UTAH'S RURAL CHARACTER
DEFINTION, INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS

The purpose of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB) Utah’s Rural Character Definition, Inventory and Analysis Checklist is to assist Utah communities to:

• define and better understand the meaning of rural character;
• describe and analyze the elements of their rural character;
• identify, inventory and map their rural characteristics;
• access the basic information necessary to inform strategies and allow for local solutions that can maintain desired rural character.

If the objectives outlined in the Rural Character Checklist are accomplished, a definition, inventory and analysis of your community’s rural character will be generated.

The Rural Character Checklist includes:
• a planning checklist, including helpful definitions, for communities to follow as they identify their rural character;
• a model Rural Character Definition, Inventory and Analysis;
• a model Rural Character Map;
• a model Rural Character Elements and Values Table.

The Rural Character Checklist is a purposefully brief and easily accessible tool developed with the non-professional planner in mind. In order to use the Checklist all that is required is a basic knowledge of one’s community and a desire to learn more about it! However, as with all of GOPB’s planning tools, technical assistance is always available from GOPB staff specialists.