Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper delivered his first state of the city address since becoming mayor exactly one year ago Wednesday, outlining his accomplishments and the steps ahead.

There are a lot of hot and controversial topics facing the city of Denver and he addressed most of them -- including the use of police force.

"For the past year, our conversations about public safety have been dominated by police shootings, and the ensuing pain and division that have resulted. We are determined not to let Denver be defined by these tragedies themselves, but rather, by our response to them," he said in the speech, delivered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. "In other forums, I have talked at length about the specific police reforms we have embarked upon this year. I will not say more about them specifically today, other than to point out that no administration in this city's history has done more to ensure that our police receive training in less lethal tactics and are equipped with an array of less lethal weapons than we have over the past year. But, we must -- and we will -- do more, including establishing strong and substantial civilian oversight."

Over the past year, Hickenlooper has been faced with many angry residents concerning Denver police and accountability for two high profile shootings.

During his speech, he also said that the future of Denver's transit system depends on the FasTracks proposal. He had some major plans for improving education, including expanding a successful tutoring program to three other middle schools in Denver. The program, which began at struggling Cole Middle School, has volunteers and students spending Saturdays in the classroom so that the students can get help on their homework.

"We can't stop here. If I do nothing else, I want to ensure Denver provides highest quality early childhood education to greatest number of children," Hickenlooper said.

Some of Hickenlooper's other ideas include having the first mayor's summit on Latino academic achievement and something called the "5 by 5" project, which will allow every Head Start student to visit five cultural institutions by the age of 5.

In his remarks, Hickenlooper also talked about launching a new 311 system where residents can call for information on city services, streamlining processes for developers and small business owners and improving neighborhoods.

One of the neighborhoods getting a much needed makeover is the Dahlia Square Shopping Center in Park Hill.

"For more than 30 years, the Dahlia Square shopping center has stagnated. And for more than 20 years, the city of Denver has tried to redevelop it, while Northeast Park Hill waited for action. Today, the wait is over," Hickenlooper said. "We are pleased to announce that under the city's direction ... the nonprofit Inner-City Community Development Corporation has signed a contract to buy the Dahlia Square Shopping Center. Pending city council approval, we will begin the transformation of Dahlia Square into housing and neighborhood retail."

Stanley Stewart, who has witnessed his barber shop in Dahlia Square slowly become part of a growing eyesore, has heard that promise from previous politicians and hopes this time, there will be action.

"Anything, just some conveniences. If that occurs, it would be great," Stewart said. "The shop is empty because there are no businesses around to support us. There's no foot traffic, so we're doing a slow death right here."

Read Hickenlooper's full address by clicking here.