The Case of Great Barrington, Massachusetts
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RECREATION IN AN ECONOMIC BASE: THE CASE OF GREAT BARRINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS by EUGENE RICHARD DAVID ZOBA (B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960) Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planning at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY September 1965 Signature of Author . Departme o City/d/Reional Planning, August 24, 1965 Certified by ... -..... N. Thesis Supervisor Accepted by. .me Chairman, Departmental Committee on Theses 038 TAB LE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .. .... .... ..... .... .iii Abstract .. ............. .......... iv I. Introduction . .... ... .... .... .... ... .1 The Perspective ...... ............1 Hypothesis and Purpose . ..... ..... ... 4 The Sample Community. ... ... .... ... 6 Types bf Recreation ....... ........ 10 Method of Study ..... ... .... ..... 12 Organization .... ..... ..... .... 17 II. Economic History of Great Barrington. .... .... ..... 19 Chronological P icture ... .... .. ..... 19 The Develdpment of Recreation . "... ... 23 Economic Changes in the Last Ninety Years .. .. 31 The Internal Adjustment to Economic Change . 33 Summary .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. 53 III. The Economic Significance of Recreation ... ... .. ... .. 56 Labor Force .. .. .. ... .. ... .. .. 56 Sales . .. ... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. 65 Payrolls or Salaries ... ... .. ... ... 76 How Reliable are the Estimates?. .. ... ... 76 Results .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 78 -i- IV. Implications and Policy Considerations . ...... .... 81 Implications . ....... ....... ... 81 P olicy Considerations .......... .... 90 Summary ..... .... ......... 96 V. Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Study. .. .. 97 B ibliography S . ... ... .... .. .99 Appendix I: Recreation and Tourist Attractions in the Berkshires .. .. .. ... ..... 104 Appendix II: History of Population of Great Barrington ... 112 Appendix III: Great Barrington Service Area .... .... 113 Appendix IV: P ercent of Total P opulation in Age Groups . 114 Appendix V: Economic Multiplier for Recreation in Great Barrington. ... .. .. o. .. ... 115 -ii - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have been instrumental in bringing this research paper to fruition. The residents and businessmen of Great Barrington in most cases graciously agreed to open their ledgers to nosy prying and to serve as a guinea pig community. The Massachusetts Division of Employment Securities was most helpful in making available statistics, disclosure of which by law must not identify an employer of individual -- and with which the author hopes not to embarrass any official, individual or firm. The author appreciates the patience, understanding and help from his wife, and the correctionsin the text made by Peter Tinker of Boston College. I wish to thank John Friedmann who was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the time the research was done, William Alonso of Harvard University, and members of the economic staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for their criticism. The perceptive evaulation of the paper by Philip Herr of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was an encouraging experience. And, of course, the research depended upon the generosity of the Francis Cunkle Fund in its financial support, without which none of it could have been completed. -iii- ABSTRACT This research paper traces the economic changes in a community, Great Barrington, Mass., and presents an economic analysis of the impor- tance of recreation to a town' s adjustment to such changes. Local interests played little or no role in shaping their own economic destiny. Emigration by young adults has been the major individual reaction to the economic changes in the town, leaving Great Barrington with a large portion of elderly people. The town still maintains a wide range of services, of a high quality, and its ability to do so stems in large part from the real estate base of vacation housing. The town deserves its image of a neat, quiet, rustic community. Its functional relation to the outside world is changing as it becomes a supplier of labor, a service and recreation center, and a bedroom community. Levels of unemployment and income have been maintained consistent with the rest of Massachusetts and the town has made a healthy adjustment to the changes in its economy. Recreation is economically important to Great Barrington. It accounts for up to 15% of the employment, 30% of the sales and 10% of the payroll in the town. The community would suffer social and economic difficulties without the recreation industry. Recreation has, however, some negative effects on the town. It generates low salaries, is seasonal in nature and aggravates the present population structure. There is evidence that the town is losing its share of the recreation dollar spent in Berkshire County. Recreation has played a significant part in helping Great Barrington make adjustments to the changes in its economy. Thesis Advisor: Philip Herr Lecturer, Dept. of City and Regional Planning -iv- I. INTRODUCTION A. The Perspective Over the last five years increasing attention has been given to solving economic problems on a regional basis. The federal government under its anti -poverty,, Economic Development Administration and Ap - palachia programs will expend over three billions of dollars during the next two years to help certain regions attain the following goals: 1) In - crease the standard of living (as measured by annual family income); 2) Sustain the increase in income until a family can do so independently of government aid; 3) P rovide employment within a region in order to retain the population of the region at a level of unemployment comparable with the rest of the nation; 4) Expend a minimum of funds necessary to achieve these goals. The last goal statement implies a careful allocation of funds for projects and programs and only after some analysis, benefit-cost, marginal gain - marginal cost, or rate of return, of the project has been made. However, actual quantitative data concerning the benefits, gains, or returns of some project in some future time span are scarce. indeed.. Also the task for the planner becomes even more difficult as the demands increase for a highway here, or a new school there, or a vocation training center next door or a health and educational unit up the street, and becomes even more complicated as the number of auxiliary agencies, such as VISTA, state job corps, help corps, and teacher corps, increases. -1- -2- The failure of the first federal government sponsored industrial location into Appalachia was a setback for the present federal programs, and resulted in re -evaluation of existing projects and increased criticism of financing diversified industrial location into an economically declining area. These regions of economic decline are composed largely of the hinterland areas of the metropolitan regions in the United States -- or the inter -metropolitan peripheral regions.2 Some critics feel that the geographical location of such areas of decline makes it difficult for any market-oriented manufacturing concern to make a profit in the regions; the regions are usually distant from the large market centers along the North Atlantic and Great Lakes coasts and the typical terrain of the regions makes it unfeasible to extend modem expressways, air routes, and rail lines into the area. According to the argument, these regions possess few 1. In 1962 the Area Redevelopment Administration loaned $679, 000 at 4%, and the Small Business Administration loaned $ 350, 000 at 4% as part of a $1.5 million investment in relocating the National Seating and Dimension Co., Inc., into Varney, W.Va. It was the first major effort of the federal govern - ment in fostering diversified industry in Appalachia and fulfilled in part Pres. Kennedy' s campaign promise to cut unemployment and raise incomes in West*Virginia. A modern woodworking plant utilizing the latest machinery was con - structed and the company produced parts for wooden furniture. The plant employed about 100 laborers at the time it closed on Nov. 20, 1964. Although wages were low, $1.25/hr., the company cited high transportation costs and the excessive cost incurred retraining the local unskilled labor as the causes of bankruptcy. 2. See John Friedmann, "The Urban Realm: A New Concept for Urban Living", pre -print, Department of City and Regional Planning, MIT, 1965, for a mapping of these regions. -3- mineral resources of high extractive value and a labor force that is unskilled and uneducated, and although labor is available at a low wage, the high transport costs, low producitivity and retraining costs of the labor more 3 than offset any such savings . Capital accumulation for these regions is also low. A more relistic approach to developing the economy of the region, the argument continues, would be to develop the recreational and institutional potential and the economic potential based on footloose industries. 4 In considering just one of these economic potentials, recreation, it may be assumed that the demand for recreation will increase, especially in the urban regions, as affluence increases and the work week decreases. The recreational demands of the urban areas can be satisfied in these economically declining inter -metropolitan peripheral areas. The argument goes on to state that recreational industries can utilize the existing unskilled labor force in these areas and would require less federal expenditure than a program desinged to bring diversified industry into the areas. 3. This reasoning is supported