City of Missoula | 7
to raise a family somewhere that doesn’t of-
fer a decent quality of life?” asks Mayor En-
gen. “There’s a reason that people find com-
fort in mountain towns like Missoula. We
thrive on being a place where people still say
‘Hi’ when passing someone on the street …
a place where people can walk out the back
door of their home and participate with na-
ture on a rigorous mountain bike ride or a
scooter along a trail… a place with clean wa-
ter and clean air, a place where professionals
acknowledge that sustainability is essential
to both the quality and sustainability of their
business operations as well as their work-
force. The notion that sustainability is some-
how separate from economic development
is what our City Attorney would describe as
‘poppycock’,” says Engen with conviction.
As Mayor of Missoula since 2006, Engen
has helped galvanize local forces in support
of the “Best Places Project,” a proposal to
create an economic development program
based on the recruitment, retention and de-
velopment of “right-fit” business enterprises.
