the dynamic act of ‘lockdown’ as it relates to a crisis situation has significant longer term impacts than the immediate safety of the citizens. The reports on the ‘economic’ cost of the shutdown clarified the impact of the boston economy–as reported in the article below–is significant. Boston is the ninth largest economy in the country–even larger than Greece and Singapore! As discussed, it certainly was not completely shut down, as many people could work from home, mitigating some of the ‘costs’ of the shut down. This article reports that even though Boston is a ‘1B/day’ economy, it is likely that the shutdown will only ‘cost’ the city 333 million. Add on top of that the costs of the additional law enforcement activity, overtime, and technology resources needed for the search, it’s of course quite a bit more.
However, Boston’s economy is not a compact with neat boundaries–it is completely tied to other economies in other cities as well. WHere were the greatest impacts? People not able to come into the city? Weekend plans cancelled? People spending money in other places that they would spend in Boston? Will companies choose to be in another place rather than move to Boston? Of course, this is conjecture, but certainly there is a shadow impact of the economic impact in other places, just as the positive economic impact of things in Boston has a benefit in other places on a regular basis.
A story about NYPD coming to Boston to help cook food for the Boston first responders also inspired me–cities helping cities–often helping in a crisis. Law enforcement from all over the country helped New Orleans after Hurricaine Katrina, New York after 9/11. This efficient resource pattern is actually an interesting one if done on a more ‘official’ or formalized basis. Rather than staff resources sized to a potential ‘crisis’ level, if cities could stay ‘lean’ with their services, with a ready network of additional resources for other times, it might serve all cities well. This pattern has a very similar model in the ‘shared assets’ services like zip car and co-working spaces that are transforming our cities. Extending it to the most expensive aspects of municipal governance, for particular uses, could benefit the overall budgetary constraints. Regional services, of course, should be better implemented in the northeast (county services in other states are beneficial), but additional elements of the municipal governance like physical development/planning/zoning, and economic development support should also be considered for a more comprehensive and formal system of shared expertise.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-19/it-costs-333-million-to-shut-down-boston-for-a-day#r=read