MC-D Neighborhoods


Making Connections-Denver works in four of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, which were established in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Each neighborhood presents an opportunity to improve the lives of families and residents who experience poverty, poor educational opportunities, limited affordable housing and other challenges. New immigrants – often without English language skills – represent a sizable portion of the population in each area.

Baker

Baker is located in south central Denver. It is bounded by 6th Avenue on the north, Broadway on the east, Mississippi Avenue on the south and the Platte River on the west. Click for map.

Baker is an area in transition with a diverse population that includes seniors, young families, immigrants and professional people who like living close to downtown Denver.

Today, Baker’s population of 5,267 is nearly 10 percent of Denver’s total. The number of children under the age of 18, about 1,425, constitutes 27% of the total Baker population. Nearly 54% of Baker residents are Latino, and nearly 40% of them are non-Latino white.

An overwhelming majority of all public school students in the neighborhood, 85 percent, are Latino. Slightly more than one-quarter of all students are not proficient in English.

While 25% of the total Baker population meets the legal definition of “poor,” a disproportionate number of children under 18, more than 39%, are considered to be living below the poverty level.

With the help of MC-D and the Front Range Economic Strategy Center (FRESC), Baker and other Westside residents are working to gain economic opportunities through the redevelopment of the old Gates Rubber Plant.


Cole

Located slightly northeast of downtown Denver, the Cole neighborhood joined the city limits in 1874. Its boundaries are east 44th Avenue on the north, east 32nd on the south, Downing on the west and York Street on the east. Click for map.

The area features many homes in the style of craftsman brick bungalows and stately Denver Squares. Today, Cole residents are predominantly Latino (71%), and approximately 41% of all residents are foreign-born. The neighborhood also is composed of many young people, with more than one-third of residents under the age of 18.

More than 26% of residents live in poverty, and 85.5% of all students are eligible for free or reduced price school lunches. The crime rate per 1,000 people is 98.2, compared to the overall Denver rate of 84.1. Cole’s crime rate is the lowest of the four MC-D neighborhoods.

Education is a major concern to all residents, since only 11 percent of high school seniors actually graduate. Women with less than a 12th grade education are the source of more than two-thirds (68.8 %) of all births. The Cole neighborhood is an MC-D demonstration site for early school success to help all children enter the classroom with the social, intellectual and emotional skills necessary to learn. In addition, MC-D and Metro Organizations for People (MOP) are actively involved in community organizing efforts to improve the quality of public schools in Cole.

La Alma – Lincoln Park

This neighborhood dates back to Denver’s earliest days when the fledgling mining camp was called Auraria. La Alma – Lincoln Park is bounded by Interstate 25 on the west and northwest, Speer Boulevard on the north and southeast sides, and Sixth Avenue on the south. Click for map.

One of its most dominant features is the Auraria Higher Education Campus, which houses one community college, a four-year college and a university.

Nearly 30% of the area’s 5,993 residents are children under the age of 18 (based on 2005 figures). Slightly more than half of the residents are Latino, while more than one-third are non-Latino white. Of the total population, approximately 37.7% live in poverty, but more than half of all children are poor.

Student enrollment in public schools is increasing, but these schools continue to struggle to serve the needs of these children. The graduation rate is about 12%. About 86.6% of students in Denver Public Schools receive free and reduced lunches.

Residents of La Alma-Lincoln Park and Baker – whose neighborhoods share a common boundary -- are joining forces to focus on several neighborhood issues. This includes the City's redevelopment plans on the Westside, connected to light rail/transit oriented development and the revitalization of public housing.

Sun Valley

Sun Valley is located south of Speer Boulevard, west of Interstate 25, north of Mississippi and east of Federal Boulevard. .

Sun Valley is the smallest of the four Making Connections-Denver neighborhoods, with a total population of approximately 1225 people. Of these, more than half are under the age of 18 years. The majority of residents are Latino (53%), with African-Americans comprising 17%.

By several indicators, Sun Valley is the poorest of the four MC-D neighborhoods. More than 71% of the total population and 78% of children live in poverty. The average household income is $12,434, lower by a significant amount that all other three MC-D areas. Of the 485 housing units available, only about 28 are owner-occupied.

Total births in 2003 numbered 51. More than 70% of births were to women with less than a 12th grade education. Fully 61% of these births were to unwed mothers. The graduation rate is only about 12%.

In the beginning of MC-D’s work, the area’s crime was a focus of neighborhood organizers. Sun Valley’s crime rate has been highest of the four areas with 269 per thousand. Since that time, the residents continue to work on crime control strategies, improved services from the Denver Housing Authority, and economic development opportunities posed by the City's redevelopment of the Westside neighborhoods.

 

 Indicator Baker Cole

La Alma/Lincoln Park

 Sun Valley

Year

Total Population

5267

5671

5993

1223

2005
%  African American

2.9

21.3

7.2

17.3

2000
%  Native American

1.2

.6

1.5

1.9

2000
%  Asian/Pacific Islander

.7

.3

4

13.5

2000
%  Latino

53.6

71

52.5

52.6

2000
%  Non-Latino White

39.7

6

32.4

10.1

2000
% of Persons in poverty

24.3

26.3

37.7

71.5

2000
Crime per 1,000 persons

135.1 

 98.2

 230.2

 269.8

 2004

 Data provided from The Piton Foundation's Neighborhood Facts