Solving Colorado’s Housing and Climate Crisis

This policy brief by RMI argues that Colorado can simultaneously address its housing shortage and climate goals by implementing transit-oriented development (TOD) and 'missing middle housing' reforms. The document highlights the link between scarce affordable housing and suburban sprawl, which increases car dependence and greenhouse gas emissions.

• Colorado faces a significant housing supply gap, requiring approximately 325,000 units to stabilize prices, while the current average annual production is fewer than 40,000 units. This shortage has led to most renters becoming "rent burdened," spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent.
• The prevalence of single-family zoning contributes to higher energy use and environmental degradation. In Denver, 77 percent of residential land is zoned exclusively for single-family homes, which use 64 percent more energy per occupant on average than multifamily or attached options.
• Implementing transit-oriented development (TOD) through upzoning and infilling lots along transit corridors could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the Denver metro by 2040. Specifically, it could decrease per-capita vehicle miles traveled by 13 percent, reduce per-capita greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent, and conserve 82 percent of developable land compared to a business-as-usual scenario.
• Colorado's 2021 Greenhouse Gas Planning Standard (GHG Rule) requires the Department of Transportation and regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations to estimate emissions for proposed highway projects and reject those that do not decrease emissions over time. This policy has redirected billions of dollars from highway funding toward sustainable goals like bus rapid transit.
• A combination of pro-housing policies could increase transit-adjacent development opportunities by 54 percent in Colorado's largest metropolitan areas, according to analysis by ECONorthwest and MapCraft Labs.

APA

RMI (2023). Solving Colorado’s Housing and Climate Crisis. https://rmi.org/resources/solving-colorados-housing-and-climate-crisis/

Chicago

RMI. Solving Colorado’s Housing and Climate Crisis. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/solving-colorados-housing-and-climate-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Solving Colorado’s Housing and Climate Crisis |date=2 May 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/solving-colorados-housing-and-climate-crisis/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023solving, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Solving Colorado’s Housing and Climate Crisis}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/solving-colorados-housing-and-climate-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }