Social Costs

LEAMgroup uses census data and forecast results from our regional economic model to serve as input to the Social Cost of Alternative Land Development Scenarios, or SCALDS, model. This model, originally developed by Parsons Brinckerhoff for the Federal Highway Administration, projects the full costs, both public and private, of new development. It can be used to test the differences between various land use and development patterns that result from policy scenarios.

Some examples of the results produced by this model include:

• the total cost of operation and new construction, broken down by public and private costs
  
• land consumption and public service cost by residential and nonresidential development type
  
• transportation costs by passenger mile and transit mode, in peak and nonpeak hours, including a valuation of time
  
• water, sewer, and energy demand and cost (private and community) broken down by building type
  
• average vehicle emissions by pollutant and passenger mile

As the original parameters used in SCALDS are outdated, the LEAMgroup team put in extensive time to update the model and localize it for specific clients. Once reset with local data, the model is a powerful forecasting tool for local planning, revealing the potential cost savings of one or more development policies over another, both in terms of costs to the individual household as well as to the greater public via publicly-raised dollars.