WESTWARD EXPANSION: Utahans look to western land anew.

Utah is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. As people flock to the state, the question is: Where will all these new people go?

Utah's communities on the west side have been setting records for growth over the past decade, with South Jordan adding over 27,000 new residents and Herriman more than doubling in size. Rusty Bollow, executive vice president at Colliers, says that communities on the west side are growing more quickly than their east side counterparts because "that's where there's room to do it."

While the last decade has seen tremendous development on the west side, there are still over 50,000 acres available for new growth. Those acres could make room for upwards of 350,000 new people if introduced to the market.

Utah will add an estimated 2.2 million people to the population over 30 years. Without rapid development, this influx of people could wreak Utah's housing market havoc. Zach Beaudry, EVP at Colliers, has worked with multiple major national retailers looking for retail space in Utah's rapidly expanding communities. And Utah is on the map, continuing, "It's amazing how many eyeballs are looking at the Utah market, whether it's developers, tenants, equity investors, or people that just want to relocate here."

Beaudry says businesses are looking to move into new Utah communities at unprecedented speeds. "Places that look too green by developer's standards are suddenly ready to go today," he says. "Retailers and restaurants are saying, if we don't go today, we're going to miss out, and we might not get the right location in the trade area."

The speed at which the state is growing means that today's developers will play a significant role in determining the future of Utah's thriving communities. With pressing questions of water usage, air pollution, and housing affordability to consider, what should these new communities look like? How can Utah create a thriving west side for future generations?

Following The Water

As a desert state, water has been one of the most significant factors determining how our state was formed. When Salt Lake City pioneers entered the valley, they set up camp near City Creek and later chose it as a permanent settling place.

"We located, and we looked about, and finally, we came and camped between the two forks of City Creek, one of which ran southwest and the other west," the first governor of the Utah Territory, Brigham Young, wrote. "Here, we planted our standard on this block and the...