Denver’s New Freedom Park opened in 2012, bringing a much-needed outdoor space for the East Colfax neighborhood and refugee families who live in adjacent apartments.
But, as Denver has gotten hotter, spending time at the park — which is mostly cement and only has a handful of trees — has gotten harder. Visitors have had to get creative to find relief from the summer heat.
“It was really hot. People most of the time would stay over [near the trees] or jump into [the creek] because there’s no fence here,” said Amy Ruth, who used to live in the adjacent Grace Apartments.
On Wednesday, community members gathered to celebrate a solution to their problem: a humble sun shade structure and umbrellas.
The heat protection was funded by democracy.
The improvements were paid for through Denver’s participatory budgeting program — known semi-officially as “The People’s Budget”. The program started in 2022 and has held two rounds of participatory budgeting…