The Saint Index
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THE SAINT INDEX
In the fourth quarter of 2005, The Saint Consulting Group conducted its first annual Saint Index, which for the first time ever quantified and tracked the politics of land-use in the US. This survey spotlighted who actively opposed and supports real estate projects and why. It answered: Where is it most difficult to build today and why? How well is local government doing with planning and zoning? Which land uses experienced the most opposition and from whom?
In 2006, it conducted the first annual Saint Index for the United Kingdom, and in 2007 the first ever study of public attitudes toward real estate development projects across Canada. These surveys reveal support and opposition about different types of development in each country. The findings suggest that voters judge politicians by their sensitivity to development issues and the surveys put developers on notice that they need to communicate more effectively to persuade voters to support their projects. A small vocal minority can derail feasible projects while grassroots support by local neighbors can help provide the political cover for planning authorities to approve controversial projects.
What is the Intention of the Saint Index?
The intention of The Saint Index is to benefit companies that want to understand from where their active opposition is coming, and what they can do to get more projects approved. The index will also benefit policy makers and planning officials who want to craft “smart growth” policies that meet the needs of their constituents and the economic development needs of their communities.
The Saint Index reflects public attitudes, and Saint Consulting, as specialists in land use politics, works to manage clients through the planning process in the United States, Canada and Britain. Each complex case is assessed as a land use political campaign, with Saint operatives combining legal and land use expertise with proven winning political campaign experience to determine the strategy and tactics for the highest probability of success.
What Does the Saint Index Tell Us?
Development of real property has become agonizingly tough. What started on both coasts of the US has spread throughout heartland America: population density, maturing markets, and intense competition are causing battle lines to be drawn in numerous wars over how cities and towns are being developed.
In the United Kingdom, development often faces even tougher public opposition than in the US, the Saint Index shows. Canadians oppose certain land uses more than Americans, but also show more support for other types of development.
The stakeholders in these battles over development include the businesses who must continue to find and build on new prime locations, residents who are standing up to fight to protect their neighborhoods, and elected officials and municipalities who are under conflicting pressures to increase tax revenues while protecting constituent neighborhoods. It clearly illustrates that land use politics is here to stay.
The outcomes are determining which companies gain market share, who wins local elections, and what communities are going to look like into the future.
Because Saint Consulting is on the front lines of land use politics across the US, UK and Canada, it has immediate perspective and information on the real estate scene, the implications of a strengthened economy, and the increasing need for a national statistical instrument to measure the impact of politics on land-use development.
The Saint Index survey will be conducted annually in the US, Canada and UK, allowing us to build a cumulative database that will identify and track trends over an extended period.
The intention of the Saint Index is to benefit companies that want to understand from where their active opposition is coming, and what they can do to get more projects approved. The Index will also benefit policy makers and planning officials who want to craft “smart growth” policies that meet the needs of their constituents and the economic development needs of their communities.
Media Inquiries?
All inquiries from the media:
Stacy Thompson Bliss, Gouverneur & Associates Tel: 212.840.1661 stacy@blisspr.com
UK inquiries: Paul Mindus The Saint Consulting Group Tel: +44 (0)20 7592 7050 mindus@tscg.co.uk
Links
Saint Consulting
