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The Denver —Boulder Turnpike's ability to move people faster between Denver, Boulder, and
<br />neighboring bedroom communities supported the construction of new suburban subdivisions,
<br />such as Bella Vista and Scenic Heights in Louisville; the same kinds of neighborhoods were
<br />ubiquitous across the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Post -WWII suburbs arose from a
<br />combination of three factors. First, few houses were constructed between the Great Depression
<br />and WWII, but at the end of WWII, more than six million military personnel returned to civilian
<br />life (Wright 1981:242), with a concomitant increase in marriage and birth rates and a need for a
<br />large amount of housing (Jackson 1985:232). Second, Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
<br />policies heavily favored suburban development, versus alternatives such as multi -family housing
<br />in urban settings. Third, developers took an assembly line approach to building, using production
<br />technologies that developed during WWII (Nicolaides and Wiese 2006:257-258); this enabled
<br />developers to build at an unprecedented scale and rate (Corbett et al. 2009:22).
<br />Across the country, the FHA offered low -interest, long-term loans to homebuyers, and the
<br />Veterans Administration's GI Bill of Rights allowed veterans to obtain loans with no down
<br />payment. In return, the FHA maintained strict standards for house designs; the agency did not
<br />allow overtly modernist designs or flat roofs because they were deemed too risky to insure.
<br />Instead, the FHA preferred Colonial Revival, Ranch, and what is now known as Minimal
<br />Traditional designs. Furthermore, the FHA refused to insure houses in areas that were not race
<br />restricted. African -American, Caucasian, and other homebuyers who wished to live in older,
<br />non -segregated neighborhoods had to obtain other funding sources. These practices were in place
<br />until the mid-1960s and played a critical role in the deterioration of working class communities
<br />and neighborhoods in urban areas (Corbett et al. 2009:22-23; Hayden 2003:124-125; Wright
<br />1981:247). These practices had less impact in smaller, less racially diverse towns —such as
<br />Louisville —than in larger cities.
<br />Despite all of this change, Louisville's population held relatively steady from 1950 to 1970,
<br />increasing from approximately 1,978 people in 1950 to 2,073 people in 1960 to 2,500 people in
<br />1962 (making Louisville a City of Second Class), and then decreasing to 2,409 people in 1970
<br />(Barlow et al. 2013:26). In 1969, a data storage company, Storage Technology (later Storage
<br />Tek), opened in Louisville and employed a large number of residents until 2004 (Avenue L
<br />Architects 2013:4-26). A dramatic increase in Louisville's growth occurred between 1970 and
<br />1980, by which time the city's population had reached 5,593 people (Barlow et al. 2013:26); 22
<br />new subdivisions were filed between 1973 and 1979 (City of Louisville 2017a). That decade was
<br />followed by a population explosion between 1980 and 1990, with the population reaching 12,361
<br />people (Barlow et al. 2013:26). Ninety-eight new subdivisions and subdivision filings were
<br />platted during the 1980s, and 87 were platted during the 1990s (City of Louisville 2017a). Rocky
<br />Flats closed in 1992 (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-26), and Louisville's growth slowed
<br />somewhat between 1990 and 2000, with an increase to a population of 18,937 (Barlow et al.
<br />2013:26). In 2001, Louisville became a home rule city (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-26). By
<br />2010, the city's population had decreased slightly to 18,376 (Barlow et al. 2013:26). Between
<br />2000 and early 2016, 46 new subdivisions and filings were platted (City of Louisville 2017a).
<br />From the 1990s through the present, most commercial and residential growth in Louisville has
<br />occurred around the edges of the city and along McCaslin Boulevard and South Boulder Road.
<br />However, in recent years the city's historic preservation tax, various recreational events, and a
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