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WFRC staff unveils five simple ‘Big 5’ progress measures and a virtual‑centers tool for Wasatch Choice Vision
Summary
WFRC staff presented a proposed set of five easy‑to‑explain measures to track Wasatch Choice Vision outcomes — transportation choices, housing affordability (including transportation costs), parks/public spaces, city and town centers, and access to opportunities — and previewed an interactive ‘virtual centers’ visualization tool.
Wasatch Front Regional Council staff presented a proposed “Big 5” set of progress measures Aug. 21 designed to give policymakers and the public an easy way to track on‑the‑ground outcomes linked to the Wasatch Choice Vision.
The Big 5 measures are: - Transportation choices: percentage of residents within about a 10‑minute walk (roughly 0.5 mile) of frequent transit service. - Housing affordability/options: a combined measure accounting for housing and transportation costs, not housing cost alone. - Parks and public spaces: percentage of residents within a 10‑minute walk of parks, trailheads or trails. - Strength of centers: percentage of homes and jobs in designated city and town centers. - Access to opportunities: an overarching measure of the average number of job opportunities reachable within a typical commute.
Ted Knowlton (WFRC) said the goal is clarity: a small, repeatable set of measures that are easy for elected officials and the public to understand, can be measured at multiple geographies and tracked over time.
Feedback from committee members included support for combining housing and transportation costs in affordability metrics (Laura Hansen, governor’s office), and several members asked that homeownership be included as a component of affordability and policy levers. Several participants suggested coordinating measurement methods with other local research organizations to provide consistent regional messaging.
WFRC staff also previewed a ‘virtual centers’ online tool that provides interactive visualizations of different center types and design options. The tool is not publicly released yet but will be shared with committee members ahead of a broader public release.
Next steps: Staff will refine the Big 5 based on committee feedback, consult partner organizations that measure related indicators, and return with additional metrics and visualizations for review. Annual checks and spatial mapping were discussed as likely features.
