COMMUNITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Level III

RATIONALE:  Human activities have impacted the natural and social environments for millennia.   It was only in the 19^th century, however, that attempts were first made to anticipate and predict potential impacts as part of planning and decision-making.  And it has only been over the past half century that political activism has led to some legislation which requires formal impact assessment as part of decision-making about certain projects and policies.  In response, two major trends have taken place, which are important for community planning.  First, a vast set of techniques have been developed for predicting various types of social, economic, environmental and other physical impacts.  Second, impact assessment has become an important political tool for broadening participation in public and private decision-making about social and economic policies and physical development projects.  The Environmental Justice Movement is one example of how these two trends have come together.

A community planner needs to have an understanding of the historical and political context of impact assessment, as well as basic skill in the techniques of impact prediction. A community planner should be able to assist community groups and advocates in developing a sound understanding of the costs and benefits of actions planned by public and private actors, so that the community can decide whether it would be desirable and/or possible to support the action, stop it, or get it altered in some way.  The planner should then be able to assist the community to develop responses or alternatives, determine their probable impact, and advocate for the chosen alternative.  This competency requires the student to demonstrate these three areas of skill: understanding of the origins and context of impact assessment; basic skill in applying impact assessment techniques to a proposed project or policy; and ability to formulate ways of preventing or reducing potentially harmful impacts.

COMPETENCY:  Can demonstrate a basic familiarity with the origins and context of impact assessment, can assess the impact on a community or target population of a proposed action proposed, and can assist in planning alternatives or responses to the proposed action.

CRITERIA:

1.      Explain:

a.       the historical origins of impact assessment;

b.      some of the major public policies mandating impact assessment;

c.       a current or recent social or environmental impact controversy.

2.      Select a proposed physical development project or a proposed social or economic policy, and:

a.        Summarize the proposed action

b.       Prepare either (i) a technical critique of the impacts predicted by the proponent, or (ii) an independent analysis of  the potential social, economic and physical impacts on the community of the proposed action.

3.      Formulate alternatives or modifications to the action to eliminate or reduce potential negative impacts.

PORTFOLIO LINKS:  All written work for this competency must at least meet the writing standards of Communications Portfolio II.  The work done to meet the criteria and standards of this competency may provide the basis for demonstrating criterion 1c of the Level III Communications Portfolio, which requires a practice-based paper or oral presentation.

STANDARDS:

1.      For criterion 1, based upon your reading of a variety of materials (approved or provided by an evaluator) on environmental and social impact assessment, explain the following:

a.       some of the major historical examples of environmental and social impacts prior to the 1960s and attempts to regulate such impacts;

b.      the National Environmental Impact Act (NEPA), including when it was passed, what is its most important part, and what have been some of the major implications and consequences of NEPA;

c.       the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and its major differences from NEPA;

d.      a recent or current controversial environmental or social impact issue, such as environmental racism or resource extraction in protected wilderness areas.

2.      For criterion 2 the project or policy must meet at least one of the following conditions:

a.   change the type, level or location of services for at least 200 persons

b.   involve at least 50 units of housing

c.   employ at least 50 persons

d.      cost at least $50,000.

2a.  For criterion 2a, the summary must include the following elements:

a.   what is the relevant community or target population

b.      what is/was proposed to be done

c.       what justification is/was given for the action

d.      what impacts are/were predicted by the proponents

e.       what specific techniques and data were used to predict the impacts.

2b.  For criterion 2b, the critique of predicted impacts or independent prediction of impacts should assess the following types of impact:

a.        social--which groups of people have been or will be harmed, in what ways and to what extent; which groups will benefit, in what ways and to what extent.

b.      physical--which aspects of the built environment, including housing, transportation, and community facilities, have been or will be altered--in what ways and to what extent; which aspects of the natural environment, such as noise levels, air quality, water quality and drainage, soil conditions, flora and fauna, have been or will be altered, in what ways and to what extent.

c.        economic--estimated public costs for carrying out the action and/or providing services associated with it; probable tax revenues generated directly and indirectly by the action; jobs created, in the short and long run, and who gets them; private profits provided by and through the action and who gets them.

Also, for criterion 2b, the critique of predicted impacts or independent prediction of impacts:

a.       must be based upon data in the proposal itself

b.      must explicitly analyze any environmental and social impact statements prepared in connection with the proposal

c.       must draw upon some of the technical literature on impact assessment

d.      should also determine whether the proposed action is consistent with any declared community goals and plans.

3.       For criterion 3, the alternatives or modifications should be based upon contact with the community and/or advocates; must demonstrate understanding of the community’s goals and needs; and must propose ways to:

a.       reduce the costs to the community or redistribute the costs to those better able to bear them; and/or

b.      increase the benefits to the community or redistribute the benefits to those most in need.

4.      If the analysis, prediction and planning are the results of a collaborative team effort, each team member must be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the entire process.

EXAMPLES OF DEMONSTRATION:

1.      Prior Learning:  As part of your work at a community development corporation, you were assistant project manager for a mixed commercial/residential development.  You had primary responsibility for preparing a community impact assessment for the development.  You submit your report, together with a letter from the executive director attesting to your role, to meet criteria 2 and 3.  To meet criterion 1 you read and summarize materials on the origins and issues in impact assessment, and visit the office of the Mass. Environmental Policy Agency to become familiar with their policies and responsibilities.

2.      Independent Learning: As part of your community work you have been involved in assessing the impacts of the HOPE VI program to demolish public housing developments and rebuild them as mixed-income housing.  Focusing on a particular development slated for redevelopment, you work with groups that recognize the physical problems with the housing development but are concerned about the potential impacts on the current residents of the housing and on community-wide low-income housing needs.  You assist in determining the potential impacts of the redevelopment as proposed and formulating alternatives for rehabilitating the development to protect and maximize the amount of low-income housing.  You prepare a detailed outline or written paper describing the proposal, your work and the outcomes.  To meet criterion 1 you read and summarize materials on the origins and issues in impact assessment, and visit the office of the Mass. Environmental Policy Agency to become familiar with their policies and responsibilities.

3.      Workshop:  As part of a CPCS workshop read and summarize materials on the origins and issues in impact assessment.  Visit the office of the Mass. Environmental Policy Agency to become familiar with their policies and responsibilities.  Obtain and read the Environmental Impact Statement prepared for a proposed housing, commercial or industrial development.  Prepare a detailed outline or written paper summarizing and critiquing the EIS and developing new estimates of some of the possible impacts.  Propose possible alternatives or modifications which might reduce the negative impacts on the community.

4.      Field Project:  As part of a CPCS field-work project assist a community group concerned  about plans to close a school in the community.  Work with the group to determine whether the school committee has a sound and persuasive basis for its planned action, evaluate the probable effect of the closing on the social fabric of the community and on the physical environment, and assist in determining possible alternative uses, consistent with goals, such as a community center or housing, if the closing should turn out to be justified or politically unalterable.  To meet criterion 1 read and summarize materials on the origins and issues in impact assessment.

5.      Field Project: A student participates in a CPCS field project that is developing a plan for a set of halfway houses for people coming out of prison.  He and the other students read a set of materials on planning models and theories, takes notes addressing the points in criteria 1-3 and participates fully in a series of discussions throughout the project.  The discussions include both specific analyses of the readings and critical examination of all aspects of the planning process of the project as it unfolds.  At the end of the project he prepares a written paper addressing criterion 4.