Poll: Utah Residents Strongly Support Mixed-Use, Transit, and Walkability

Density isn't always a dirty word, apparently—as residents of Utah have voiced their support of more urban typologies to support its expected population growth over the next several decades.

September 8, 2015, 12pm PDT | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

Tony Semerad reports on the ongoing planning work of Envision Utah—an innovative process that will plan for a doubling of population in the state over the next 35 years—most of which will live in a strip of land known as the Wasatch Front.

According to Semerad, current trends point to toward more urban pattern:

Today, Utah's population centers are in the midst of an unprecedented building boom for apartments, while average lot sizes for single-family homes continue to shrink. New, more dense and walkable suburban commercial centers and transit-oriented developments are popping up across the valley. And the stage is set for added municipal funding of a variety of public transportation projects.

The trends in development and investment are backed up by the public. Two recent polls found widespread support for urban arrangements to support the state's growth: "More than three of every four residents support having a mix of housing options in their communities, and they want neighborhood designs that encourage walking, public-transit use and shorter daily drive times, according to one Envision Utah poll."

Residents of Utah consider these types of communities as essential to ensuring the affordability of housing in the future. The article includes more details about the polls.

Full Story:

Utahns want mix of housing, neighborhoods designed to cut driving

Published on Sunday, September 6, 2015 in The Salt Lake Tribune