Case Study:

Envision Utah

Context

Envision Utah Process

In 1996, the state partnered with Envision Utah, a public/private community partnership dedicated to studying the effects of long-term growth in the 10-county Greater Wasatch Area of northern Utah. Envision Utah's purpose is to create and be an advocate for a publicly supported growth strategy that will preserve Utah's high quality of life, natural environment, and economic vitality. Membership includes over 100 partners from the business, academic, conservation, local and state government, and religious communities.

The Envision Utah partnership then initiated a process, known as the Envision Utah analysis, to define alternative regional scenarios and to analyze the consequences and impacts of the alternatives. The first phase of the overall Envision Utah analysis - development of the "quality growth" strategy - took place over a period of two and one-half years, from spring 1997 through fall 1999. The activities during this phase are shown in Figure 3. During this period, the Envision Utah partnership directed many activities, including an in-depth values study, baseline analysis, more than 100 public workshops, scenario development and analysis, and a million-dollar public awareness campaign. The resulting Quality Growth Strategy (QGS) includes recommended transportation investments, zoning changes, land preservation policies, and water conservation incentives.

Figure 2. Envision Utah: Phase 1 Process

The second phase of the Envision Utah process, beginning in the fall of 1999, will be the implementation of the "quality growth" choice. Through a multi-year implementation plan, Envision Utah will promote the preferred strategy at appropriate levels throughout the region. In addition, all public and private entities will be encouraged to voluntarily make planning decisions consistent with the vision of the quality growth scenario. Envision Utah (1999) identifies a set of goals and strategies to achieve the Quality Growth Scenario, who will be responsible, and how these strategies will be implemented.

[TOP]