Mesquite, Nevada, is on its way to becoming the next Palm Springs. But what about our own sleepy towns. When I am able to get away to Wayne County for rest and regrounding, I can still get up in the morning and walk down the road and see the same scene I saw as a kid hauling hay. There is constancy to rural Utah and a cultural and historical connection to the urban areas of the state. What may have been considered disadvantages in the past will rapidly, in the next century become advantages.
Communities are like plants.
Different plants prosper in different conditions and bloom at different times. No one can predict the future. But because of the unique combination of safety, security, sense of community and the ability to conduct business in Hong Kong, the 21st century will be the time that rural Utah blossoms. There are global, social and economic trends shaping the emergence of the rural West, which are beyond the control of local and state leaders. The key then is to position those communities through planning, promotion and partnerships to make certain that the lives of rural Utahns converge economically and socially with where the world is headed.