The Flagpole Vol 7: Runways to Roots
The flag for Denver’s Central Park neighborhood.
This land used to move people. Now it holds them.
For decades it was an airport. Runways, control towers, planes shuttling Denverites across the world. Nobody stayed. Now it’s home. Parks, schools, kids riding bikes, neighbors chatting from the front porch. The same sky that carried jets away now carries the sound of soccer games and backyard barbecues.
And the name changed too. For years it was Stapleton, a former mayor with a problematic legacy. Dropping that name wasn’t just cosmetic. It was a reckoning, a decision about what kind of community this wants to be.
The former Stapleton International Airport (Photo courtesy of Central Park Master Community Association, 2025)
Built on Ideals, Lived in Reality.
Central Park isn’t just a neighborhood, it’s a physical expression of Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) principles. Founded in 1993, the CNU promotes walkable streets, human-scaled blocks, mixed-use development, and public spaces that foster community. CNU’s ideas have shaped my professional approach for years, influencing how I think about urban design and its impact on our daily lives.
This neighborhood embodies many of those ideals: streets are connected and walkable, greenways and parks thread through the blocks, and homes are oriented to the street with front porches instead of garages. It’s a (close to) textbook example of what CNU envisions.
But as with any great plan, theory and reality don’t always line up. Wes Marshall, my former professor at CU Denver, has shown through his research how even well-intentioned neighborhoods like Central Park can struggle when traffic engineering standards clash with the ideals of walkability. Central Park demonstrates both the promise of CNU design and the challenges of translating ideals into the lived experience.
The “Painted Ladies” of Central Park
The Flag
The Central Park flag attempts to make these stories visible. At its center stands a white airport control tower, a reminder of the land’s history and the neighborhood’s origin story. On one side stretches blue, evoking sky, flight, and movement. On the other, a bright green, symbolizing growth, community, and life rooted in place. The flag splits the difference between what this land was and what it is becoming.
In its simplicity, it tells a layered story: of runways that became streets, of airfields that became playgrounds, of a place still negotiating between lofty ideals and lived realities. It is a flag that honors transformation while acknowledging imperfection.
From Runways to Roots
Central Park is a reminder that places evolve. Even when communities are planned intentionally, that transformation takes time and the end result is not always what was intended—and that’s okay. It honors both the past, with all its complexity, and the present efforts to create a neighborhood that is equitable, connected, and vibrant.
In the end, this flag is about vision. About taking a space originally designed for motion and making it a place for people. About remembering the history while striving to do better. About celebrating the community while acknowledging it is not perfect. It is a symbol for Central Park, a neighborhood that is still transforming.
Kyle Clark once told me this was his favorite Denver neighborhood flag. I am not saying that makes it the best one, but I am also not not saying that.
I’ve produced a limited run of 10 flags, ready to fly, now available in the Narrative Designs store. A small tribute to Central Park’s ever-changing story.
More soon.
—Steve
Explore all the Flags of Denver and learn the stories behind each design → View the collection