At 53 square miles — large enough to contain the four busiest airports in the US combined — DEN held extraordinary development potential with no spatial framework to guide it.

• 52-square-mile aviation district with uncoordinated land development potential

• Existing multimodal infrastructure underutilized as a civic organizing system

• Natural systems and stormwater corridors largely absent from planning frameworks

• Adjacent jurisdictions with unaligned infrastructure and regulatory agreements

• No spatial hierarchy connecting airside operations to long-term land use

An infrastructure capacity analysis revealed that existing and planned roads, transit, and utility systems — including the RTD East Commuter Rail Line linking DEN directly to Downtown Denver — could support a more concentrated development footprint, aligning growth with available resources, preserving open land, and building realistically from what was already in place.

• Align aviation infrastructure sequencing with land development potential

• Establish strategic development nodes anchored by existing capacity

• Build a multimodal circulation system supporting future transit expansion

• Integrate resilient utility and stormwater systems into the land framework

• Create the conditions for intergovernmental coordination across municipal boundaries

The largest airport in North America by footprint, DEN was positioned to become the nation's premier multimodal hub — a Colorado-rooted center for aviation, commerce, innovation, and culture. The 50-year framework established the agile, balanced development structure needed to make that vision implementable: organizing land use, mobility, natural systems, and infrastructure capacity across four quadrants and multiple development nodes, with phasing strategies tied to real market and aviation growth conditions.

• Flexible land use and character framework organizing 52 square miles

• Multimodal circulation system supporting phased transit expansion

• Strategic development nodes prioritizing early-phase investment

• Resilient utility and stormwater infrastructure integrated into land framework

• Intergovernmental agreement strategy enabling coordinated regional growth

Client: Denver International Airport

Role: Urban Design and Master Planning Lead*while at Tryba

Aviation, Transportation and Civil Engineering: Jacobs

Market Study: Jacobs

Deliverables:

• Long-Range Real Estate Development Plan

• Four-Quadrant Development Framework

• Multimodal Circulation Plan Landscape and Open Space Plan Utility Infrastructure Plan

• Economic Development Strategy

• Stakeholder Engagement