While growth is one of the major factors making Utah's economy the strongest in the nation, (source) growth has also created problems for City and State leaders. Law makers are faced with difficult decisions in how best to handle growth so that traffic congestion, polluted air and suburban sprawl don't decimate the beauty of our Western outpost. Planners ultimately want to avoid creating the same problems that eastern migrants moved away from.

Despite their eye towards preservation and land conservation, many state leaders believe that there is simply no other viable solution to congestion problems than to build wider highways, more freeway off-ramps and more traffic lights. Beef up the infrastructure and traffic will be alleviated; commuters will be happy (source). Without doubt, this is the quickest and easiest fix. However, it's clear that these are by no means long-term or sustainable solutions. Smart growth experts agree that this model only perpetuates the problems associated with suburban sprawl and increases dependency on oil, land, highway maintenance and vehicles.

As more highways are paved or widened, UDOT cannot build fast enough to stay ahead of the curve (source). Commuters always beat the projections for how long highways will be sustainable before they become congested. Asphalt hungry suburban sprawl is never satisfied. According to "Suburban Nation," there is never an attainable point when traffic and highway construction are sustainable. This is because of a simple fact: As more highways are built to accommodate traffic, the reaction of the population is always to move further away from their place of work, attracted by more affordable housing in the farther away suburbs.

With all of the outdoor recreation opportunities in Utah: mountains, canyons, lakes, trails; third in the country in number of National Parks; more state parks than anywhere else. it's astonishing that ten-percent of all Utahn's are obese.

Workouts have become dreaded activities performed in gyms, suffered though while watching TV. It doesn't have to be this way, exercise can be built into lifestyle, built into our neighborhoods by building bike pathways and more walking .

This actually isn't a new idea, nearly all neighborhoods over fifty-years-old accomodate pedestirans better than new neighborhoods. In Europe, it would be unthinkable to drive a car to buy basic necesities. In most new American neighboorhoods, even short trips are impossible by foot without undergoing grave danger from busy intersections and poor sidewalks.

Transit and good pededestrian walkways/bikepaths is also not an antiquated idea. Cities in the United States and especailly Europe still design under the premise that if they put pedestrian convience first the community will use the walkways and drive less. For more on this see our next smart growth story.

Waistlines in America continue to expand. Today 17% of Americans are obese. Studies have shown that this trend is largely due to the sedentary nature of American life and lack of physical activity. According to a recent study, just thirty minutes of walking per day would result in half as many people suffering from obesity and this requires no change in diet. (source) With a little more foresight into smart urban planning more people could ditch their car and walk to do more errands.

The typical model for sprawling suburban developments are cu-de-sacs and inlet roads only leading to wider busy roads, whereby only the from the wide busy roads can people access grocery stores and restaurants. This common modern community design is absent of plans for meaningful pedestrian usage.

Under this typical model, however, home builders can maximize profits because they build cookie-cutter tract homes for miles, requiring very little planning or pedestrian infrastructure (see history above). The unrealized expense is lack of a community center and walkable destinations.

Fifty years ago mixed use development was a no brainier. However, today "walkable communities" is a buzz term, like it's something new and special. Planners must remember that our feet were not designed to only push gas pedals. People are more than commuters and when this is forgotten the result is obesity.