Back-to-School Carnival, August 19!

The 32nd Avenue Jubilee Center is the only nonprofit that is part of the LoHi Merchants Group. The group was originally formed as a support and resource system for businesses that were starting in Northwest Denver. In this thriving area the group promotes events around the neighborhood, introduces new business owners, and connects professionals in the community. It has helped the Jubilee Center become more connected. It is an association the Jubilee Center belongs to. And we get to bring a unique gift. As the only nonprofit, we were called to help with GIVE LoHi, the August month of the five month long "LoHi Series" which highlights different businesses each month. Last month was Feel Good LoHi, showcasing the health and wellness companies in the neighborhood.

For this event, we are teaming up with Little Man Ice Cream and Menchie's Yogurt to host a Back-to-School Carnival for Denver Public Schools students on Tuesday, August 19 from 1-5pm. Planning this event has been a crucial part of our ABCD work as we try to meet more residents and employers in this area as well as connect people that might never have met otherwise. We have collected donations of school supplies for the event and will be making a monetary donation to a school after the carnival. Most importantly, it will help bring everyone from the community together before another school year begins.

Please join us on Tuesday for this exciting event!

Rooftop Porch: The new front porch?

In our past newsletter, we discussed the idea of urban planning and how we use our public spaces for socializing, recreation, and work. This blog posting adds the influence of the new home private contractors and developers in their building around North Denver. Along Quivas Street in particular, there is one startling design element that has not been present previously in any Denver architecture: rooftop porches. These were right next door to the more traditional and ubiquitous front porch. In LoDo, rooftops are easily accessible by walking across the bridge. In the new restaurants along Tejon and 16^th Street, rooftop porches on bars and restaurants are coveted spaces, perfect for enjoying Colorado summer. Some folks have decided to bring the feeling of looking out over the city to their own homes by creating rooftop patios and ridding themselves of traditional front porches.

rooftop patio and living space

rooftop patio and living space

rooftop patio and living space

During a one-on-one with a community member, he brought up an observant description of how we use our homes. He said, “We drive home, park in our garage, go in through our garage door, and never have to speak to our neighbors. Then we repeat this process to leave our houses.” Where a front porch might help create a space where residents could sit and watch the neighborhood, now some are opting for the rooftop because of its undoubtedly cool look, and trendy location for entertaining or relaxing.

front porch on same street

But how does this influence how we interact with our neighbors? Even outgoing residents may feel odd to call to a neighbor on a rooftop three stories up from the street. And side-by-side rooftops don’t lend themselves to easy mobility from one to the other. It resembles a type of castle fortress, with the owners calling down to potential guests that need keys or passwords or codes to get to it. We may be bold in saying this, but it’s exclusive. It does not open the opportunity to meet your neighbors.

What are your thoughts? Do you think a rooftop porch is hindering our ability to befriend our neighbors? Are trendy and neighborly mutually exclusive? Does your dream home contribute to community development?