That's why, De Groote says, "when you see an article about Salt Lake you hold your breath. You wonder, did the people do their homework or are they just willing to take a cheap shot." The chamber was able to exhale when it heard about the Outside magazine choice of Salt Lake City as one of the Top 10 places in America to live, work and play.

The magazine picked its winners by first imagining what a perfect town would look and feel like, says senior editor Dianna Delling. Then it looked around the country to see what places measured up. "Think Utopia doesn't exist?" the magazine's headline asks. "Maybe not yet — but these 10 towns are making a play for perfection with adventure-friendly innovation and cool ideas for building smart communities."

While Portland, Ore., and Madison, Wis., two of the other "dream towns," were fairly predictable choices, Salt Lake City was "a total surprise," Delling says.

"It was a surprise for us, and I think it will be a surprise for readers." She'd heard it was a great place to live, says Delling, who lives in Sante Fe, "But I didn't realize that the town had such a progressive spirit."

The surprise factor — we follow the Kyoto Accord and we serve beer! — likely gave Salt Lake City an edge over some of the competition, but the city also earned its "dream town" status because of a long list of progressive strategies, she says. The magazine cited city offices lit by compact fluorescents, a sewage treatment plant that turns released methane into electricity and Mayor Rocky Anderson's opposition to a west-side mall.

Rocky, in fact, was central to Outside's decision that Utah is praiseworthy.

"When the mayor of the largest city in Utah uses his annual State of the City address to evangelize about sustainability, greenhouse gas reduction and the downsides of Wal-Mart, you know something's brewing on the Wasatch Front," Outside said in its city bio. "Salt Lake earns glowing reviews these days from dog lovers, vegetarians, bookstore browsers, microbrew guzzlers, and especially recreationists."

The only negatives Outside noted were the city's periodic smog ("alarming at times") and "endless polygamy jokes from your out-of-state friends." It also quoted Salt Lake environmental programs manager Vicki Bennett, who notes that while many people love Rocky, "the state Legislature hates him."

The magazine did not speculate where Salt Lake City would rank in the future, after Rocky leaves office. But by then some other magazine might be rating U.S. cities, looking instead for places that use regular light bulbs.

---

E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com