale urban spaces.

23. 22
Blighted neighborhoods that suffered from high crime rates and disinvested economies are
repurposed into useable urban landscapes where citizens feel safe to walk the business districts
and eat at the new restaurants and enjoy the entertainment the economically revitalized
neighborhoods have to offer. In Five Points-Curtis Park over $65.8 million dollars of
private/public money has been invested into the neighborhood as part of the Welton Corridor
Urban Renewal Project, bringing primarily service industry jobs, young adults and middle-class
families into the area. Crime rates in Five Points have fallen, no homicides have been reported
in the area from January-March 2016, reported rapes are down 16.7%, and robberies are down
21.4% for the same time period this year (City and County of Denver 2016, see tables). Hence,
the redevelopment project in Five Points has led to economic growth in the area, decreased
crime, brought new jobs and middle-class individuals and families into the neighborhood, and
has changed the culture of the area to reflect middle-class preferences.
It is important to consider that not everyone in neighborhoods that are gentrifying benefit
from the changes. African Americans who have made Five Points their home before
gentrification have witnessed the historic black culture of the area become increasingly
marginalized and commodified as an amenity of diversity for predominantly white newcomers.
The loss of one’s cultural identity in a neighborhood can have negative effects on that group’s
well-being. The urban renewal campaign in Five Points has led to one public housing complex
to be shut down and demolished and led to gentrification induced displacement of poor and
predominately African American incumbent residents who have left area after feeling economic
and social pressure. However, as Billingham noted, “Overblown rhetoric from both camps aside,
it is fairly well established that the increased cost of living that accompanies gentrification leads
some lower income residents of gentrifying neighborhoods, who would otherwise have desired

24. 23
to stay put, to relocate to more affordable areas. However, dire predictions of mass evictions and
colonial-style conquest of poor neighborhoods by the new bourgeoisie do not reflect the way that
displacement usually works” (2015, 92). The city of Denver has a relocation assistance program
for displaced individuals, families and businesses affected by the city’s urban renewal projects.
Many cities across the nation have begun to implement similar displacement mitigation programs
as part of their urban renewal plans. Studies have shown that poor and minority individuals and
families displaced by gentrification do often times benefit by relocating to neighborhoods that
have less crime and better public schools. “The benefits of being moved away from public
housing communities subject to demolition are strongest in residents’ perception of reduced
crime in their new communities and in their increased satisfaction with the quality of their
housing post-move. Improvements in housing and neighborhood characteristics are also
consistently reported by displaced public housing families” (Goetz, 2011, 1585). Hence,
research has shown that multimillion dollar redevelopment projects rarely lead to mass evictions
and displacement of poor and minority populations. The individuals and families who are at the
extreme end of poverty living in public housing are usually the ones forcibly displaced.
However, those who are displaced due to social and economic pressures relocate to other
neighborhoods that are less crime ridden and have improved standards of living.
Conclusion
The neoliberal approach to urban planning and redevelopment has been transforming the
cultural and socioeconomic dynamics of inner-city neighborhoods in American cities since the
1970s, and Denver is a prime example of this phenomenon. Urban renewal projects are
gentrifying once poor and minority areas into chic mixed housing, retail, and entertainment
zones that attract middle-class families and young adults who are predominantly white to these

25. 24
areas to move into or visit. The historical culture of these neighborhoods—whether it’s African
American or Latino culture are commodified and turned into marketing buzzwords that advertise
the areas “diversity” or multi-cultural characteristics marginalizing the historic cultural in favor
of middle-class preferences. Other rhetoric like “hip” and “urban vibe” are used by real estate
agents and developers to appeal to the newcomers sense of pseudo-individualization. Historic
buildings in these gentrifying communities are renovated and showcased as symbols for the
culture industry to attract young professionals, creative types, and middle-class families to the
retail stores and other entertainment offered in the neighborhood. Five Points Central Business
District has become the focal point of the Welton Corridor Urban Redevelopment project, using
private/publicly funded neoliberal methods to encourage new business in the form of restaurants,
breweries, and wineries using technological rationality to ignite economic growth that primarily
produces new service industry jobs. While at the same time, older residents of these
communities, many who are poor, African American or Latino, try to resist their displacement
and the marginalization of their culture and the changing economics of the area but lack the
proximity to power and the capital to influence government and market forces at work
gentrifying their neighborhoods.
However, this paper has shown that it is also important to consider the benefits of
multimillion dollar urban renewal projects and the gentrification of inner-city neighborhoods.
Redevelopment acts as a catalyst for economic growth that benefits a large portion of the
population. Neighborhoods that became blighted slums with high crime rates and a disinvested
economy are repurposed into upscale areas with lower crime rates and transformed into usable
urban landscapes where citizens can feel safe to enjoy the shopping and entertainment the area
offers. Poor and minority residents often times are displaced due the demolition of public

26. 25
housing economic and social pressure, however the City and County of Denver has a displaced
assistance program to has proven effective at relocating individuals, families, and businesses
affected by urban renewal projects. Furthermore, those who have relocated from gentrifying
neighborhoods find their new communities to be safer and provide improvements to their
standard of living.
The trend of expensive neoliberal urban redevelopment projects can be found throughout
the cities and urban centers of the United States and have been the subject of many studies.
Harvey notes that it is important to ask the question, “In whose particular interest is it that the
state take a neoliberal stance, and in what ways have those interests used neoliberalism to benefit
themselves rather than, as is claimed, everyone, everywhere” (2007, 24)? This paper has made
an effort to answer that question. These urban renewal projects are funded jointly by public tax
dollars and private capital, with individuals and corporations who enjoy proximity to power and
access to capital acting as both the drivers of social change and gentrifiers of urban space. The
historic quality and proximity to prime downtown locations attract city officials and developers
alike to blighted inner-city neighborhoods. The goal of urban redevelopment is to gentrify, in
order to introduce the cultural preferences of the middle-class and upper-income strata into the
urban landscape.
HSIRB and Ethical Considerations
During this project, I made an effort when collecting non-participant observational data
to be as unobtrusive to the members of the community of Five Points as possible. Participant
protection and confidentiality were not an issue because I did not interview any subjects or ask
members of the community any culturally or financially sensitive questions. Ethically, I was
concerned about accurately documenting the conditions of the neighborhood both culturally and

27. 26
economically. This paper does accurately reflect the cultural and socioeconomic dynamics of the
Neighborhoods I researched and visited.
Afterword: Policy Recommendations and Future Research
The City and County of Denver has a displacement assistance program that is overseen
by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority. The program has been successful at relocating the
poor and African American and Latino individuals and families who have been displaced due to
urban renewal projects that are taking place around the poorest neighborhoods of Denver. I
recommend that the City and County of Denver and DURA work with other city governments
across the country that do not have displacement mitigation programs as part of their urban
renewal projects in order to help facilitate the implementation of a similar assistance program.
Urban revitalization can be very beneficial for economies of U.S. cities; however, it is important
that programs are in place to assist poor and minority members of communities experiencing
gentrification to mitigate the adverse effect of rising rental rates and housing inflation that can
occur in a gentrifying neighborhood.
The topic of neoliberal urban redevelopment and gentrification of urban areas has
interested urban studies scholars for thirty-five years. As I continued to read the literature and
research my topic I was surprised to find that the neoliberal approach to government is so wide
spread and influential in the United States. However, there is a need for further research on the
future of neoliberalism, and whether the neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment will
continue to be the model cities and municipalities use to facilitate and fund urban renewal
projects.

28. 27
Index: Figures, Tables, Photos
Index i: Maps of Five Points and Highland
Fig. 1: Boundaries of Five Points-Curtis Park
Fig 2: Boundaries of Five Points-Curtis Park
Fig 3: The Streets of Five Points-Curtis Park

29. 28
Fig. 4: Map of Highland Neighborhood
Percentage of Five Points Population in the year 2000
Fig. 5: Percentage of Population Living in Five Points in 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2000)
27.41
25.44
42.88
Percentage of Population in 2000
White
Black
Hispanic

30. 29
Percentage of Five Points Population in the Year 2010
Fig. 6: Percentage of Population Living in Five Points in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau 2010)
Percentage of Five Points Population in 2014
Fig. 7: Percentage of Population Living in Five Points in 2014 (American Community Survey
2014)
56.9515.23
22.52
Percentage of Population in 2010
White
Black
Hispanic
61.18
16.55
18.18
Percentage of Population in 2014
White
Black
Hispanic

31. 30
Average House Hold and Family Income in Five Points in 2000 and 2014
Fig. 8: Average House Hold and Family Income (U.S. Census Bureau 2000, and American
Community Survey 2014)
Percentage of Five Points Homeowners by Race in 2014
Fig. 9: Percentage of Five Points Homeowners by Race (Piton Foundation 2014)
$35,518 36,311
$73,343
93,376
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
$80,000
$90,000
$100,000
Average Houshold Income Per Year Average Family Income Per Year
2000
2014
68.57
5.12
24.99
Percentage of Homeownersby Race
White
Black
Latino

32. 31
Index ii: Tables

33. 32
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