Within the constraints of the heartbreaking COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen normalcy fall apart, while seeing our communities fall toward one another in a variety of creative ways.

Constraints are familiar to the co-inhabitants of the Wasatch. This metropolitan corridor is squeezed between rising mountains and stretching bodies of water. Each season pushes its own agenda. Our geology and geography have long forced us to be thoughtful problem solvers in how we develop and inhabit our built environment. We’re desert-dwellers after all. We’re also fault-line dwellers.

Inside our hearts, minds and homes, the constraints of these times emerged differently. As a collective, we’ve experienced the emotional and physical tolls of sickness, over-work, unemployment and financial uncertainty. We’ve felt fear, anxiety and confusion. We’ve also seen evidence of brilliance and determination. We’ve seen makeshift drive-thrus, hand sanitizer produced in distilleries, artists turned mask-makers, hearts on the sides of near-vacant hotels, school lunches delivered to students without schools, and so much generosity.

Artists, chefs, musicians, recreators — humans — have long demonstrated the ability to thrive in unexpected ways when placed in one-of-a-kind circumstances. The past few months are no exception.

As you read these stories, consider how you can help our Wasatch Front community recover. And then do the same for our communities on the other side of the mountains and our rural towns across the state. Supporting local — supporting Utah — has never been needed more. We dedicate this issue to our urban innovators.

— Excerpt from the Introduction “Creativity Within Constraints” by Rosie Gochnour Serago, Editorial Director