Denver rated No. 1 in U.S. for economic success; 3 other Colorado cities in top 20

[Uncle Joe]

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2015/07/15/denver-rated-no-1-in-u-s-for-economic-success-3.html

An annual ranking by Area Development magazine rates Denver the best metro area in the nation for economic development and jobs, and three other Colorado cities placed in the top 20.

The 2015 "Leading Locations" report compares 375 U.S. metro statistical areas on "creating jobs and nurturing sustainable economic development."

The cities were evaluated on having skilled, well-qualified workers; patterns of economic strength and growth; and “recession-busting” attributes that helped them recover from the downturn.

The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield metro area was rated first among the 375 metros for economic strength indicators; seventh for year-over-year growth, and eighth for both workforce and recession-busting attributes.

(snip)

There is more on the link.

Congratulations, Colorado.

[Warpy]

1. Happy workforce, too

now that they can toke up after work and on the weekends. All those aches and pains just melt away.

[Uncle Joe]

2. I imagine they are happy and free, life is good.

No doubt it adds to the workforce's motivation, not to mention an influx of new Colorado citizens.

[Demonaut]

3. and our traffic reflects it

[Uncle Joe]

4. Nashville's traffic has increased as well, one of the downsides of growth.

[madamesilverspurs]

5. Here in northern Colorado,

specifically Greeley/Weld County, most of the new jobs are related to fracking. Since many of those workers are 'imported', housing is at a premium; prices and rents are going through the roof. Many long time residents are finding themselves priced out of decent housing, and new construction isn't aimed at that demographic. Reliable long-term renters, many on fixed incomes, are receiving notices of rent increases that they have no way of paying; out they go, to be replaced by oil/gas workers who can pay those higher rents (for a while, anyway).

We're also dealing with the many unpleasant side effects of fracking, but the powers-that-be in this red part of the state are blind to anything but the money. There are considerable collateral effects of having hundreds of fracking wells within the city limits, not the least of which is the negative impact on property values when a well pops up in the front yard; congressman Jared Polis can tell you all about the unpleasantness of that particular surprise. The noise and dust and traffic and god-knows-what thrown into the air are huge concerns for members of the medical community, but those concerns are routinely ignored by city councils and county commissions. Want to talk about water? Each of those wells requires millions of gallons, and that water is rendered permanently unusable -- a horrifying reality for a region that is/was primarily agricultural, especially since the frackers are essentially given "first dibs" on the water allocations. Some of that water is 'disposed' of in injection wells, increasingly tied to earthquakes, and yes, we've had some.

Those in charge are refusing to consider the temporary nature of such booms. We only have to look to the southern part of the state, towns like Trinidad where the fields played out, the workers and their employers left, and the population dropped frighteningly. Businesses close, landlords looking for tenants, tumbleweeds. In the end, a few will have permanent wealth.

It's always nice to get on a 'good' list. But it would be more honestly gratifying to be on such a list because everyone benefits, and that just is not the case here.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Well that's a bummer, I didn't know the fracking there was that bad, according to the article

that area of Colorado is among the leaders of the nation in clean energy development.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2015/07/15/denver-rated-no-1-in-u-s-for-economic-success-3.html

It said Denver and northern Colorado combined rank sixth in the nation for clean-energy development, and that Denver is emerging as a financial services center.

It would be good if getting on a good list was beneficial to everyone.

[madamesilverspurs]

8. Yeah, that line about clean energy was a bit startling.

There is a plant in Windsor that manufactures blades for wind turbines but, boy howdy, the oil/gas lobby isn't in love with the idea. We could have wind farms up and down the eastern part of the state, could conceivably provide electric power to the state and neighboring states; amazing how that idea is fought against.

As to the fracking, Weld County has over 20 thousand wells and counting. Josh Fox's movie "Gasland" filmed a lot around here; the scene with the flaming faucet was shot just a few miles south of here. It's bad, and getting worse.

Clean energy development. We wish.

[IHateTheGOP]

6. Been there, done that. Ratrace and it takes over an hour to drive to downtown from 15 miles away.