Green Infrastructure

THREE TYPES OF COMMONS (GRAPHIC): “Natural, constructed and institutional – communities rely on three types of commons for services that support quality of life and property enjoyment,” explains Tim Pringle

October 18, 2022 - Posted in EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is a BC Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems (Natural Commons), Graphics are Communication Tools that Help Audiences Visualize Foundational Concepts

Note To Reader:

EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is helping to change the language that we use in the local government and stewardship sectors to describe and value ecological systems and services they provided. In particular, EAP has introduced three types of ‘commons’ – natural, constructed and institutional.

The article below paints a broad-brush picture of what these terms mean in practice. The idea of the Natural Commons is one of the foundational concepts that underpins the EAP approach to financial valuation of ecological assets.

Use and Conservation of Land are Equal Values

“Use and conservation of land are equal values – this is the starting point for EAP. Therefore, one should not be subrogated to the other. But that is traditionally what communities have done. Use of land has been the dominant consideration,” states Tim Pringle, EAP Chair.

“The concept of the Natural Commons is one of many foundational ideas that underpin EAP. It helps us re-frame how we look at land so that audiences will comprehend why we say, use and conservation of land are equal values. The Natural Commons concept is Big Idea #9 in the set of 19 foundational concepts that power EAP. The applicability of the concept clicked when we were applying EAP to Kilmer Creek in the District of North Vancouver.”

“It clicked because the driver for looking at EAP was the stream daylighting potential associated with replacement of Argyle Secondary School. Kilmer Creek was enclosed in a pipe under the old school building. We saw the opportunity to create a communication tool that would help audiences visualize what the words natural commons look like on the ground.”

EAP is a Land Use Perspective

“Kilmer Creek was the moment when Kim Stephens and I decided that the time had come to be bold and state that, A Stream System is a Natural Commons. We went one step further with our logic. Because natural systems and human settlement share the landscape, we said, the values associated with the commons must include social, ecological. and financial considerations.”

“But the commons word means little to the average person. To help audiences grasp the concept, we realized that we needed to create a visual aid. The Kilmer Creek EAP Demonstration Application was perfect because an aerial photo made it easy for us to depict the three categories of commons – natural, constructed, and institutional.”

“Later in the 6-year program of applied research to evolve the EAP methodology and metrics, we switched over to an image of Bowker Creek in the Capital Regional District (above).”

CONSTRUCTED COMMONS:

Communities rely on a range of services such as roads, underground utilities and parks to support life-style and property enjoyment. These are commons. Through taxation, they are maintained and managed in order to ensure the availability of desired services.

INSTITUTIONAL COMMONS:

Services such as fire protection and schools are a related kind of constructed commons.

NATURAL COMMONS:

As defined by the EAP, a natural commons is an ecological system that provides ecological services used by nature and the community.

The notion of a social contract and what it means

“Communities rely on the three types of commons for services that support quality of life and property enjoyment. All three categories are situated within close proximity on both the Kilmer Creek and Bowker Creek landscapes. But the latter has become our go-to image for concept illustration purposes,”

“There is one more thing to remember. And that is, use and conservation of Natural Commons Assets implies a social contract. By that, we mean these natural assets will be maintained and managed to ensure access to ecological services in the future.”

“The community has similar expectations concerning constructed commons such as roads and buried infrastructure; and institutional commons such as schools.”

A Stream System is a Natural Commons and a Land Use

“The strength of EAP is in how the methodology looks at and values streams as systems and as a land use. A stream is a land use because it satisfies two criteria: it is defined in regulations; and it has a financial value.

“EAP uses BC Assessment Authority data to determine the Natural Capital Asset values of streams and water assets. BC Assessment deals with land parcels and improvements. EAP is concerned with the parcels because land parcels are the basis of locating settlement and imposing controls.”

“BC Assessment data are based on parcels which can be measured, are accurate, and recent (up to date). Also, the data are longitudinal, which means they have been collected for decades.”

Implications for Asset Management Strategies and Plans

“The idea of a natural commons supporting a ‘package of ecological services’ which the community wants and expects to have implies that approved plans for land development should not result in ecological services being merely residual outcomes. Should the community simply be happy with what is left? Clearly not,” says Tim Pringle.

“The natural commons approach aligns with and supports the Asset Management BC vision as described in its precedent-setting guidance document titled Asset Management for Sustainable Service Delivery: A BC Framework.”

“Asset management for sustainable service delivery occurs alongside associated evolution in community thinking as exemplified by the Partnership’s contemporary application of the centuries-old natural commons concept. By managing the built and natural environments as integrated systems, local governments would incrementally move towards a water-resilient future as an outcome.”

Ecological Systems provide Core Municipal Services

“Streams (as defined in the Riparian Areas Regulations) intercept and detain rainwater, convey flows from storm sewers, provide alignments for trails and greenways while supporting local aquatic and terrestrial life.”

“These and other services influence quality of life and the financial value of land parcels. Maintenance and management (M&M) of ecological assets should therefore be planned as core municipal services.”

“Residents and property owners are familiar with constructed commons services – roads, potable water, storm sewers and many other ongoing services. They expect these services to endure. Similarly, communities expect the ecological services provided by the natural commons to be enduring.”

The ‘No Harm Rule’ for Land Appraisal could be applied to streams

“The research findings suggest that the diminution of stream functions gradually will draw the attention of property owners to the NO HARM RULE used in land appraisal. Simply put, this means the potential value of a property should reflect the ‘highest and best use’.”

“The No Harm Rule establishes a financial expectation. Applied to the ecological functions of the stream, this would encourage persons with property interests to ensure that they understand how land use decisions may harm or help the stream.”

“The community may rely on the stream system being in good functioning condition as a feature in parks, as a natural area bordering residential parcels, etc. Adjacent property owners have an obligation to recognize these values and avoid activities on their property that might harm the stream and have a negative impact on parcel values,” concludes Tim Pringle.

EAP is a BC Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems

The Synthesis Report is a distillation of over 1000 pages of case study documentation into a storyline that is conversational and written for a continuum of audiences that includes land use practitioners, asset managers, stream stewards, and local government decision-makers.

To Learn More:

Download and read a copy of the entire Synthesis Report on EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, A B.C. Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems (2022), the 4^th in the Beyond the Guidebook series of guidance documents.