This fall, Get Healthy Utah partnered with Move Utah and Bike Utah to host the first-ever Connected Communities Summit! The summit, which was held September 18-19, 2024 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, combined each organization's annual event and educated participants on the theme "Building an Active, Healthy Utah." The summit pulled together diverse professionals such as policymakers, elected leaders, transportation and city planners, and public health experts--all people dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Utah's communities.
Keynote Speakers
The summit featured a plenary panel and two keynote speakers--Chris Danley and Mark Fenton--who are experts on walkability and healthy community design.
On day one of the summit, Chris Danley, founder of Vitruvian Planning, spoke on "Second-Hand Cities: What They Are and How to Win Them Back." He made the case that just like second-hand smoke can have negative effects on health and longevity, so can poorly designed cities with insufficient active transportation infrastructure. He challenged current cultural norms like large parking lots, unsafe sidewalks and bike lanes, and disconnected neighborhoods and called for a shift in community planning and design. To view Chris's presentation slides, click HERE.
Mark Fenton, one of the nation's leading walkability experts, spoke on day two of the summit. He addressed the topic "Pilots-to-Policy: An Approach to Build More Connected Communities." He acknowledged that many communities want to build safer, more active infrastructure but often feel constrained by a lack of funding. He shared examples of communities around the nation using a pilots-to-policy approach to overcome funding limitations. With this approach, a community pilots a small, inexpensive, and temporary solution to improve pedestrian safety, gathers data about its effectiveness, then uses that data to justify and secure additional funding. To view Mark's slide deck, click HERE.
The summit also featured a plenary panel on building healthy Utah communities featuring four local experts:
- Dirk Burton, Mayor of West Jordan
- Catherine Van Tassell, Director of Behavioral Health Consulting at GBS Benefits
- Stephanie Tomlin, Trails Division Director at UDOT
- Nick Duerksen, Land Development Director of The Point
The panel was moderated by Nick Jarvis, Chief Operating Officer of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. The session featured a Q&A, project updates, and practical advice on how to build healthier, more connected communities throughout the state of Utah.
Breakout Sessions
Throughout the summit, participants had the option to choose breakout sessions from the following three tracks:
- Active Communities: How to build communities that encourage physical activity and active transportation
- Healthy Communities: How to build communities to address the health needs of residents
- Connected Communities: How to build communities that promote strong social connection and easy navigation
In addition, participants could choose to attend an innovative workshop track titled Building Communities. During the workshops, local communities in Utah presented on real-world challenges, such as slowing down traffic on rural main streets or promoting social connection among senior populations in cold winter months. The participants were then divided into roundtables to discuss the challenges, combine their expertise, and offer practical solutions.
To view the breakout session agenda, click HERE.
To view the slide decks for each presentation, click HERE.
Active Transportation Tours
Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the summit was the opportunity to sign up and participate in active transportation tours. Eight different tours were offered over the course of the two-day conference, ranging from a downtown Provo scooter tour, to a Utah Valley Express bus tour, to a tour featuring adaptive equipment. Every participant was offered water, a snack, and an expert guide for the experience.
Get Healthy Utah Celebration
On the last day of the conference, Get Healthy Utah held a special luncheon to celebrate its ten-year anniversary! First organized by Former Lt . Governor Greg Bell, Get Healthy Utah has spent the last decade working hard to promote a healthier and more connected state. During the luncheon, Get Healthy Utah's Executive Director, Alysia Ducuara, presented on the organization's achievements and shared a celebratory video. Chet Loftis, Board Chair of Get Healthy Utah, followed her remarks with a report on Get Healthy Utah's future direction. Last, Former Governor Gary Herbert spoke to the importance of building a healthier Utah and presented Greg Bell with the Champion of Health Award, acknowledging his groundbreaking work to found Get Healthy Utah and his career-long dedication to promoting a healthier and more livable state for all.
Conclusion
The Connected Communities Summit was an innovative effort to pull together community leaders from diverse sectors and rally around the shared vision of building a healthier, more connected Utah. We are pleased to share that with over 400 attendees and two days of cutting-edge presentations, it was a great success! We would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to our partners, Move Utah and Bike Utah, for helping to make this one-of-a-kind event a reality.