Outdoor recreation can be a powerful community development tool for Colorado’s small towns. Parks, trails, gathering spaces, and other outdoor amenities can improve quality of life for residents while also supporting economic vitality, attracting visitors, and helping communities build a stronger sense of place. But for many small and rural communities, the challenge isn’t identifying…

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), and place management organizations may differ in size, structure, and geography, but one message rang clear during Downtown Colorado, Inc.’s inaugural Stronger Together international webinar: collaboration creates stronger districts and stronger communities. The planners and co presenters included: Colleen Hawkinson, DC BID Council Rachel Braithwaite, Ontario Business Improvement Area Maggie…

On July 28, 2026, Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI) hosted a webinar with Mark Waller, a consultant working with the Front Range Passenger Rail District, on the Colorado Connector, or COCO, the passenger rail service planned along the Front Range. Waller is a former Colorado House Republican leader and a former El Paso County Commissioner who…