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Connectivity: A Social Ecosystem What does Community Heritage Group mean by "multi-dimensional" instead of "linear" planning? Town planning is often conducted on a linear axis, meaning that we assume X will equal Y (for instance, a new factory will result in 100 jobs). That’s typical of most growth conversations, because it’s easier to demonstrate cause-and-effect in one-dimensional, relatively uncomplicated terms. While it’s true, in a purely linear sense, that X may equal Y, other unplanned-for results can also follow, results that are sometimes not in the community’s best interest. For example: That new factory promising 100 jobs may discharge pollutants into a stream, killing fish and plants, destroying a well-loved swimming hole, and incurring unanticipated cleanup costs. The industry may change traffic patterns and create a need for new street lights, wider roads, and pedestrian crossings. The wider road, to follow the dominos, may inhibit walking, result in additional automobile exhaust run-off into a city park, or affect storm drainage. And those 100 jobs? Make sure it’s not an economic shell game – simply eliminating positions elsewhere and moving them to the new site. Bottom Line: Consider connections from multiple perspectives – social, economic, environmental, cultural, and regional. Few community actions are as simple and benign as they appear. Towns can create place-based surveys, and then research and weigh how decisions will affect every component on the list of indicators. CONNECTIVITY AND COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP: All CHG Programs emphasize the need to consider choices holistically, not just one-dimensionally. We encourage every community to develop its own place-based survey; CHG can help plan and implement this tool, as well as interpret its findings. |
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