Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities [Paperback]

Jim Howe (Author), Edward T. McMahon (Author), Luther Propst (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1997

"Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities" provides lessons in how to preserve the character and integrity of communities and landscapes without sacrificing local economic well-being. The authors describe economic development strategies, land-use planning processes, and conservation tools that communities from all over the country have found effective.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...critical reading for the managers of parks and other public lands, as well as for the leaders in the communities..." -- Frances H. Kennedy, author of Dollar$ and Sense of Battlefield Protection

"...essential for anyone concerned with preserving community character and healthy natural systems while promoting a vibrant local economy." -- Lucy Blake, Sierra Business Council

"...highlights the practical, offers specific prescriptions, and emphasizes the positive opportunities of managing change..." -- William K. Reilly, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

About the Author

Jim Howe, formerly Director of Conservation Programs with the Sonoran Institute, now works with the Nature Conservancy in Rochester, New York. Ed McMahon is Director of Land Use Programs at The Conservation Fund in Arlington, Virginia. Luther Propst is Executive Director of the Sonoran Institute in Tuscon, Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559635452
• ISBN-13: 978-1559635455
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,480,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource, July 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities (Paperback)

Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities is a must read for anyone who still believes that environmentalism and economic development are fundamentally opposed propositions. This book of case studies and analysis describes several successful ways in which communities created new jobs and economic opportunities while celebrating and protecting, rather than exploiting, their area's natural resources.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Case studies of overdevelopment, with some wishful thinking about community involvement, June 12, 2006

By 

Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities (Paperback)

As the title suggests, this book addresses the challenges of gateway communities, defined as communities next to a national park, national forest, or national wildlife refuge. These communities are growing very rapidly, which risks damaging the natural resources that attract people there in the first place. The book emphasizes the problems that these communities face, and does not really address the effects on the resources (despite what the title might imply).

The analysis presents pretty standard stuff. They discuss economic growth and the trade-offs with quality of life, as well as the economic problems of a one-dimensional economy built on tourism. More than half the book consists of case studies from around the country. These case studies yield lessons about the importance of involving the local community, developing a vision for the community, getting information about the community's existing resources, building on local assets, and working with the adjacent parks as well as with non-governmental organizations. Conspicuous in their absence are the possibilities of working with business, state government, or adjacent communities.

I'm pretty skeptical of the kinds of solutions offered in this book. For example, the authors believe that community involvement in development is a panacea. I'm sure that it *can* help - - but such proposals can also create a situation in which outsiders (such as our authors) parachute into a community and act as if they know better than the locals. Remember, the growth wouldn't be happening in the first place unless many people in the community wanted it. An outsider trying to encourage community involvement in managing growth will probably have allies, but will also spark opposition from the people making money from growth.

Getting people involved can also surprise you. An urban planner friend of mine working with a depressed town was surprised when the local community wanted strip malls and fast food joints, which was not at all what she had in mind. From the standpoint of protecting natural resources, the community may well be part of the problem.

One might also quibble with the cases. For example, I was surprised to see Boulder presented as a success story, since I would view it as a failure. It's depressingly overdeveloped, looks like Anytown California, and its "successful" restrictions on further growth have simply caused that growth to spill over into its neighbors. This spillover makes existing traffic problems worse, as people drive from place to place.

In fact, the authors prefer to ignore the fact that limiting growth in one community often leads to the same undesirable growth happening next door instead. That may be good for the original community, but it's hardly good policy for a region or state.

Criticisms aside, the book has quite a bit of information about the challenges faced by the communities that they studied. It doesn't have so much information about the challenges in the nation as a whole; this is a book of case studies. It's a decent place to start when thinking about these problems.

4.0 out of 5 stars A feel-good land use/planning guide, May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities (Paperback)

- A feel-good land use/planning guide produced by the Conservation Fund and the Sonoran Institute. Examples show how communities can work together to protect parks and environmental refuges..