City Profiles / Medium Cities / Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins, Colorado

Although universities are vital to their locales, the distance between town and gown can be difficult to bridge. In Fort Collins, however, the city and Colorado State University are collaborating in a wide-ranging partnership known as UniverCity Connections that seeks to reimagine the future of the city. Started in 2007 while City Manager Darin Atteberry and CSU President Dr. Larry Penley were on a bicycle ride, the collaboration has grown into a group of local partners (including the Downtown Development Authority and more than 100 residents) that have spearheaded projects like FortZED, a planned zero-energy district in historic downtown Fort Collins with partners like Larimer County and the local New Belgium Brewing Company. The project was selected by the federal government for a $6.3 million grant to develop new electric grid technologies, and the partners and the state have since pledged $4.9 million in matching funds. UniverCity Connections' other goals for the community include enriching arts and culture, improving transit and development and addressing homelessness.

In December 2008, Fort Collins released its Climate Action Plan with greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2020, as well as the Mason Corridor Project—due for completion in 2011—which plays a major role in the city's plan for transit-oriented development. Sixty percent of Fort Collins residents work within one mile of the Mason Corridor, making it the main byway connecting downtown, the university campus and the shopping area. The plan includes enhanced pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths and bus rapid transit that would function like light rail (similar to the bus system in Brazil's Curitiba) but costs much less to construct.