Urban Growth

Annexation Animation

Colorado Springs continues to this day to annex unincorporated land from El Paso County into its boundary.  This shows the growth of the city limits in yellow.  Note that Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City start as different colors because they were separate towns.  Manitou Springs remains an independent town, but Old Colorado City was annexed into Colorado Springs in 1917.   While Manitou Springs also grew through time, the city shape used in this animation reflects only the boundaries as of 2010.   Also note the large light green polygons in the mountains to the west of the city show when those public lands came under the control of the U.S. Forest Service, large blue polygons shows Colorado Springs Utilities land used for the city water supply, and the dark green show military lands.  The forest service and utility lands are not developed, so please don’t focus on them when watching the growth of the city.  You will see that Colorado Springs remained rather small until explosive growth took place in the second half of the twentieth century.

Parcel Animation

This animation shows when each property parcel in the city was first developed.  Colors represent the general land use categories circa 2010—recognize that many of these land uses changed through time, but that is not shown.  Again, please ignore the large green forest service polygons in the mountains and the blue polygons also in the mountains, which show Colorado Springs utilities lands—those are not developed.

Railroad Animation

This animation shows the construction, and later removal, of the railroad lines through the city.  At our peak service around 1915, seven different lines served Colorado Springs.  You will also see the street trolley network in red that served the city until the 1930s.   The map shows a few of the coal mines that were important for some rail spurs, and the military lands that were also served by rail. 

Street Animation

Another means to visualize urban change is by watching the street network grow.  Watch again the rapid growth post 1960s. 

Water Animation

Hidden infrastructure features most people give little thought to are those of our water system.  This animation shows the canals and pipelines, along with water tanks, hydroelectric stations, pump, and treatment facilities that came and went through time.  See how our current system stretches nearly 200 miles across the continental divide.  Note that the most recent project, the Southern Delivery System from Pueblo Reservoir, was built post 2010 so does not show in this animation.