The economists and researchers at Headwaters Economics call it the amenity trap and they’ve mapped out a way communities can escape confounding stresses in rural, amenity-rich regions that are drawing visitors and new residents in record numbers.
[Headwaters Econoimcs’] report should be required reading for all who are interested in maintaining housing affordability and community vitality in communities that attract tourists and new residents because of the amazing recreational opportunities nearby.
Megan Lawson, an economist at Headwaters Economics, said the incentives can be a powerful tool for local governments. They can help cities address a growing number of short term rentals, even in states like Idaho where most regulations on vacation rentals are prohibited.
More and more people are visiting and moving to cities and towns around the Mountain West, drawn by access to public lands and other natural amenities. That brings economic growth – and also growing pains. A new report aims to help communities address the challenges.
A new report from Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based research nonprofit, dubs this pattern the “amenity trap,” meaning “the paradox of a place with natural attractions that make it a great place to live but also threaten it with being ‘loved to death.’”
According to data from Headwaters Economics, thousands of zip codes throughout the West have experienced unprecedented price increases in 2021.
“Unaffordable housing touches every aspect of the economy and life in these communities,” said Megan Lawson, an economist with Headwaters Economics who lives in Bozeman, Montana.
Area became the default measurement simply because it was easy for first responders to map using familiar tools like GPS, says Kimiko Barrett, a wildfire policy analyst with Headwaters Economics, a research institute in Bozeman, Mont.
I’m here today to share how mitigation efforts that start before disasters strike can reduce burdens on federal disaster programs and make communities safer and more prosperous. All of these strategies will yield large savings from avoided losses. These strategies will alleviate pressure on post-disaster programs like NFIP and allow projects to move forward – projects that will reduce risk, protect homes and businesses, and make communities safer and more attractive places to live.
Kristin Smith, a lead for Headwaters Economics’ FloodWise Community Assistance Program, presented a project to the Glendive City Council recently outlining the collection of data and a research team from MSU plans to work in Glendive soon.
Kimiko Barrett, research and policy analyst at Headwaters Economics joins a panel on NPR’s 1A program to discuss how climate hazards are impacting home insurance rates, and what can be done about it.
The growing demand shows that federal funding is not keeping pace with state and local efforts to fortify communities against flooding, wildfires and other events that have been intensified by climate change, said Kristin Smith, a researcher at Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research organization in Montana.
Nearly half of the population in the American West lives in the wildland-urban interface in some form, according to a study by Bozeman-based Headwaters Economics, and it’s the fastest growing land-use type in the country.
A new report is calling on the state to adopt new building codes that would make homes and communities more resilient to wildfires. Headwaters Economics released the report Wednesday, calling on the state to fully adopt the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code.
“I think the fundamental challenge with all of this, as with most natural hazards, is it’s very hard for us to plan ahead for things,” said Dr. Kimiko Barrett of Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based nonprofit research group that works to improve community development and land management decisions across the country. “We are by nature reactive and responsive, in contrast to being anticipatory. Even after a wildfire occurs, we have a small window to actually mobilize and enact the transformative change needed before amnesia kicks in, or bias kicks in, where you feel that [because the fire] happened, it will never happen again.”
The estimated economic benefit to Montana from the finished project is $60 million in visitor’s spending and $800,000 in new tax revenue. The economic impact numbers provided by Belle during the presentation were from an analysis performed by Bozeman-based company Headwaters Economics.
“I think the headwaters economics study on the Great American Rail-Trail is just over $13 million a year in economic impact in Wyoming, and so I think there’s some of these local tourism, chamber of commerce oriented folks who are looking at this and see the impact it might have in their own local community.”
A 2023 study from Headwaters Economics shows that qualifications from federal grant programs disproportionately hurt under-resourced rural areas.
Cooley said a study of potential statewide impacts conducted by the Bozeman-based firm Headwaters Economics showed that the alternative transportation route would bring $229 million in visitor spending, 2,500 new jobs, and $22.8 million in new tax revenue.
“We know that communities really struggle when a disaster hits, and we also know that these disasters are getting more frequent and more extreme,” said Kristin Smith, the head researcher on the Headwaters Economics study. “One of my big questions is how are we ensuring that rural and disadvantaged communities have the money, the staffing, the capacity, just the resources that they need for the future?”
