Blog Posts
Insight: SLC support for Vivint Smart Home Arena makes economic sense
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News If you are like me, you begin to get excited this time of year for the start of the NBA basketball season and our own Utah Jazz. The Jazz have been busy lately, making personnel moves that will make us a playoff-caliber team. Even more important to the long-term success of the Jazz and downtown Salt Lake City is the $125 million renovation occurring at Vivint Smart Home Arena. I commend the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City for using tax increment financing to support this important investment. […]
Insight: Why Utah is a High Growth State
By: James Wood Economic growth is not a simple concept. More than one Nobel Prize has been awarded to economists for their work on growth theory. [1] Even today what drives economic growth, how it’s measured, and what we can expect in the future are still vigorously debated. […]
Demographic Insight: Utah’s Hispanic Population Surpasses 400,000
By: Pamela S. Perlich New estimates released today by the Bureau of the Census indicate that Utah’s Hispanic population has reached 411,143 by July 1, 2015. This means that about 1 out of every 7 Utahns (13.7 percent) is Hispanic or Latino, and greater than 1 out of every 5 new Utahns (22.8 percent) since the 2010 Census count is Hispanic. This population is young, with an estimated median age of 24.4 years old, compared to 30.7 years old for the state as a whole. […]
Insight: Population Growth at Point of the Mountain Portends Merged Metro Area
By: Pamela Perlich, Ph.D. New estimates recently released by the Bureau of the Census indicate that population growth in the state continues to be concentrated in its two largest counties, particularly in southern and western Salt Lake County and northern and central Utah County. Further, the annual amount of population growth in Utah County is approaching that of the much larger Salt Lake County. This provides further evidence of the merging of the two largest counties into a more integrated metropolitan region. […]
Insight: Clever Stories
By: Ken Embley “Nothing in this world is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” -William Shakespeare Just after we observe what others do and just before we feel some emotion about it, we tell ourselves a story. That is, we add meaning to the action we observe and to these simple behaviors, we add motive. From the sandbox “Johnny hit me because he does not like me;” to teenage years, “Billy does not like me because he asked Mary to the dance;” to the freeway, “That guy cut me off because he is in such a hurry.” The[...]
Insight: Centennial Year Inspires National Park Visitation in 2016
By: Jennifer Leaver, M.A. A few months ago, I had the privilege to attend an event called “Your Park After Dark,” held at Salt Lake’s Clark Planetarium. This event, co-hosted by the National Park Service and the Utah Office of Tourism, included mouth-watering food, sweet local tunes, and a premier screening of the new IMAX 3D film, “National Parks Adventure.” […]
Insight: State of Utah’s Travel and Tourism Industry
By: Juliette Tennert, M.A. Our annual State of Utah’s Travel and Tourism Industry report is now available. The report details the important role that this industry plays in Utah’s economy. […]
Insight: Strong First Quarter Results for Utah’s Construction Sector
By: James Wood The latest data show strong first quarter results for Utah’s construction sector. The value of construction in Utah in the first quarter of 2016 was $1.87 billion, only two percent below the all-time high of $1.91 billion (inflation adjusted dollars) in 2007 (See Table 1). The full report for the first quarter of 2016 can be viewed here. […]
Insight: The Gateway Re-Imagined- A new owner promises to restore vibrancy to the drooping property
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in Utah Business When my daughter got her driver’s license, I remember asking her if she could find her way around town. She turned to me with a confident smile and said, “I know how to get to The Gateway.” Her answer spoke volumes. A 16-year-old, newly minted driver who lived in the suburbs of Salt Lake City knew the directions to a downtown shopping destination eight miles away. The Gateway was THE place to go, and she had found it. […]
Insight: Engagement is the right path for US-Cuba relations
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News This week, a Carnival cruise ship left Miami, crossed the Florida Straits and docked in Havana, Cuba. Over 700 passengers stepped off the ship into a socialist country that has endured a half century of Cold War hostility. If these visitors are anything like me, they left with a love for the Cuban people and a renewed commitment to strengthen ties with this extraordinary place. […]