Assessment Tool: Questions to Think About
Use the questions that apply to your community.
Boundaries.
What areas does this assessment include?
What’s special and what’s not.
What makes your community unique?
What are the special places?
What places do people love to be in?
Where do people gather?
What places are not so enticing?
Stories.
What stories from the past are important and unique to your community?
What resources do you have to research and present the community’s history?
What interesting people influenced the area?
Which stories and people might intrigue tourists?
What ethnic, cultural, or religious groups settled or immigrated to this place?
How have they influenced the community over time?
What might the stories offer to strengthen the community and its economy?
Built places.
What historic resources does your community have? Consider:
- Museums
- Important or famous historic buildings and landmarks
- Ordinary historic buildings, neighborhoods, and districts
- Barns, fences, outbuildings, sculptures, monuments, bridges
- Downtowns and commercial areas
- Underutilized structures
- Archaeological sites
What are this place’s most unique or important cultural or historic structures?
For each, describe its cultural, historical, and economic importance.
Describe any potential threats to these sites.
Open places.
What open spaces and natural features are important to residents and visitors?
Consider:
- Cemeteries
- Parks
- Historic or cultural sites
- Landscapes, farmscapes, etc.
- Water
- Scenic drives
- Vistas
- Recreational areas
- Linear corridors with historic significance, such as roads, abandoned rails, canals, etc.
What are the community’s most unique or important landscapes, features, areas, or sites?
For each, describe its cultural, historical, and economic importance.
Describe any potential threats to these sites.
Events and things to do.
What events bring people in your community together, or even bring in visitors?
Consider:
- Festivals and fairs
- Music
- Sports
- Drama
- Farmers markets
- Film
- Dance
- Parades
- Rodeos
How do these events tie into your history?
What fine events or activities have disappeared—and perhaps could be revived?
Who puts these events on? Who participates? How many out-of-towners do they draw? How could these events contribute to your economy?
Cultural products and traditions.
What products, institutions, and traditions is your community known for?
Consider:
- Traditional lifestyles, such as ranching/farming/mining/railroading, etc.
- Unique restaurants or
- Retail shops selling a variety of high-quality products
- Locally produced items for sale
- Food products
- Services
- Craftspeople and their crafts
- Art galleries and artist studios
- Music
- Traditions
- Ethnic groups
- Unique businesses
- Unique architecture
- Well-known institutions
How could these contribute to your economy?
Working together.
Do we have a core group of passionate, energetic citizens who will do whatever it takes to achieve success?
What other organizations and individuals are active in community affairs?
How do individuals and organizations work together? On what kinds of projects?
Who are the community leaders and what are their strengths?
What skills, strengths, interests, financial support, and connections do individuals and organizations have?
What are the typically divisive issues?
What are typically uniting issues?
Can these organizations come together in a working partnership for heritage tourism and/or heritage community development?
Is there a natural “lead” organization? Does that organization have a capable, “do-it” board of directors, engaged membership, etc.?
Preservation.
What are the citizens’ attitudes about historic buildings?
Does the community have any tools for preserving and adapting historic buildings to present needs?
- Preservation ordinances
- Preservation commission
What buildings or sites are deteriorating or threatened?
Do design ordinances ensure that new buildings will be compatible with the historic character of the community?
- Has the community adopted (or is it aware of) Smart Growth (see Envision Utah) and New Community Planning principles?
- Mixed-use development
- Density
- Walkability
- Connected streets
Are city, county, or regional land use plans in place?
Does the community have a plan for maintaining and improving the downtown?
Are there tools and ordinances in place to address the protection of natural resources?
What plans and ordinances are needed?
Commercial mix.
What kinds of businesses thrive in the community?
What kinds of businesses are needed?
Special—and important—details.
What makes the community memorable and/or more livable? Consider:
- Downtown or city center with necessary services
- Light posts
- Benches
- Street trees
- Walkability
- Walking paths or sidewalks
- The lack of sidewalks
- Walkable interconnections between key areas
- Bike routes
- Multi-use trails and paths
- Signage
- Flowers
- Informal gathering spots
- Formal gathering spots for meetings and events
- Irrigation ditches
- Local college
- Community spirit and interaction among residents
- Recreation opportunities (parks, hunting, fishing, hiking, nature observation, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc.)
What parts of the community do not contribute to its uniqueness or memorableness?
Infrastructure.
What infrastructure do you have—or do you need—to serve heritage tourists, businesses, and residents?
Consider:
- A variety of restaurants, especially local ones
- Meeting spaces
- Lodging, including campgrounds
- Entertainment
- Transportation (public transportation, highways, airports, bus, rail)
- Information center
- Parking—consider busses and RVs also
- Public restrooms
- Banks and ATMs
- Gas stations
- Banks offering services to international visitors
- Libraries
- Housing
- Adequate power, water, sewer, roads
- Education
- Access to health care
Marketing materials and systems.
What are the demographics of the region’s visitors? (talk with the Utah Travel Council, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, chambers of commerce, major tourist attractions, etc.)
What image do promotional materials convey? (Signage, brochures, maps, guides, etc.) Are these materials consistent? Are they effective? Do they market historic sites, activities, and products?
Are there untapped opportunities for joint marketing or themed itineraries?
What other marketing strategies have been used?
What does the community value?