Involving Underserved Populations in Community Planning in Cortez, Colorado

Details

• Alternative Title:
  FHWA's Livable Communities Case Study Series
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Livability
  • Transportation planning
  • Environmental policy
  • Population
  • City planning
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-HEP-21-004
• Resource Type:
  Brief
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States;Colorado
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Abstract:
  The city of Cortez is a rural town in southwestern Colorado with a population of roughly 9,000. Approximately one-third of the community is comprised of Hispanics/Latinos and Native Americans, including the Ute Mountain Ute reservation to the city's south and the nearby Navajo reservation and Tribal lands. Main Street/U.S. Highway 160 and Broadway/U.S. Highway 49 run perpendicular through Cortez, with most of the city's commercial establishments located on these two highways. In 2011, city officials and planners began updating Cortez's land use code and Access Control Plan. The city recognized that residents who would be significantly affected by the updates were also underserved voices in local decision making, such as low-income communities, ethnic minorities, youth, and seniors. Historically, Cortez faced the obstacle of mistrust with its Hispanic/Latino populations, particularly with law enforcement and local government. The Cortez Community Council developed a proposal for the Orton Family Foundation's Heart and Soul grant to focus on long range planning and broad community engagement.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/62900/dot_62900_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 987.96 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:669cbff46f5bbc4f94927e06e1fa27686200638b350c794bae4730d834bc5e8e767dd106f5297cfc661aa14053dceb4575b207589708c03e9822dd7011638c1b