Monthly Archives: April 2021

Utah Thrives Podcast | Is Utah Leading a Transportation Funding Revolution?

Written by: Peter Reichard

Utah has joined about a dozen states in exploring a new kind of revenue for road maintenance that charges drivers for miles driven, rather than fuel consumed. While many states have conducted research and pilot projects on road usage charges, Utah and Oregon are the only two states with currently operating programs. The Utah Foundation’s recent report Measuring the Miles: Road Usage Charges in Utah examines the broader movement toward road usage charges among the states; how … Continued

Op-Ed: Rising housing costs and rising concerns in Utah

Written by: Peter Reichard

Concerns about housing affordability in Utah have become acute, to say the least. In Utah Foundation surveys dating back to 2008, housing affordability had never been a top-10 issue. That changed in 2020. In an initial Utah Priorities survey before the economic shutdown, we found that housing affordability had surged to become the second most important issue. In a new survey several months later, it remained in the top 10, even after the pandemic crisis … Continued

Video: 2020 Utah Voter Priorities

Written by: Christopher Collard

Every four years, Utah Foundation conducts a series of surveys to discover which topics are most important to Utah voters. Surveying priorities in 2020 proved to be a unique challenge. Our first series of surveys finished in March. Days later, the coronavirus pandemic shut down state economies and the next few months saw widespread protests against racism and for police reform. Due to the reshuffling of Utah voters’ priorities, Utah Foundation conducted another round of … Continued

Significant Statistics | Are Californians to Blame for Salt Lake’s Rising Housing and Rental Rates?

Written by: Christopher Collard

The Utah Foundation has released a series of Significant Statistics on the relative importance of housing affordability among Utah voters, noting the steep increases in housing prices and rental prices. Why are we seeing these increases? The Utah Foundation has looked at whether it might be due to an influx of Californians. That does not seem to be the whole answer. When looking at Utah’s larger metropolitan areas, the recent rate of people moving in … Continued