1. Population characteristics 2. Community & institional structure 3. Political & social resources 4. Individual & family factors 5. Community resources Steps in SIA
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Stratify the affected popuation ( Use Social Groups List) Define current struc & org of affected population Stable or changing? Define any ethnic, econ, or soc group distinctions within it Define how wealth, poverty, employment, & levels of income are dist Define employment sectors in affected area Define unemployment rate Define types of umployed people ( particularly affected by the action under review ) Define seasonal changes, or other kinds of influx & outflow Define each according to alternative |
[ Use "Orgs" from Soc Grps List for all queries in this section ] Define how affected communities are org'ed, both explicitly ( through sys's of govt, etc ) & informally ( through voluntary assoc's, int grps, etc ) Define econ, soc, or cul inequities among grps based on ethnicity or other factors What experience do various grps have w/ change? How are they linked (if at all) w/ regional & nat'l orgs? Are they affected by local planning & zoning? What changes in these variables may be caused by the alternative action(s)? |
[ Use "Orgs" from Soc Grps List for all queries in this section ] How are pwr & authority dist'ed in community, both formally & informally? Who are relevant stakeholders? What are their interests? How do they organize and exercise power internally & externally? How do they react, or are they likely to react, to alt action(s)? |
What factors influence daily lives of potentially affected members of community? What are patterns of family, friend, & acquaintance relationships? How stable is pattern of residence? Do grps feel they currently have a satisfying way of life? Are they concerned about what proposed action would do to their way of life, or interested in possibilities for improvement? What attitudes do people have toward risk, health, safety, & proposed alternative(s)? What values does each soc grp ascribe to env? Are they concerned about displacement or relocation, if this is perceived to be a possible result of alternative? Does each grp trust their pol & social instit's to handle change? |
How do people use land, whether urban or rural? How do they use the natural env? Are there subsistence uses? Spiritual uses? Recreational uses? Are there conflicts among any of these uses? Are there Native American (or other) sacred sites, or religious uses of the natural environment? Are there culturally valued neighborhoods, shopping areas, recreational areas, or gathering places? Are there culturally valued patterns of soc interaction--clubs & other informal grps? Are there valued hist places, archeological sites, or collections of hist artifacts or doc's? How available are housing & community services like police protection, water, sewer service, electricity, schools, libraries, and computer access facilities? How will the proposed action affect any of these variables? |
Although every project, and every SIA, is unique, in most cases there is a series of more or less standard steps through which the analysis must proceed in order to achieve good results. 1. Dev an effective public involvement plan, so that all affected interests will be involved. 2. Identify and characterize alternatives 3. Define baseline conditions 4. Define scope of effort 5. Project probable impacts 6. Predict responses to impacts 7. Consider indirect & cumulative impacts 8. Recommend new alternatives 9. Develop a mitigation plan |
Level of public participation needed varies w/ the nature of the action under review Complex project: social assessment (SA) used to estb gen character of community, define potentially affected groups,determine enough about them to know how to involve them Simple case: consulting w/ local leaders & experts is sufficient to obtain critical data on which to build a public involvement program (for guidelines see NEPA Call-In Fact Sheet "Public Participation in NEPA Review," February 1998)." |
Alt's are dev'ed based on purpose & need for action, but SIA analyst must consider what they are & obtain sufficient data on each to frame analysis The Guidelines & Principles identify basic info about each alternative needed for SIA:
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Analyst now defines pertinent existing conditions in each potentially affected area --called the Affected Social Environment ( ASE ) The analyst seeks answers to questions like:
How do they feel about pol & soc instit's? How do they relate to the env? To change? Is there significant unemployment or underemployment? Is housing available? Access to utilities? Education? Transportation? Are there seasonal or other patterns of in-migration and out-migration? For a more complicated project, formal studies may be needed |
Like any other study, an SIA must be scoped to assure proper focus & that right methods are utilized. Scoping is carried out in consultation w/ affected grps & through public participation process Factors to consider in establishing the scope include:
Controversy |
Based on the scope, analysis seeks to project likely effects of each alt, given what is known about each alt & about character of affected pop's & area Utilize data provided by agencies involved (GSA, its customers, etc), records of similar actions or similar pop's, census data & other vital statistics, doc's & secondary sources, Primry research: field research involving interviews, meetings, surveys, & observation. Many ways to project impacts
of businesses in a community if proposed action does NOT take place |
Given affected grps, & kinds of impacts predicted, what is likely response? Will a grp be highly influenced by leaders, & will leaders be positive or negative about project? Are there ways for pop to adapt in place, or is it likely to relocate? Can a grp continue to carry out its valued ways of life, or will they be irrevocably lost? |
[ Define the Long-Term Impacts, if any, to any of the Social Variables discussed above ] This is several sub-steps Many soc impacts are not direct They may occur well after action is taken, & and possibly in areas distant from project. Cumulative effects can be of critical importance Many pop's, esp indigenous grps & ind'l grps are at risk of cul extinction due to a variety of pressures, A proj may be all it takes to push grp "over the edge" |
As impacts are identified, consider which alt's might alleviate problems, & wk w/ project mgrs & affected grps to see if these can be pursued Be sure to analyze soc & other env'l impacts of alt's Where there is contention, mediation is recommended |
Wk w/ proj mgrs & affected grps to estb mitigation of soc effects Put this plan forward in pertinent review documents like EAs & EISs Make sure these are reflected in Findings Of No Significant Impact (FONSIs) or Records of Decision (RODs), and in doc's required under other authorities like Section
106 of NHPA
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(not including govt)
It is necessary to include an “other” category under each of the four major social groups since some groups may not match the groups as listed. Examples of “others” might be tree planters, mushroom pickers, the media, water recreationists, photographers and so on. While each of these groups is important, it is not possible
to include every group.
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& Cumu- lative Eff |
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