UTAHNS CHOSE THE FUTURE THEY WANT.
THIS IS THEIR VISION.
How we grow matters. As our population increases, the choices we make will determine if we have clean air to breathe, quality jobs for everyone, an educated populace, enough water, convenient transportation, an affordable cost of living, good housing options, locally grown food, access to uncrowded outdoor recreation, and affordable and reliable energy.
Your Utah, Your Future is a statewide effort to create a vision for Utah’s future as we almost double in population by 2050. The vision is the result of more than two years of effort. Over 400 stakeholders and experts identified key choices concerning 11 different topics, and more than 54,000 Utahns selected among those choices to paint a clear picture for what Utah can be like in 2050. The Your Utah, Your Future Vision for 2050 is our roadmap to get there together.
THE 11 TOPICS OF THE VISION
Each of these topics is vitally and independently important, but none stands alone. How we design communities will affect how much we spend on housing and transportation, as well as how much water we use. And how we perform on each of the 11 topics will determine the strength of our economy.
11 topics seems like a lot? All of the steps we can take to improve these topics fit into 4 cornerstones of strategies. ↓
Four Cornerstones of Your Utah, Your Future
A NETWORK OF QUALITY COMMUNITIES
Restoring the fabric of village, town, and urban centers will significantly improve the convenience of living in Utah as our population grows. Centers bring destinations closer to people, making it convenient to drive short distances, take public transportation, walk, or bike. Building a network of quality communities is a robust strategy with significant benefits for almost every topic Utahns ranked as being important to our future.
2. HOMES, BUILDINGS, LANDSCAPING, AND CARS OF THE FUTURE
While Cornerstone One deals with how our communities and urban areas are organized, Cornerstone Two concerns the kinds of homes, buildings, landscaping, and vehicles that make up those communities. Technologies and efficiencies exist today, and are improving every year, that can reduce air pollution; save money; make our homes, buildings, and infrastructure more resilient to disasters; and conserve water.
3. A THRIVING RURAL UTAH
Rural communities in the state have their own varying opportunities and challenges. Though 90% of Utah consists of rural private and public lands, the vast majority of Utah’s population, and the focus of much of Utah’s prior visioning effort, is in the urbanized Wasatch Front and back. As Utah’s population nearly doubles by 2050, however, we need to ensure that rural Utah thrives, while still maintaining its rural heritage. Utahns resoundingly support having a balance of uses for our public and private rural lands in order to foster thriving rural economies.
4. PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE
Utahns believe everyone deserves an opportunity to receive a high-quality education that prepares them to participate in the workforce and in society and that maximizes their individual potential. The purpose of our effort is to improve education across the state by (1) facilitating the collaboration of groups already working in education, (2) helping the public understand and support the specific strategies that will yield the best outcomes in education, and (3) working with stakeholders to implement key strategies.
Visit the Your Utah, Your Future website to learn more.
You can still take the survey to choose the scenario you want for our future.