Open Collections

Abstract

Lakes in Canada's rapidly growing urban areas have reached a critical state, and decisions about the best way to protect, manage, and rehabilitate urban lakes are a planning priority. Lakes are important parts of the urban landscape that have provided local communities with a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Deer Lake is an eighty-six acre lake located in the central portion of the City of Burnaby, British Columbia. The relatively small shallow lake has provided swimming and fishing opportunities for local residents since the 1950s. For the past forty years, the aesthetic qualities of Deer Lake have progressively deteriorated to the point where aquatic, and terrestrial recreational activities are being compromised. Burnaby's urban planners have been asked to maintain the aesthetic and biological integrity of Deer Lake. At the same time, the planners are asked to accommodate the recreational needs of a growing urban population. The Deer Lake Restoration and Management Committee have relied on scientists and engineers to find the best technological alternative to restore the lake's water quality to some pre-urban condition. Despite numerous scientific reports, city planners, and politicians are undecided on a preferred technological water treatment alternative for Deer Lake. Controversial and complex environmental issues, high costs, technological uncertainty, and differences in stakeholder values have stalemated the decision making process. The current Deer Lake planning process lacks an organizational structure that can incorporate different stakeholder values and represent complex information in a clear and understandable way. Value-focused thinking and multiple account analysis offers urban lake planners an integrated planning framework that can accommodate many of the complexities involved in planning for the restoration and management of urban lakes. Multiple account analysis assumes that economic, social and environmental objectives should be explicitly considered in the decision making process. The crucial first step in a multiple account evaluation is to develop and articulate a set of objectives that can then be used to create a set of plausible alternatives. The purpose of this thesis is to conduct a policy analysis for Deer Lake restoration alternatives. The thesis employs the principles of "Value Focused Thinking" to identify, and structure the objectives of the Deer Lake Restoration Committee. Value-based objectives are used to develop a set of alternatives. The impacts of the selected lake restoration and management alternatives are assessed using a multiple account analysis. First, the problem is described, and structured with all aspects of the decision that merit consideration. Next the process assesses the impacts of the alternatives being considered by combining the best scientific, technical, environmental, and financial information that is available. This information is used to assess how well the selected alternatives achieve the desired objectives. The Deer Lake case study illustrates the benefits of using value-focused thinking and multiple account analysis as a comprehensive decision making framework for urban lake restoration projects. One new alternative has been created as a result of this process, and the impacts of all the proposed alternatives have been measured with respect to the stated objectives. On the basis of available information, this analysis predicts the probability of achieving the desired water quality standards over the short term and long term. Perhaps the greatest analytical strength of applying this combined approach to the Deer Lake issue is the ability to simplify complex information, and at the same time retain enough detail to support the decision making process. Intangible social and environmental aspects of the decision are explicitly incorporated. In the end, a compact, complete statement of objectives and alternatives is derived from this information, which in turn provides a platform for good communication and constructive stakeholder negotiation.