Envisioning Utahs Future

Ted Knowlton | associate director for planning, Envision Utah

Point of View: We all have not only the opportunity but the obligation to contribute to a future for this region that
is at least as bright as its past.

By DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | URBPL 2010 | THURSDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2004
ITIES ARE ABOUT people. These places impact peoples lives, and people impact these places. Because
of the importance of these places in all peoples livesnot just a few government and business leaders
and scholarsall people deserve to have a say in the way these places are shaped and developed;
further, because all peoplenot just an elite fewimpact these places, it is vital that everyone be educated
about his/her individual impact on his/her community and make knowledgeable, informed decisions about the
communitys future.
This was the message of Ted Knowlton, associate director for planning at Envision Utah, a
nongovernmental regional partnership created by the Coalition for Utahs Future that brings together
governments, businesses, and the general public to make better decisions about the future of the Greater
Wasatch Area, an area consisting of 10 counties, 90 cities and towns, and 157 special service districts.
He spoke first of the premises upon which the work is based: (1) that the public can determine its
own future, and that government officials should serve to establish the choices the public makes; and (2) that,
if presented with options, the public will make good choices. This is accomplished through a tiered process of
reaching out, first to regional stakeholdersanyone from Larry H. Miller to The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saintsthe to local stakeholders such as local governments and smaller businesses. From there,
well-informed active citizens should be involved, ultimately to reach out to the general public who would be
impacted by the decisions made.
Over the last few years, Envision Utah has held public workshops to learn in what direction the
people of this area want to take to ensure quality growth, as Envision Utah terms it. Their findings: people
want greater infill development; they believe that the Wasatch Back should remain relatively undeveloped; rail
transit is an essential element of this regions future; our cities, towns, and communities should be walkable;
and critical lands such as open space and wilderness should be protected. From this, Envision Utah has
developed a planning process in which transportation choices are made first; these choices impact land use
decisions, and combined created a road map for the regions future.
This is an impressive departure from the history of city planning in this regions distant and even
recent past. No longer is it a future determined by a few who base their decisions on the old ideas of history;
rather, it is a future destined to be determined by us all, regardless of who we are, and we have the important
and unique opportunity of standing at the crest of all that has been done in the past that has created our
present and, together, creating our common future. An omnipresent system of gridded streets and coordinates
with homogenous development throughout is giving way to something more local, something that
emphasizes the fact that the things closest to us are the most important because they impact our lives the
mostan integrated system that values our own communities and connects us with the ever more diverse
communities surrounding us.
It is important, though, that we remember where we came from. The city that grew out of the desert
sand is, in the eyes of many in this region, no less than miraculous; at any rate, it is impressive, and has given
us the gift of a city that is a model to many throughout this region and this country. Whether or not we want
the responsibility, we have an obligation by virtue of our being here to do our part, however small, in
ensuring a future for this place that is at least as bright as its past. And while many government and business
leaders doubt the peoples ability or desire to make the right decisions regarding this place, it is something that
Envision Utah not only hopes for but firmly believes in as a premise for its own existence.
As we support the efforts of this organization and others to direct the quality growth of this place, we
will help create a region that enriches all who live and visit here. This is the right time to exercise our ability
and our duty to make sure that this remains the right place.
C