Raisons dtre

Chris Roybal | president and CEO, Economic Development Corporation of Utah

Point of View: Cities exist only because of the people in them. And just as cities need people, people need cities
and their institutions. The EDCU helps those cities and institutions serve and fulfill the needs of those people.

By DUSTIN TYLER JOYCE | URBPL 2010 | THURSDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2004
ENTION THE WORD city, and what comes to mind? Typically a collection of streets, sidewalks,
civic and cultural facilities, parks and other forms of recreation, shops, office buildings, housesthe
list goes on. In other words, the most conventional definition of a city is a place that has been
broken up by buildings and places. And this is a very true definition.
But even the most basic definition of a city must include something more than this. There must be a
reason that all those buildings and places and spaces exist. The reasons for that existence will typically be found
on the inside of those structures, though they may be indicated by signs and other exterior features. For
example, civic and cultural facilities: city hall exists because a city government has been organized; schools are
built because of the presence of an educational system; theaters stand because theatrical, music, and other arts
companies need a space to perform their craft. Stadiums and arenas are constructed in cities because of the
presence of sports teams. In short, buildings and spaces exist in a city because of the institutions that fill them
and need them.
Thus is the reason that shops and office buildings and other places of business and commerce exist in
a city. And this is where the Economic Development Corporation of Utah enters the picture. The EDCU
exists in order to ensure that there are institutions of businessfinance, manufacturing, retail, etc.to
construct those buildings and to fill them once theyre constructed.
These businesses and their related organizations are an essential part of our culture and society. They
define who we are in so many ways, from the form of government and economic system we have to the
clothes we wear. They are the means by which those other facilitiescivic, cultural, parks, recreation, etc., and
the streets and sidewalks that connect themcan exist.
But regardless of how many businesses exist, and no matter how successful and influential they are,
and even aside from how much money they make, they couldnt cause these other institutions to exist without
one aspect of cities that I have left out. In fact, these businesses themselves could not exist without that most
important element. The last aspect of city life involves those houses I mentioned in that list above. Those
houses are where peoplehuman beingslive. And it is people that make a city a city.
In fact, it is people more so than anything else that make a city. Really, when it comes down to it, all
those streets, sidewalks, city halls, libraries, swimming pools, shopping malls, skyscrapers, and even those
houses are just piles of brick, stone, concrete, and glass. For example, take away all the people from Salt Lake
City and what do you have left? Take away all the people, or, for that matter, even just some of the people
from some of the worlds greatest citiesNew York, London, Tokyo, etc.and what do you have left? A
ghost town, a vestige of the formerly great city that was. All the structures of the city would still be there, but
those alone are simply not enough to make the place a city. Only the presence of human beings can do that.
Hence the real reason the EDCU existsto serve the people who inhabit this city and this state and
who turn this place in the middle of the desert into a city. Just as the city needs those people for its very
existence and sustainability, those people need this city and this state to be responsive to their needs. The
reason we have organized businesses and institutions is because they make our life more fulfilling; we have
organized them because we need them and we depend upon them. And we trust that they will continue to
grow and develop and prosper and, ultimately, contribute to this city we have built and create better lives for
all of us.
And the Economic Development Corporation of Utah is a part of all of that. It helps bring those
commercial institutions to our state which enrich our lives, and once theyre here, it helps them continue to
develop and grow and become responsive to our needs. Its about making this place a city, with all the
physical characteristics that entails. But above all its about people.
M