14.+Social+Context+of+Sustainable+Infrastructure

Shannon, Ryan Hazelwood, Courtney Fleming, and Andy Jensen

The focus of this chapter is to highlight the general types of social impacts that are generated or otherwise affected from various infrastructure projects and using examples from Costa Rica and other areas to represent a handful of these impacts. It is important to realize there exist a number of effects from infrastructure development, all of which would be impossible to completely cover in this text and is beyond the scope of this section. This includes site specific effects and those created due to very specific conditions to building requirements for a project. Instead, the focus will be on those impacts that, in general, occur consistently regardless of site location or project specific requirements.


 * Chapter 6: Social Impacts of Costa Rica Infrastructure Development**

Social impacts from infrastructure development can be both positive and negative, oftentimes occurring at the same time within the same project (ELARD 2009). For any given project there are four general categories that can define the most common of the positive and negative impacts: Financial Costs/Benefits, Safety of Materials, Waste Minimization and Resource Management, and Community Engagement. A large majority, if not all, of projects will have at least one positive or negative impact from each of these four categories. All projects have an associated financial cost, whether it be a financial burden posed to the local community to pay for the project, or a project that presents greater opportunities for economic growth, or it may be a combination of both.

Assessing the safety of materials used during the construction of the project may be a major impact to the local workers and potentially end users of the infrastructure. For example, the use of microrganisms to clean the rooms, fertilize the soil and treat the waste on-site at the sustainable development at Ranch Margot ensures that the health of the workers and guests is not adversely affected as it would be by using chemical cleaners. Lastly, community engagement arguably is one of the most, if not the most, important social impacts that either affects the outcome of the project or can be a direct result of the project. One of the requirements for the Philadelphia Long-Term Control Plan Update - an EPA required plan on how they were going to mitigate combined sewer overflows - was to show community involvement as a significant component of the proposed new plan, using community insight as a guiding factor in the new sewer system development. This is an example of community engagement affecting the outcome of an infrastructure design project. On the other hand, ICE in Costa Rica is planning an eco-park development that is meant to showcase alternative energy infrastructure and will be used to engage tourists and the Costa Rican community in an effort to educate the population on alternative energy (Figure 14-1).

These four categories are discussed in greater detail in the sections below. It is important to remember, while these four categories represent some of the more common social impacts related to infrastructure development for any project, they are by no means the only impacts. The scope of this chapter is limited to general impacts and provides real world examples and projects that highlight the general categories.



When planning, designing and building infrastructure projects the financial costs are the predominant discussion issue. Increasingly, the societal impact of these projects is garnering more attention. It may be that an alternative energy infrastructure project has a higher capital and maintenance cost, but the benefits to society may counter those high financial expenses. The Arenal Dam hydroelectric power plant is one of three hydro electric plants that supplies 80% of the electricity in Costa Rica. Figure 14-2 shows an image of the water delivery pipe that diverts water from the reservoir to the generation plant. The costs of the infrastructure project are very high mainly due to the unconventional setup of the intake structures. The intake structures are located at a different location other than the dam structure to minimize issues from silt build-up. Not only does this infrastructure project provide a large portion of the energy for the country, the discharge is diverted to southern parts of the country to aide in irrigation projects. This provides jobs and much needed water to a very dry portion of the country (ICE 2012).
 * I. Societal Financial Costs/Benefits**



Other societal benefits that may occur include using development companies to pay for much needed upgrades to surrounding communities. The Papaguayo Resort in Costa Rica was required to provide electricity to the community before the permit to build the resort was approved (Papaguayo 2012). By turning what could be a potential strain on the resources by inviting tourists into a small town and allow for only the resort to make money, the government has oriented the development plan to benefit the residents of the town as well as the resort owners.

It is becoming increasingly common for the development community to take careful consideration into the materials used in building new infrastructure projects. This is very apparent with the growing populatrity of the LEED certification and the more detailed ISI rating system. These rating systems have propelled the development industry toward a more responsible infrastructure planning and construction paradigm. These rating systems allow the projects to be evaluated based on the sustainability of the project, not just after construction ends but during the design and planning phases. This includes providing scores based on the resources utilized. The use of area resources instead having other resources shipped is advantageous not only due to the reduction in fossil fuels during transport, but it promotes work in the local region. Also, the use of building materials that are native to the region leads to better infrastructure performance because the materials are acclimated to the surrounding climate. For example, the use of water resistant and quick growing timbers, (e.g. bamboo) in humid regions will provide a level of infrastructure protection from mold that is not possible from pine or other timbers not accustom to wet weather climates.
 * II. Use of Materials**

Intelligent use of local materials does not need to only apply to construction materials for infrastructure projects. They can also be applied to the maintanance and every day operations of the project. Using local mountain bacteria to aid in composting and for use as fertilizers and a natural pesticide allows for a safer work environment at Rancho Margot resort in Costa Rica (Figure 14-3). This is not a new phonomena, in fact prior to the development of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, bacteria produced from the waste of a diverse group of farm animals was used to naturally fertilize crops as well as minimize pest populations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_fertilizer ). Indeed this is common practice on organic farms throughout the world. The health advantages are highly significant to organic farmers and personnel caring for farm animals on organic farms versus those that use synthetic chemicals. The use of organic fertilizers and pesticides on small and large infrastructure projects are a simple fix to a growing societal health problem. The advantages to this also extend to preventing eutrophication of waterbodies by minimizing nitrogen and phosophorus pollutant loading to downstream water bodies and the cost for local fertilizer is significantly less than the alternative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_fertilizer).



The first stage of constructing infrastructure is acquiring the resources to build. This includes mining elements for concrete pipes or steel, harvesting wood, or extracting oil to make plastic elements. While these activities, for the most part, are not seen by the consumer or communities that the infrastructures serve, the impacts to society by the occurence of such activities is great. For decades, these activities have been conducted with very little concern to the affects on the environment and subsequently the neighboring communities, but recently they have started to become scrutinized through analyses meant to mesure the impact these activities have on the environment as well as society (Williams 2006, http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sustainable-development/home/2444). Costa Rica is setting a great example of how to manage the delicate balance of increased development and protecting the tropical forests. By being cognizant of the impact of chopping down forests for development, or for other products and limiting or restricting the extent to which it is done, the Costa Rican government and concerned citizens are ensuring the natural resources that exist today will endure for future generations. The wood processing plant is an excellent example of managing the trees in an effort to be as responsible as possible as well as promoting ethical and socially responsible work environments for their employees. For example, for every tree cut down, three are planted as replacements; wood is not processed for 13 years to allow the moisture to stabilize so the products made last longer (Video 14-1 upon request); and they waste very little, by collecting and using scraps and sawdust instead of throwing them away. The La Fortuna resort Rancho Margot uses wood from fallen trees to build the majority of the resort infrastructure and furniture utilizing their own wood shop area and tools, which reduces the amount of chopped trees.
 * III. Waste Minimization/Resource Management**

The significance of community involvement on the success of any infrastructure project is extremely high. If a project cannot be maintained and operated by the community it serves, the project will fail. It is imperative, therefore, that a project be embraced by the community. The community engagement and public outreach division of Philadelphia Water Department's stormwater management program makes up a large part of the program. PWD provides workshops, promotional materials, public meetings, among other activities, promotions, educational opportunities and reports to engage and educate the community. One such program is the rain barrel program. As part of the stormwater management plan developed by PWD, the city provides rain barrels for residents free of charge to promote individual responsibilty and educate the public on small ways to help with large scale problems ( Figure 14-4, []).
 * IV. Community Engagement**



Introducing learning opportunities to the community will create a generation of citizens with environmental responsibility entrenched in their psyche. For the owner of the Rancho Margot resort, public outreach to the younger generation should be a top priority. Every year the resort puts on a play by the local area school children specifically addressing responsible society impacts on the environment and highlights irresponsible societal actions and how to prevent them. On a larger scale, ICE provides handouts to all visitors addressing the benefits of their alternative energy infrastructures and regularly conducts school and tourist tours.

REFERENCES

ELARD (2009). Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Construction and Operation of Syria Cement Plant and Captive Power Plant, and Associated Quarrying Activities: A Non-Technical Summary. Earth Link and Advanced Resources Development. Pages 5 - 15.

ICE (2012). Interview with the Costa Rican Electicity Company (ICE) employee in Costa Rica at Arenal Dam on May 20.

Papaguayo (2012). Interview with the hotel manager of the Papaguayo Resort in Costa Rica on May 24.

Philadelphia Water Department website accessed June (2012). http://www.phillywatersheds.org/

Philadelphia Water Department webseite accessed June (2012). http://www.phillywatersheds.org/whats_in_it_for_you/residents/rainbarrel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_fertilizer

William, S.J. (2006). Biodiversity: Life to Our Mother Earth. Proceedings of the National Conference on Biodiversity, Loyola College, Chennai, India. January 30-31, 2006.

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sustainable-development/home/2444