Read our newest blog post on rising teacher starting salaries in Utah | |
If you need an extra reason to celebrate at the end of this year, take note that Utah achieved an impressive educational milestone by increasing starting teachers’ salaries. For the 2023-2024 school year, eight school districts now have new teachers earning the recommended starting salary of $60,000 per year. (This recommendation emerged from the Vision for Teacher Excellence.) For years, we have been talking about the need to increase teacher pay and the multiple ways this will help students, but is increasing teacher pay actually helping with Utah’s teacher shortage? | |
Celebrating the good in Utah at the 2023 Envision Utah Common Good Awards | |
On December 6th, we held our annual Common Good Awards. This event-packed luncheon honored organizations and companies doing great work for the current and future communities of Utah. The award recipients were the Giv Group, Ivory Innovations, and the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Congratulations to these fabulous groups! 🎉 | |
Participants also had the opportunity to hear about the four topics connected to the growth of our state that were the focus of the Guiding Our Growth conversation. Those panelists included LaNiece Davenport, speaking on behalf of transportation, Brian Steed who shared about the future of water, Tara McKee, representing open space, and Erin Talkington who spoke about the hopeful future of housing. | |
Ryan Beck, Vice President of Planning at Envision Utah, was honored for 15 years of continuous work on the Envision Utah team. | |
Highlights from the 2023 Quality Communities Academy |  | |
On December 12th, Envision Utah's Planning team held a Quality Communities Academy. They presented several planning resources to cities all across Utah.
To learn more, check out the free planning resources that inspired the Academy:
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Creating Communities Guide: Explore "Creating Communities: A Guide to Walkable Centers." Learn how to create walkable live, work, play, and learn centers in Utah communities.
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Land Use Strategies to Bring Housing Back within Reach: The housing affordability crisis in Utah has reached a critical point, with a staggering 76% of Utahns unable to afford a median-priced home. This Utah Division of Housing and Community Development report outlines actionable strategies to address this pressing issue in your community.

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Welcoming Communities Guide: Discover the principles needed to foster fair and welcoming communities throughout the state. Utah’s top experts and a diverse focus group of citizens shaped this guide.
To watch the full recording of the event, visit the Envision Utah YouTube channel.
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Thank you for a great year... | |
As the year comes to a close, the Envision Utah team would like to thank our supporters for believing in our mission and helping us with our projects. Below is a summary of some of the amazing things we worked on this year with the help of our supporters and sponsors!
We are looking forward to 2024!

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Guiding Our Growth
Envision Utah working with GOPB and many other partners led a statewide conversation about how we can keep Utah a great place for families and our communities as we grow. Over the summer of 2023, 20,000+ people weighed in with their perspectives on future growth. Utahns’ preferences were the foundation for the Governor’s budget recommendations and will continue to influence policy discussions going forward. Our 2024 work will also focus on implementing what Utahns want.
Check out the results
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Attainable Housing
Over the last year Envision Utah worked with the Division of Housing and Community Development and expert stakeholders to identify regulation types that impact housing affordability in the state of Utah. For 2024 we plan to promote our findings by producing videos and presenting at trainings and conferences.
Click to see our recommendations.
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The Future of Education
In 2023 we surveyed hundreds of high school
students to identify barriers and other factors
that affect Utah students’ decisions about
higher education to help more students pursue post-secondary education. One lucky winner even got her name drawn just for participating. Our next step with this project is to publish our results and work with stakeholders to make
improvements.
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Inclusivity in Planning
As Utah becomes more diverse, planning efforts must focus on improving
wellbeing and access to opportunities for
everyone in our state regardless of income, race, gender, sexual identity, age, or disability status. In 2023 Envison Utah finished a guide to help planning be more inclusive.
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Early Learning Project
The Early Learning Project at Envision Utah
teaches families and caregivers how to have
more meaningful interactions with their little
ones ages zero to five. Our busy team has partnered with 135 organizations that interact with parents of young children. In 2023, we attended 30 tabling events and staff trainings to expose the community to our resources and presented at four early childhood education conferences.
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Desert News
The housing crisis in Utah, where 76% of residents cannot afford a median-priced home, threatens future generations' ability to access homeownership, adequate living space, and wealth building opportunities. Envision Utah's report suggests 13 zoning changes as a potential solution to improve housing affordability without compromising overall quality of life, emphasizing that while zoning adjustments won't entirely solve the issue, they represent a crucial initial step towards addressing the problem. Read more
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Utah Business
The One Utah Health Collaborative has initiated a partnership with Envision Utah to explore healthcare values among professionals, employers, and patients, aiming to shape affordable healthcare improving quality of life. This study will aid in establishing guiding principles for Utah's healthcare future, complementing ongoing endeavors to set a state healthcare spending growth target, conducted in two phases.
Read more
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Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's farms and the Great Salt Lake, both affected by water crises and urban development tensions, face economic challenges prompting debates about abandoning agriculture for lake preservation. Despite this, Envision Utah's 2015 surveys highlighted that 97% of residents value local food production, underscoring its integral role in the state's identity and purpose.
Read more
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For 26 years, Envision Utah has brought Utahns together to tackle some of the biggest challenges related to growth — and you have made that happen. But whether we’re talking about air quality, water use, transportation, education, disaster resilience, or a host of other issues, there’s more work to be done. When you support Envision Utah, you’re helping to create a bright future for our state.
Thank you for your support!
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