The guide introduces a method of identifying problems associated with rapid community growth; outlines several growth management options, and some challenges to be faced when attempting to influence related policy choices; and examines how people being impacted might cope more effectively. Part I, "Growth Impacts Assessment," provides an…

Growth or development affects a rural community in three separate but interrelated areas: private, social, and public sectors. Private impacts are economic shocks to businesses and citizens of the community. Social impacts affect the community structure as well as individuals within the community, i.e., increased property tax costs may create…

The enormous but often overlooked impact of energy resource development on small Western United States communities can be illustrated by the experiences of the traditional coal mining town of Hanna, Wyoming. Coal development doubled the population between 1970 and 1972, and required the addition of a sewer system and a police force, plus the…

Rapid residential growth in rural areas or on the fringes of urban areas brings both costs and benefits. Seven factors determine whether new homes and subdivisions generate more revenues than expenditures. Local governments can substantially influence four of these seven factors in order to reduce the public costs of residential growth. Less…

Large-scale energy or resource development projects in rural areas cause environmental, social, and economic changes in the community. The negative aspects of these impacts can be mitigated and the positive aspects enhanced, through the use of effective impact management strategies by local and state governments (together and separately), the…

A strategy to assist in community development can help rural schools in rapidly growing areas meet the changing educational needs of their communities. Such a strategy should include gathering information about anticipated changes in the size and composition of the school population in order to plan for adequate staff and facilities. Planning for…

In the 1970's Rural Development Counselors and Community Affairs Specialists of the Manitoba Department of Agriculture were part of an effort to reverse trends of economic depression and rapid outward migration from rural to urban centers by assisting rural Manitobans individually, in groups, and as communities. Low- to moderate-income farmers and…