The Case: No Dogs Allowed Essay

1. What economic questions does this case require the townb to ask? What is a dog park and how does it benefit the community? Can people or dogs get hurt at a dog park? How will dogs fight be avoided? If a dog park is built, will there be space available for an affordable recreation facility? 2. List the possible resources that the town would need to construct and maintain the park? Some possible resources that are needed to construct and manitain the dog park are: Secured fences to prevent loose dogs outside of the park area Trash cans and garbage removal material and equipment needed to clear the lan grass and lawn maintenance Fresh drinking water and field drainage system Lighting and benches for dog owners Pooper scooper stations Staff to construct and maintain the park 3. What town resources are scare? Limited public space and open space is dwindling in the town. 4. Who will be the consumers using this public good? The consumers this good would be the people who are the owners of dogs. 5. What is the opportunity cost of building this park? A. In terms of economics, opportunity cost is the value of the next-highest valued alternative use of that resource. In this case, the opportunity cost would be the offer of 850,000 dollars to purchase the land and build 40 new luxury homes. B. Identify at least one pro and one con for each of the following options. 1. Leaving the land undeveloped A pro in leaving the land undeveloped is saving the town resources and a con would be a waste of space that could be used for something to benefit the community. 2. Selling the land to real estate developers to build homes. A pro in selling the land to real estate developers would save the town’s resources and money to do other things within the coommunity. A con selling the land when it could be used for a dog park or a recreation facility, things that the community are asking for. 6. What if any, market failures might exist in this town? A market failure that could exist is the absence of private property rights, since the dog park would be directly behind a townhouse community, noise levels of barking dogs and fight risk could potentially disturb the neighborhood. 7. Create a chart that identifies the positive and negative externalities of building the park. Explain the effect of each externatality. 8. How could the town government counteract the negative externatalities? The town government can counteract the negative eternalities by ensuring that the dog park is securely fenced in with a double gated entry exit system so that the townhouse development would not have the cost in putting a fence around their development. The The town government can assess other available space for recreation since the town is growing. Dog owners will need to take responsibility for the full cost of the noise that their barking dogs create. The town government can make it illegal to disturb the peace by creating disturbing the peace laws. 9. Based on your studies of Unit 1, write a persuasive argument for or against the construction of the dog park. Should a dog park be constructed in Martinsville? Martinsville is a rapidly growing town, and statistics show that there are 7,000 licensed dogs in the town. Families who own dogs complain that there are no resources in the town for families with pets, and that since the recent creation of new apartments, condos, townhouses, and retail spaces that land space is scarce  and there is little to no land of their own for outdoor recreation. Developers want to purchase the land for $850, 000 to build 40 new luxury townhouses. After considering both sides of the issue, I strongly believe that a dog park should be constructed. The town of Martinsville has already added many new multi-family housing and these dwelling have very limited outdoor space. A national pet store chain is willing to give a grant to the town to partially fund the park and with the town’s budget surplus the cost of construction of the park will be covered, but a developer wishes to purchase the land to add more townhouses. The opprtunity cost will benefit the town in keeping them from using any of their resources, but the trade-off in this would be adding too many families yet again with limited space of their own, and some of these new families will have pets. Then, even more families will be complaining about space scarcity, therefore I disagree in building 40 new luxury townhouses on this particular land. All of the public spaces are not completely gone and developers can research other options. Families with pets have no outdoor space for their pets to play or exercise. There is only one local park in the area where no pets are allowed. A dog park can be a great addition to almost any community. First, it provides dogs with a chance to excercise and socialize with other dogs. Dogs like to be free, and they like to run and play instead of being chained down. Secondly, it provides dog owners with a chance to do things with their pets that they can’t do because of limited space. Lastly, having a dog park will prove that the town is family friendly, attracting more families to the town, and for all of the reasons, a dog park should be constructed in the town of Martinsville.