Utah’s growth is one of our greatest success stories and also one of our biggest challenges. Our economy is thriving, families want to stay and others want to join us. But that growth brings real pressures, including rising housing costs, more traffic and increasing demands on our natural resources.
The good news is that Utah communities are proving that we can grow without losing the quality of life that defines this state. One way they’re doing it is by creating city and town “centers” — and the results show the strategy is working.
Centers: A homegrown success story
Centers are places where shops, homes, jobs and gathering spaces are mixed together, the modern evolution of “Main Street.” Centers enable us to walk to more of the places we rely on and enjoy having a heart within our communities, the center of our activities.
Welcoming growth in centers has helped us deliver real results:
- Housing options. Homes in centers have doubled since 2010, from 75,000 to 150,000. Building more homes of varying types in centers helps reduce the growth pressures on neighborhoods and rural areas.
- Less traffic. Residents living in and around centers are closer to key destinations and transportation choices, including trains and buses. This has meant that residents across the Wasatch Front drive an estimated 800,000 fewer miles per day.
- Water savings. Homes and commercial buildings in centers tend to take up less space and require less outdoor watering per person. As a result, they conserve roughly 11 billion gallons of water annually.
Cities and towns have been creating and enhancing their centers for years, and these outcomes reflect the strength of their leadership and vision.
Taking centers to the next level: Development near transit
A major part of this progress is what’s happening around Utah’s transit stations, which are advantageous locations for growth. Cities are developing Station Area Plans to create great communities in areas around UTA’s FrontRunner, TRAX and bus rapid transit stations. The goal is straightforward: make the most of public transit investments by creating places where residents can easily access jobs, schools, services and housing.
Recently, the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) recognized 14 newly completed Station Area Plans, bringing the total to 75 across both the WFRC and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) regions. Together, these plans make way for more than 84,000 new houses, townhomes, condos and apartments near transit, in addition to the 150,000 homes already built in centers.
That’s thousands of future homes with easier access to jobs, schools and shopping opportunities and fewer miles driven, saving people time and money while reducing strain on our transportation system.
Communities are already putting these plans into action. Draper is preparing for a new tech high school next to its FrontRunner station. Layton is improving bike and pedestrian access over rail lines, making it safer and easier to get around. West Valley City is advancing plans for more than 1,300 new homes near three TRAX stations, giving residents more choices for how and where they live.
Regional coordination yields results
This work ties directly into the Wasatch Choice Vision — our region’s shared plan for aligning land use, transportation and economic opportunity. In this vision, cities are leading with their priorities, supported by regional partners at WFRC, MAG, UTA and UDOT. Taken together, the vision helps meet statewide goals to increase housing options while preserving the things we value most.
This is the Utah way: local solutions, regional coordination and statewide benefit.
Centers work — and we should keep going
Utah’s centers show what’s possible when communities make thoughtful choices about where and how they grow. You can see it in the dozens of locally developed projects across the state, providing benefits to local communities and the region. And you can see it in the collaboration between cities, transportation agencies and private partners that make these successes possible.
City and town centers give people more housing and transportation options, save them time and money, and help keep our communities connected and livable. Centers work! And with continued commitment, this approach can shape a stronger future for every Utah community.