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HOW WE
GROW
MATTERS
CAN LIFE IN UTAH GET BETTER AS OUR
POPULATION GETS BIGGER?
Utah is growing. In fact, by the year 2050, our population will nearly double in size. They’ll be
your kids, your grandkids, your co-workers, and your friends. Just like you, they’ll need power,
water, homes, schools, jobs, places to shop, places to play and ways to get between them all. This
is nothing new. Utah has a history of growth and a successful track record of planning for the
future. It’s part of why the quality of life here has remained so high. How do we keep it that way?
WHO IS ENVISION UTAH?
Envision Utah is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to exploring the challenges and
opportunities of growth in Utah. We engage people to create and sustain communities that are beautiful,
prosperous, healthy and neighborly for current and future residents. With the right vision, we can
accommodate Utah’s growing economy and increasing population without sacrificing the incredible quality
of life that makes Utah great.
ENVISIONING PROGRESS
In 1997, Envision Utah launched an unprecedented public effort that brought together residents, elected
officials, developers, conservationists, business leaders, and other interested parties to make informed
decisions about how we should grow. Through a historic series of workshops and surveys, Envision Utah
helped lay the groundwork for actions including:
• Development of TRAX and Frontrunner to add 140 miles of light rail, streetcar and commuter rail to
Utah
• Creation of innovative housing and commercial projects like Daybreak and City Creek
• Dramatically slowing the rate of development of Utah’s lands to preserve more open space for
agriculture and recreation
• Decreasing household water consumption by 25%
• Decreasing our emissions by 47% among all pollutants
• Saving billions in reduced infrastructure costs
INTRODUCING: YOUR UTAH. YOUR FUTURE.
With Utah’s population projected to grow by 2.5 million in the next three
decades, Envision Utah is making history again with the Your Utah Your Future
project, a statewide process that invites the public to get involved and decide
how Utah will grow.
KEY ISSUES
Air Quality
Considering one of the most visible
consequences of growth in Utah can be
seen in the air we breathe, how do we clear
it up?
Education
How do we give children the knowledge
and skills they’ll need to compete in a
global economy?
Recreation
How can we make sure Utahns and our many
visitors always have access to amazing places
to play?
Agriculture
How do we preserve Utah’s rich legacy of
farming to provide healthy, locally produced
food?
Energy
As Utah continues to grow, how will we
find new ways to supply enough energy for
everyone at affordable costs?
Transportation and Communities
How do we reduce gridlock and create
well-thought-out communities where Utahns
can access the things they need and have the
choices they want?
Housing and Cost of Living
How do we ensure people at different
stages and with varying incomes can afford
a good quality of life?
Water
How will we provide sufficient water in one
of the country’s driest states, even as our
population continues to grow?
Jobs and Economy
With one of the strongest economies in
the country, how do we maintain a broad
spectrum of good jobs?
Disaster Resilience
How will we make sure our economy and
quality of life stay strong in the weeks, months
and years following a catastrophe?
Public Lands
How do we balance the uses of our public
lands, like recreation, habitat, and energy
production?
THE PROCESS
The Your Utah Your Future project has four steps:
Exploring
First, working with a broad range of stakeholders and experts, we’ll identify choices and solutions for key
issues and show the results of these choices.
Choosing
Next we’ll conduct an extensive public outreach campaign so Utahns can get involved and choose what
matters the most to them.
Documenting and Sharing
After the outreach campaign, the public’s choices will become a vision and a plan to be documented and
released publicly.
Implementation
We will empower communities to turn their vision into real and lasting actions that will help keep Utah great.
THE GOAL
Bring
Bring Together
50,000
participants to create a vision for the future
that’s strong enough to drive positive action.
THE SURVEY
This April and May, Utahns can weigh in on
the most i mportant choices f acing our
state. The Your Utah Your Future survey will
let you examine the options and share your
voice about how Utah should grow.
RESERVE
NOW
Visit us at
envisionutah.org
to reserve your
spot in the survey.
envisionutah.org | 801.303.1450 | [email protected]