- Is there potential for a useful synergy, or at least a complementarity, with other
within-region activities? - Can it be established that the project will notact to mutually deny any other
gainful project?
New jobs and new projects (particularly export jobs and basic projects) are bound
to have a number of economically beneficial, but also some socially adverse,
impact.
Principal among the beneficialeffects is an alignment of development and
conservancy effort toward the marginalized, as with more work opportunities for
women. Another job-related benefit may lie with the ironing-out of seasonal
fluctuations. And beyond jobs, pure and simple, is the local benefit of increased
property tax returns for municipal coffers. Indeed economic development in
prosperous localities, already exhibiting low rates of unemployment, may be
undertaken for this primary purpose alone. Another beneficial effect, and often
the initial motivating factor, is the knock-on demand for more services, more
residential property, and more consumption – all in addition to the creation of
more jobs.
On the adversedownside, the listing is more disquieting than might at first be
supposed. This could profile early as a squeeze on the local housing market, which
proves tough on starter buyers, particularly local starter buyers. What also
happens is that the inflow of incomers can adversely affect the proportion of local
appointees to jobs, which, of itself, does not reflect the additional socially related
costs of adjusting incomers into the local scene. There are also practical difficul-
ties of cost recovery arising from the extension of utilities (water, power, waste
disposal), and services (schools, clinics, public transport), to meet the expanding
needs of incoming project participants. Additionally there are also the environ-
mental degradation and resource depletion ‘deferred clean-up costs’ of many new
production projects.
All the foregoing beneficial and adverse items need to be put into wide-horizon
consideration, as factors for a recipient community to consider and accommodate.
This process is addressed later as the Risk Impact Assessment problematic. Also,
with new projects, it is necessary to assess and confront the competitive adverse
effects of newcomer projects on already established commercial and industrial
enterprises.What, then, comprises the base set of operational guidelines for promoting
growth?- A firstnormative set ofButtress Guidelinescentres around the notion of enrich-
ing existing processes, which includes enhancement of established activities,
and the plugging of leaks within industry and business. This approach is
examined first because an important lesson from experience is that it is much
more likely that employment can be generated, that environmental values can
be upheld, and a greater sense of social success can be created, through the
expansion of enterprises already in place, rather than as a consequence of
136 Practice