The plan's mission is to go where the city has never gone before, so to speak. Considering land use and transportation is logical and makes for more effective planning, says Jennifer Moulton, director of Denver's Community Planning and Development Agency.

The city has been working with national consultants John Fregonese and Peter Calthorpe on the plan. The city also has created a diverse 48-member advisory board made up of neighborhood activists, business leaders, environmentalists, developers, architects and representatives from government agencies.

The plan divides the city into areas of stability and areas of change. Most of the city is stable in terms of being neighborhoods whose existing use and character needs to be preserved or areas where reinvestment is needed, but uses are likely to remain unchanged.Areas of changes are neighborhoods with problems that can greatly benefit from new developments. This can include areas along transit lines or older industrial areas near downtown.