Envision Utah's Youth Council at the SLC Youth Government Summer Summit
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This month Envision Utah had the opportunity to engage a group of young leaders at the Salt Lake City Youth Government Summer Summit. Ryan Beck, our Vice President of Planning, gave a brief presentation to the group of 30+ students, from grades 8-12, about Envision Utah and the future of planning in our state. During the presentation students were given the chance to chime in with their thoughts, leading to a great conversation on what they value about Utah.
Following the presentation we challenged the young attendees to step into our shoes and imagine what the city of Herriman could look like in 2050. Making decisions on everything from transportation, housing, open space, agriculture, and public utility buildings, the students filled in maps of Herriman they were given to visualize their vision for our future.
We were blown away by the results! Each team had the chance to present their ideas, leaving us in awe of their ability to channel creativity and make informed decisions together. We loved the diversity in the maps and responses! Below are just a couple of the fantastic ideas we heard during the presentations:
“We want to make sure that people have accessible options for transportation to get to the places they need, like work, instead of just relying on cars.”
-Group 2
“In general, our main goal with our plan was to satisfy the greatest amount of people in the city that we can. We’ll do this by making sure that residents have access to all necessary facilities!”
-Group 6
We love having the opportunity to talk with the youth of our state, they always leave us energized and excited. The future of Utah is looking bright with these young leaders in our midst!
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Getting safe for the 'quake: the Utah URM Summit
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This month we were excited to be a part of the Utah Unreinforced Masonry Buildings Summit! Unreinforced masonry buildings (URMs)—think old brick, stone, or concrete buildings—pose a huge threat to our community. When "The Big One" (a magnitude 7.0+ earthquake) occurs along the Wasatch Fault, those unreinforced buildings will account for major devastation throughout the region.
Click here
to see how a URM held up during the New Zealand Christchurch earthquake.
Along the Wasatch Front, there are more than
140,000 URM buildings
, including homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings, churches, and schools. By comparison, California, another state with high earthquake risk, has only 26,000 URMs that have not been reinforced. The good news is that we know what to do to make these buildings safer, but barriers still exist to addressing the problem.
The URM Summit brought together government officials, emergency managers, civic organizations, and building professionals to share perspectives and discuss solutions to the major risk. Summit speakers from around the country shared their experiences on raising URM awareness, bringing together stakeholders to find safety solutions, and helping residents live in safe spaces. Robert Grow, Envision Utah CEO, also participated in a panel discussion on funding opportunities and how to amp up efforts to make our old buildings safe to live in.
Thanks to FEMA, Applied Technology Council, Utah Seismic Safety Commission, Utah Geological Survey, University of Utah Seismograph Stations, and the Utah Division of Emergency Management for such a great event!
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Job opening: Administrative Director
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Have you dreamed of being a part of the Envision Utah team? Now's your chance! We're
searching for someone with experience in finance, accounting, human resources, office management, and administration who is ready to join a collaborative office to fill the full-time position of
Administrative Director.
Responsible for ensuring a functional, efficient and positive working environment, the Administrative Director will oversee all areas of accounting, human resources, and general office administration.
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We greatly appreciate all of our contributors for enabling us to carry out these efforts. Please consider a donation to support Envision Utah today!
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The Salt Lake Tribune
The Salt Lake City School District struggles to reach a compromise with the teachers union in regard to raising salaries. In a time when there are twice as many teachers leaving the field as there are coming into it, the district will likely bring in a federal mediator to help the two parties come to an agreement.
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Deseret News
With nearly every city in Utah facing the challenges that come with rapid population growth such as congestion, poor air quality, and sprawl, local elections are more important than ever. At the forefront of the battle against rapid growth repercussions, locally elected officials bear the responsibility of defining the quality of life in our communities as they make decisions and plan for our future. This means we as residents are responsible for electing candidates who will act
today
, with the courage and far-sighted leadership to turn rapid growth into a positive, instead of a negative.
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Moab Sun News
Representative John Curtis joins Moab’s Mayor Emily Niehaus in an effort to bring attention to mitigating air quality through personal transportation choices, believing the southern city could be a leader of the state for clean air. Dedicated to air quality efforts, Curtis, the former mayor of Provo, advocates for the success of the Provo Clean Air Toolkit, enthusiastic that Envision Utah now has funding to take this toolkit statewide as a Utah Clean Air Toolkit.
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