Growth in our city and county: prosperity or disaster?
By Chris Breen and Tony Ruiz
In a plaza in central San Jose, Costa Rica, pictured above, a
number of life-size bronze figures proudly stand facing the
multitude of tourists and daily visitors.
The figures, which include a child leaning against her mother, a
gardener, a construction worker, an elderly couple, and a young
couple stand on an elevated foundation built to withstand time. The
inscription,
”
PRESENTE,
”
forged a lasting impression in my mind. For those who may not
recognize this cognate, the translation simply means
”
we are also here.
”
Growth in our city and county: prosperity or disaster?
By Chris Breen and Tony Ruiz
In a plaza in central San Jose, Costa Rica, pictured above, a number of life-size bronze figures proudly stand facing the multitude of tourists and daily visitors.
The figures, which include a child leaning against her mother, a gardener, a construction worker, an elderly couple, and a young couple stand on an elevated foundation built to withstand time. The inscription, “PRESENTE,” forged a lasting impression in my mind. For those who may not recognize this cognate, the translation simply means “we are also here.”
As Hollister and San Benito County move forward, we must subscribe to the notion that prosperity should not leave anyone out, and that every citizen must benefit from the growth and development that will inevitably take place as our economy slowly recovers.
As we have experienced first-hand, growth alone will not improve economic vitality or lower unemployment rates. A review of the fallout that occurred after the county’s last significant growth cycle, in the mid 1990s, confirms this. Following an initial spike in income and spending, we actually lost retail in most sectors, and saw a marked reduction in shopping options. Many local businesses closed and vacancies increased.
As we anticipate another growth cycle with the next few years, local leaders must plan to avoid past missteps and ensure that development that occurs will sustain the collective bottom line for the long term.
During the last building cycle, large developers from outside the county brought their own labor force and supply sources. Local contractors, trades and suppliers were largely overlooked.
While some local businesses realized a short-term benefit by providing services while construction took place, that limited benefit dried up as soon as the projects concluded and the developers packed up and went home. The more significant wealth generated by the projects ended up elsewhere, benefiting the communities from where the developers, suppliers and workforce hailed. San Benito County gained lots more housing, but missed out on the greater economic stimulus that results when development stays local.
As we anticipate another wave of development and growth, we have to take a longer, more strategic view. Rather than focus upon whether the workforce is affiliated with a union or not, our first priority should be upon assembling a local workforce, utilizing local trades and suppliers.
This is not to suggest that future projects eschew economic feasibility by staying local.
Rather, it requires a basic ideology shift for primary stake holders and elected officials. Development has to remain profitable. But in measuring profitability, we must gauge a project’s success not just on the balance sheet, but also more subtle measures, including the economic gain to associates of the project and the greater local community – the “we” that are also here among us. And, like those life-size sculptures, we too must stand firm.
In the coming weeks, we will examine the legal resources and economic strategies to guarantee economic justice for our city and county.
Chris Breen and Tony Ruiz are members of the Hollister Independent New Urbanism Research Group.
