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Date: 2024-11-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php L070-PL-PLACE-PLACES
PLACE / PLACES
WHERE PEOPLE LIVE THEIR LIVES
WHERE SOCIETY, NATURE AND ECONOMICS COME TOGETHER
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THE PERFORMANCE OF PLACE
The performance of a place ought to be relatively easy to understand.
  • A place does not move.
  • A place is where people live and work.
  • A place is where discreet economic activities are located.
  • People are able to observe what is going on.
  • The data collected may be verified in ways that are not possible when they get merged into larger data systems.
  • Pollution can be observed and tied back to specific economic activities and to the responsible owners.
  • Place is a part of planet ... but place may be human scale, while planet is much too large for most of us to be able to understand.
In reality it is not at all easy to understand. There are many reasons for this:
  • No common methodology
  • Many many individual viewpoints ... often conflicting
  • Many different agendas ... quite often equally valid, though very different
But in spite of all of this, the optimization of place performance is an important thing to do.

Upper Montclair, New Jersey, United States
This place was referred to as 'The Village' by local residents. It was quite small, and much more human scale than a lot of American towns, and especially most high density suburban developments where everything is a car ride away.
New York City, NY, United States

Okehampton, Devon. England

Norman Castle

Simmons Park

Local Viaducts
I grew up in this little town in Devonshire, England.
The town has been in this place for a long time, and was documented in the Domesday Book compiled by William the Conqueror after he had defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.
The local castle dates back to Norman times. It was built under the orders of Norman the Conqueror to consolidate his power.
The rail viaducts and the park go back to Victorian times.



PLACE - WHERE PEOPLE LIVE THEIR LIVES / WHERE EVERYTHING HAPPENS
Everything happens in PLACE, it is where people live and work and play, and, it is where economic activity consumes resources, degrades the environment and produces products that are needed and wanted by people.
The performance of place depends a lot on the people or human capital of the place ... their culture, their character, their skills and a host of other people characteristics.
The performance of place also depends on the natural capital of the place. Over the course of history places have been successful when human capital and natural capital complement each other.
PLACE - AN EFFECTIVE LOCUS FOR ANALYTICAL METRICS
A PLACE does not move ... it stays in the same location for ever. This is a basis for reliable comparative performance over time.
TPB Note: I grew up in Okehampton, Devon, England around 70 years ago. Its population was a little over 4,000 people, up from about 3,500 in the 1930s. Almost a thousand years before the place had a population of a few hundred as recorded in the Domesday book prepared by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The persistence of a place contrasts with the ephemeral nature of much of modern metrics.
In the official development assistance (ODA) world occupied by the World Bank, other Development Banks, the United Nations and NGOs, a common form of performance evaluation is the monitoring of 'projects'. Projects exist for a short time, sometimes as little as a year, and rarely more than 5 years and they can also be mobile ... two characteristics that make accountability incredibly difficult.

ALL THE CAPITALS OF THE PLACE
SOCIAL, NATURAL, and ECONOMIC CAPITALS

SOCIAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
Comprising HUMAN CAPITAL and RELATIONAL CAPITAL

HUMAN CAPITAL OF PLACE
The POPULATION ... the PEOPLE are a very important asset for a PLACE

The STATE of the POPULATION

A major element in the STATE of the PLACE. This is about QUALITY OF LIFE and STANDARD OF LIVING of the PEOPLE as well as ability to CONTRIBUTE
This depends on access to a variety of PRODUCTS (goods and services) and also on opportunities to be of service and contribute

PEOPLE NEED ACCESS TO EVERYTHING REQUIRED FOR LIVING WITH A DECENT QUALITY OF LIFE
... FOOD
... WATER
... SHELTER
... CLOTHING / STUFF
... ACCESS TO OTHER SERVICES

... ... like retail stores, gas stations, healthcare, childcare, eldercare, education, roads / transport, utilities, public safety, etc

... ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT

... ... income and jobs are important in quality of life and the ability to pay for essential needs and other things needed for quality of life.

... ACCESS TO CULTURE / RELIGION / RECREATION

... ACCESS TO SOCIAL SAFETY NET

IN TURN PEOPLE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CONTRIBUTE
... PARENTING

... ... and other family oriented care-giving is a valuable part of QUALITY OF LIFE

... CONVENTIONAL ECONOMIC EMPLOYMENT

... ... working for wages in a for-profit enterprise

... PRO-BONO VOLUNTEERING

... ... is another way to make CONTRIBUTION.

RELATIONAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
COMMUNITY, NEIGHBORHOOD and SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

LOCATIONAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
HOW THE PLACE HAS IMPACT ON THE ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

CULTURAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
WITHOUT CULTURE ... CONCRETE IS COLD

SPIRITUAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
A COMPONENT OF SOCIETY FROM VERY EARLY TIMES

NATURAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
Comprising NATURAL SYSTEMS and NATURAL STOCKS

NATURAL SYSTEMS ...
LAND / WATER / AIR / CLIMATE
LAND In its natural state the LAND has certain natural characteristics which are changed when there is 'development'. In most cases the NATURAL VALUE will decline as the BUILT VALUE increases. BOTH must be taken into consideration.
LAND - PEOPLE BUILT LAND USE for HUMAN ACTIVITIES, BUILT STRUCTURES, PROCESSES. ETC. ranging from large scale crop mono-culture agriculture, to mining, to deforestation, to mangrove destruction.
LAND - ECOSYSTEM SERVICES are essential for a natural equilibrium but totally ignored in the pursuit of profit. They much be valued and they must be numbered.
LAND - NATURAL BIODIVERSITY has been billions of years in the making, and might be just hundreds of years in reaching extinction on a massive scale. This much be valued and must be numbered.
WATER There are both FLOWS of WATER and STOCKS of WATER. There is also the QUALITY of the WATER and what it can be used for. Some WATER is CONSUMED and some WATER is contaminated. Contaminated water may be treated or it may simply flow downstream through a watershed doing damage as it goes.
AIR / ATMOSPHERE - LOCAL POLLUTION has a direct impact on human health at the local level.
AIR / ATMOSPHERE - ATMOSPHEIRC POLLUTION including Ozone depletion, Greenhouse Gases which fundamentally change the way in which solar energy reaches earth caused by emissions of OO2 and other gases at a local level but with global consequences like global warming, acid rain, etc.
CLIMATE determines many aspects of what is possible in a PLACE. Some places have rainfall, others do not. Some have temperate climate (moderate temperatures) while others are tropical and others are very cold. Some places have violent weather events ... hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, etc, Climate change is an existential threat because many established bio-systems cannot adjust rapidly enough and will become extinct.

NATURAL STOCKS ...
MINERALS / FOSSIL FUELS / WATER / BIODIVERSITY

ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF PLACE
Comprising FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL and INTANGIBLE CAPITALS

FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
FINANCIAL WEALTH / FINANCIAL FLOWS / BALANCE OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES

FINANCIAL WEALTH

that is financial wealth owned by PEOPLE in the PLACE, or by INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES in the PLACE that BENEFIT the PLACE.

FINANCIAL FLOWS - I

that either weaken or strengthen the FINANCIAL STATE of the PLACE as they flow in or out of the PLACE.

FINANCIAL FLOWS - II

that are required internally (taxes and expenditures) in order to maintain the PLACE or improve the PLACE

ECOSYSTEM FOR BANKING AND FINANCE

has become a critical part of the socio-enviro-economic system enabling money based transactions. A similar system is needed to facilitate value based banking.

PHYSICAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
Comprising BUILDINGS, INFRASTRUCTURE, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT, VEHICLES, INVENTORY

PHYSICAL CAPITAL ... BUILDINGS

... HOUSING ...
... OFFICE BUILDINGS ...
... HOTELS / HOSPITALITY ...
... INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES ...
... SPORTS STADIUMS ...
PHYSICAL CAPITAL ... INFRASTRUCTURE
... FOOD ...
... WATER AND SEWAGE ...
... HEALTH ...
... EDUCATION ...
... TRANSPORT ...
... BUSINESS / COMMERCE ...
... BUSINESS / BANKING AND FINANCE ...
... BUSINESS / INDUSTRIAL ...
... ELECTRCITY ...
... COMMUNICATIONS ...
PHYSICAL CAPITAL ... MACHINERY and EQUIPMENT
... MINING MACHINERY ...
... OIL and GAS DRILLING ...
... MATERIALS PRODUCTION ...

like Iron and Steel, Aluminum, Cement

... REFINERIES ...
producing fuels, petrochemicals / plastics

... PRODUCTION MACHINERY ...
producing automobiles, consumer durables and all sorts of merchandise

... ROBOTS / INTELLIGENT MACHINES

PHYSICAL CAPITAL ... VEHICLES

... AUTOMOBILES AND TRUCKS ...
... AIRCRAFT ...
... SHIPS ...

PHYSICAL CAPITAL ... INVENTORY

... SUPPLY CHAIN INVENTORY ...
... IN-PROCESS INVENTORY ...
... SALES AND DISTRIBUTION INVENTORY / RETAIL ...

INTANGIBLE CAPITAL
Comprising KNOWLEDGE, INSTITUTIONAL, CULTURAL and LOCATIONAL CAPITALS

KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL OF PLACE
KNOWLEDGE / KNOW-HOW ... RESEARCH / NEW KNOWLEDGE

INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
JUSTICE INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL / GOVERNANCE

PUBLIC SAFETY / JUSTICE / POLICE

CULTURAL CAPITAL OF PLACE

LOCATIONAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
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Definitions for TrueValueMetrics
Drafted around 2004
Issue
Community
Basic observation
Community has been ignored by ORDA organizations. Lip service is paid to community and participative processes with rapid visits by experts. Most communities have seen very little of development importance in past sixty years. A vast missing link in the development process .
Prevailing response
A growing amount of “participative” development assistance, but the process is still controlled by the donors and the “top” of the socio-economic hierarchy
A better response
Community Centric Sustainable Development (CCSD) puts the community at the center of economic progress. It builds on the idea that not only “all politics is local”, but that “all living is local”. A key part of CCSD is using a set of metrics to measure activity cost and the related values within the community.
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Copyright © 2005-2021 Peter Burgess. All rights reserved. This material may only be used for limited low profit purposes: e.g. socio-enviro-economic performance analysis, education and training.