[Text] September 2004 | Number 71 | REVIEW
[Image] Kennecott Land planning.
[Text] Communities planned for people.
[Image] Landscape to reality: mining land becomes living land.
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Communities planned for people
What happens when an urgent need meets a massive asset? The Daybreak development in Utah shows the startling and sustainable results achievable by people and organizations willing to consult, collaborate and think "out of the box". By Anne St John-Hall

Adjoining the giant Bingham Canyon copper mine outside Salt Lake City, Utah are swathes of empty land, lying in the path of the expanding conurbation. In a far seeing move that will turn mining land into a sustainable resource, owner Kennecott Utah Copper has gone into the land development business.

For the past 15 years, Utah has been one of the fastest growing states in the United States, and that trend is set to continue. In part, Utah owes its population boom to improving job prospects in the state. But as much as 70 per cent of Utah's growth is internal: the next generation of Utah families is setting down roots to build a future for themselves and their children.

Where will all these people find homes and workplaces? Nowhere is the challenge more evident than in Salt Lake Valley, where Kennecott Utah Copper has mined for 100 years. Surrounded by world class ski resorts, Salt Lake hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, bringing international stature to Utah as a winter sports capital. The valley is also famous as global headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons). And the area can also boast a different kind of record: Kennecott's Bingham Canyon mine has produced more copper than any mine in history, about 17 million tonnes.

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