Salt Lake City is a Regional Capital City, a social, cultural, and
religious center, and a model of open government.
Salt Lake City’s Neighborhoods are diverse, exciting, safe, well
maintained, and supportive of families and young people. Vibrant
neighborhoods are fundamental to the health and vitality of the city and
citizens, business owners, and local government each have a role to play
in creating and sustaining ideal neighborhoods.
Salt Lake City’s Urban Design is aesthetically appealing, reflects
excellent standards, diversity of influence, and a commitment to making
people the focus of development decisions.
Salt Lake City’s Economic Base is strong and diverse, providing
excellent wages and benefits for our citizens, a tax base that
encourages innovation, growth, and improvement, and a commitment to
complex analysis of the factors influencing economic stability.
Salt Lake City’s Transportation System
• Is integrated and multimodal. It moves people and products
efficiently into and through the city.
• Focuses first on pedestrian and bicyclists, second on mass
transit, and third on single-occupant automobiles in planning and
infrastructure support.
The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City are well organized,
environmentally responsible, and fiscally sound. Our citizens are
essential to the success of the games.
On Environmental Issues, Salt Lake City
• Evaluates challenges on a regional and statewide basis, thinks of
the natural environment as a series of interrelated systems, and makes
policy decisions with this complexity in mind.
• Makes wise transportation and development decisions that protect
and enhance the quality of our air and water.
• Protects natural areas from encroachment and degradation and
provides open space as a place for recreation, regeneration, and
contemplation—always mindful of the changing needs of a growing
population.
• Maximizes recycling and reduces waste production through
conservation, and ensures that waste management facilities are adequate
for the population and environmentally friendly.
• Works to enhance the city’s natural gateways and respect the
relationships among mountains, valley, and wetlands, and regards the
landscape with respect and reverence for history, culture, nature, and
beauty in all its definitions.
• Works to establish and maintain the citizens’ sense of
ownership in environmental decisions and individual actions. Educates
the citizens about the importance of respecting connections between city
neighborhoods and the natural features within them.
On Social Issues, Salt Lake City
• Embraces pluralism and encourages diversity in population, urban
design, and cultural expression.
• Encourages all citizens to feel that they have a stake in
government, are connected to their neighborhoods, and can influence
local governments and actions.
• Provides a safe place where all people, regardless of age,
ability, or economic condition, can live with dignity and respect and
without fear.
• Supports families and offers all children access to quality
prenatal care, early-childhood development services, and opportunities
to obtain the academic and life skills they need to succeed.
• Fosters literacy and continuing education throughout the
community.
• Provides recreational opportunities in every neighborhood and to
every citizen.
• Supports jobs that offer wages and benefits sufficient to support
the worker and his or her dependents.
• Ensures that all people working in the city can afford to live
there. Explores creative and innovative solutions to the city’s
housing concerns.
• Encourages neighborhoods, businesses, nonprofit service
providers, churches, schools, governments at all levels, and individuals
to work in partnership, educate and train our citizens, improve the work
force, foster self worth, and reduce crime and violence so that all
citizens can improve themselves and their communities.
In the Arts and Culture, Salt Lake City
• Recognizes cultural growth as the primary community-building
force and regards cultural facilities and events as opportunities to
improve the quality of life for our citizens and improve our sense of
community
• Defines artists and cultural organizations broadly to mean any
person, group, or organization engaged in creative activity with the
intention of contributing to the cultural development of our community.
Cultural activity is also defined broadly to include heritage festivals,
fairs, celebrations, fine arts, performing arts, and all publicly
available art and culture.
• Considers diversity in the full range of its meanings, including
ethnic, cultural, facilities, form, and medium, and assures that
cultural activity is accessible to all members of our diverse community.
• Creates and updates cultural plans using the existing structures,
patterns, and links in the city to make the cultural organizations in
the city recognizable and accessible to visitors near and far.
• Locates and preserves facilities, events, and artist’s housing
in ways that promote innovation, cross-fertilization between arts
activities economic, and neighborhood development, and community
building.
• Regards artists and cultural organizations in our community as
city builders and problem solvers, and encourages artists and cultural
organizations to view themselves in the same way. Maximizes
collaboration and shared uses and minimizes unnecessary duplication in
facilities, programs, and services.
