Environment (Faculty of)

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Comprehensive Settlement Planning in the MacKenzie River Delta, N.W.T.: A Proposed Planning Theory and Methodology (Northwest Territories)
(University of Waterloo, 1967) Aasen, Clarence T.
The arctic and subarctic regions of Canada are increasingly developing as integral, participating parts of the total Canadian and world scene. Basic to this development in the North are the human, natural physical, and designed or man- made environments. This study is concerned with one aspect of the designed environment: human settlements. On the basis of an evaluation of the existing settlement planning situation, an attempt is made to develop a skeletal, yet consistent, theory and methodology for settlement planning in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories. The approach is from a comprehensive point of view, and includes social, economic and physical criteria directly in the planning process. A combined systems-factor analysis technique is experimentally developed as an aid to creativity in the planning process. Preliminary results indicate both an immediate practical use and a good potential for the further development of the approach as a panning tool.
City Core Neighbourhoods Designed for Sustainability
(University of Waterloo, 1993) Walker, Judith
Humankind's ability to ensure sustainability of the biosphere depends upon the integrated and concerted efforts of all peoples in all places. This study examines the critical need to focus on the achievement of sustainability in urban centres, specifically in North America, and evaluates the potential for city core neighbourhoods to contribute to the accomplishment of this goal. Four criteria are presented as necessary for the realization of urban sustainability, two of which, livability and equity of access, (identified as the 'social' criteria) become the focus of this inquiry. Community involvement at the neighbourhood level is also identified as necessary to the process by which sustainability will be achieved. The synergy of livability and equity to create a 'sense of community' and attendant community involvement is explored. The St. Lawrence neighbourhood in Toronto serves as a case study to inform future efforts to ensure livability, equity, and the resulting community involvement necessary to achieve urban sustainability, and points to subtle but important lessons regarding the dynamism of various conditions within a neighbourhood that can contribute to this potential.
The participatory design of an ecosystem approach to monitoring in support of sense-making: What's the Point?
(University of Waterloo, 1999) Martell, Richard
Environmental monitoring initiatives are typically conceived as strictly scientific affairs designed to provide support for managerial decision-making; as a consequence most initiatives are centered on a formal mandate or an overarching mission statement that provides direction for monitoring activity. But official frameworks tend to marginalize lay perspectives as experts pursue disciplinary rigor at the expense of public input, a situation not in keeping with the spirit of the biosphere reserve concept. This thesis argues that an alternative design approach that reaches beyond scientists and resource managers is necessary. Environmental monitoring under an ecosystem approach is subject to scientific, social, and bureaucratic demands that defy easy disentanglement. A medley of factors influence how data are collected, interpreted, and used; neglect of these 'soft' dimensions runs the risk of failing to win the enduring support of stakeholders. There is a need to coordinate activity and to partially align multiple perspectives-this is the 'soft underbelly' of integrated monitoring that gets short shrift in most designs. While there is much monitoring being done in and around the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, there is little coordination among monitoring groups and no obvious way to combine disparate data sets in a meaningful way. This thesis describes the elements of a locally-sensible framework for monitoring practice that is mainly concerned with trying to make sense of confusing and ambiguous situations; it strives to integrate the 'why', 'what', and 'how' of monitoring in as transparent a manner as possible by crafting 'boundary objects' that help to congeal understanding and provide centers of coordination. Using principles of participatory design in the soft-systems tradition, the overall intent is to primarily support sense-making, not decision-making; to generate searching questions, not final solutions; to facilitate learning, not control.
An Adaptive Ecosystem Approach to Rehabillitation and Management of the Cooum River Environmental System in Chennai, India
(University of Waterloo, 2000) Bunch, Martin J.
This research investigates the application of an adaptive ecosystem approach to the problem of the Cooum River and environs in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. The Cooum River is an extremely polluted urban stream that flows into the Bay of Bengal through the heart of Chennai, India's fourth largest metropolis. During the dry (non-monsoon) season, the upper reaches of the river are dry and flow in the river may be attributed primarily to the production of sewage by the city's population. The river is essentially a foul-smelling open sewer. Complexity of the problem is due as much to human factors (population growth, poverty, uncontrolled urban development, jurisdictional conflicts, modes of behaviour of the citizenry, and institutional culture) as to physical characteristics of the system (flat topography, tidal action, blockage of the river mouth by sand bar formation, and monsoon flooding). Uncertainty in the situation is both structural (regarding main processes and activities in the system and the nature of relationships among the various actors and elements), and parametric (having to do with scarcity, poor quality and restricted access to data). This work has drawn upon methods and techniques of Adaptive Environmental Management and Soft Systems Methodology to operate the ecosystem approach and address the problem. Specifically, this has involved a series of workshops which have brought together planners, researchers, NGOs, and other stakeholders in a participatory process oriented toward problem definition, system identification and conceptualization, determination of objectives for management, and the generation and exploration of management interventions. In addition, a central component of the program has been the development of a loosely-coupled GIS, environmental simulation model, and a decision support module. This is based upon a framework provided by participants in the first workshop in the series, and operationalizes a common understanding of the system. In addition to generating new insight into the nature of the problem situation, the research has provided a potentially useful tool to planners, managers and researchers in Chennai in the form of a GIS database and decision support system (DSS). Aside from the tool itself, it was found that the process of developing a conceptual model, and attempting to represent this in the DSS has made a significant contribution to understanding of the Cooum system. In particular, this process forced assumptions to be stated explicitly and publically, highlighted areas of uncertainty and led to new understanding in participants' conception of the problem situation. The program of research also provided a much needed forum for open debate and exchange of information which was removed from the restrictive institutional culture of government departments.
Authenticating Cultural Tourism: Folk Villages in Hainan, China
(University of Waterloo, 2001) Xie, Philip Feifan
Cultural tourism provides opportunities for ethnic minorities to showcase their cultures, customs and heritage. At the same time, it causes a series of tensions and issues of authenticity and commodification have been the subjects of lively debate among tourism researchers. However, little research has been done to date concerning the roles of stakeholders who authenticate cultural resources. This thesis develops a conceptual framework that is employed to enhance understanding of the authenticity of cultural tourism when ethnic Li communities in Hainan Island, China, experience tourism development. Folk villages are used as a significant point of access for investigating the tensions which emerge in authenticating cultural resources. Four key stakeholders are identified: (1) governments; (2) tourism businesses; (3) visitors; and, (4) ethnic communities. Five pairs of yardsticks were developed based upon Swain's (1989) work to examine the issue of authentification. These constructs are: non-commercialization versus commodification, cultural evolution versus museumification, economic development versus cultural preservation, ethnic autonomy versus state regulation, and mass tourism development versus sustainable cultural tourism. The findings suggest that authenticity is relative rather than absolute and, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, it is necessary to shift from a previous focus on the nature and identification of authenticity to the more tractable question of authentification. The various stakeholders exhibit different positions with respect to the various paradoxes and the tensions that exist between their poles. For example, governments pay more attention on the control of ethnic autonomy whilst tourism businesses prioritize the economic development. Tourists exhibit blurred perceptions of authenticity whilst ethnic minority supports the maintenance of their of culture but gives priority to jobs and remuneration. This thesis demonstrates that it is more useful to evaluate who authenticates and the interests that such claims serve, rather than to adhere to some absolute standard of 'authentic' ethnicity. It makes recommendations for tourism planners, such as ethnic participation in the decision-making process, the development of strategic alliance among tourism stakeholders, and the taking of steps to promote the maintenance of Li culture. It also suggests opportunities for applying this conceptual framework of cultural tourism to other different situations, both within Hainan and elsewhere.
Cumulative Effects Assessment and Sustainability: Diamond Mining in the Slave Geological Province
(University of Waterloo, 2001) Stiff, Kaarina
The pace of development in Canada's North has renewed concerns about the potential cumulative effects of increasing industrial growth on fragile northern ecosystems. Recent developments in the diamond industry in the Slave Geological Province have highlighted the potential additive and synergistic effects of such development. For example, Aboriginal communities are worried about the health of the Bathurst caribou herd, which is considered central to their way of life. This concern is compounded by the lack of integration of environmental assessment and planning efforts, which could serve to better protect the environment. This research considers the challenges associated with the assessment of cumulative effects, and various approaches to meet these challenges. Diamond mining in the Slave Geological Province, including the BHP and Diavik diamond mines, is used as a case study. Four sustainability-based criteria are developed to evaluate the past and existing situation in the diamond region, and to form the basis for recommendations that would contribute to a more holistic approach to integrating cumulative effects considerations into environmental assessment and regional planning. The analysis demonstrates that although several mechanisms are currently in place to assess cumulative environmental effects, no single initiative fully meets each of the four criteria. However, existing tools can be used and supplemented to identify appropriate response options. The sustainability-based criteria developed here can contribute to further research on cumulative effects assessment and sustainability. The sustainability-based criteria developed here can be adopted for other case studies, to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to develop case specific recommendations for a more holistic approach to integrating cumulative effects considerations into environmental assessment and regional planning. This examination of how cumulative effects assessment has been approached in the Slave Geological Province also provides insight into the broader implications of regional cumulative effects management.
Enhancing the Role of the Recreationist in the Conservation of Parks and Protected Areas
(University of Waterloo, 2001) Porter, James
The tension between 'acceptable' human use of the environment and the management systems that intend to mitigate this use continues to be an important focus for discussion and research. This is particularly evident in the situation of recreation in parks and protected areas. Enhancing public participation in the development and implementation of resource management objectives has received much attention, in literature and in practice, as a way to mediate this tension. However, how this participation will come about or is to be facilitated necessitates further investigation. This thesis further develops the notion of public participation with a focus on recreationists as a valuable source of assistance for achieving the conservation agenda. It also highlights that the assistance that recreationists could potentially offer remains predominately untapped. Two reasons for this include the restrictiveness inherent in current recreation and environment management approaches, and underlying assumptions that discount the value of public participation or cater to an active public, or recreationist, minority. Drawing on relevant social research, this thesis attempts to better understand the individual recreationist and derive from this an understanding of possible opportunities through which recreationist participation in conservation could be enhanced. Complementing this discussion is an identification of park managers as key recipients of this research, and a redefinition of their role from manager to one that emphasizes aspects of leadership. Two methods were employed to further investigate this research: an extensive review of relevant theory as well as the use of two case studies: Killarney Provincial Park (Ontario, Canada) and Fish Creek Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada). Within each case study, interviews were conducted in the months of June and July 2000 with park staff and other appropriate individuals. At the same time, recreationists from both parks were surveyed. Interviews and survey questions were guided by the primary question of, how can the role of recreationists in the conservation of parks and protected areas be enhanced? Eleven recommendations emerged from this research in regard to: opportunities for recreationists to participate in conservation, the role of social research, and the relationship between park manager and recreationist. This paper concludes by establishing an argument advocating recreationist participation in conservation, and offers ways in which this participation could be achieved.
Critical Investigation of the Pulse Contour Method for Obtaining Beat-By-Beat Cardiac Output
(University of Waterloo, 2001) Matushewski, Bradley
The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of two existing pulse contour analysis (PCA) models for estimating cardiac stroke volume from the arterial pressure waveform during kicking ergometer exercise and head-up tilt manoeuvres. Secondly, one of the existing models was modified in an attempt to enhance its performance. In part I, seven healthy young adults repeated two submaximal exercise sessions on a kicking ergometer, each with three different sets of steady-state cardiac output comparisons (pulsed Doppler vs. pulse contour). Across all exercise trials regression results were found to be PCA = 1. 23 x Doppler-1. 38 with an r2 = 0. 51. In part II, eight young and eight older male healthy subjects participated in a head-up tilt experiment. Cardiac output comparisons were again performed during the supine and tilt conditions using pulsed Doppler and pulse contour cardiac output. Regression results revealed that PCA performed best during supine conditions and preferentially on the older subjects. In all instances, impedance-calibrated pulse contour analysis will provide reasonable beat-by-beat cardiac output within very narrow confines and will result in a progressively more significant bias as cardiovascular dynamics change. In addition, it appears that heart rate variability negatively influences beat-by-beat pulse contour cardiac output results, further limiting application of existing models.
Landscape Grammar
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Mayall, Kevin
The protection and enhancement of visual resources constitute an on-going challenge to the planning authorities in many communities. The crux of this challenge is to guide development towards built and natural landscape forms that will not cause detriment to an existing landscape character. To understand and cope with this problem, there is the need for a means to define and model a landscape's character, to identify methods for constructing that character definition, to create tools for storing and using such a definition to visualize its spatial manifestations, and to incorporate alternative development regulatory parameters in order to assess their impact on landscape character. Current spatial data technologies are able to portray inventories of specific, real-world objects. While well established in the planning profession, these technologies and their attendant data manipulation tools do not easily facilitate the creation of generalized, non-specific statements that are applicable across a region. Such generalized statements regarding visual and spatial features are at the heart of descriptions of landscape character and implicit within most planning regulations intended to produce a desirable landscape character. Current spatial data tools therefore do not satisfy the stated needs of planning for landscape character. In satisfying these conceptual, methodological and technological deficiencies, the research presented in this dissertation defines and demonstrates a theory of landscape grammar which formally draws parallels between the structures of linguistics and the character of landscapes. A landscape grammar defines a landscape character using a spatial vocabulary and syntax rules and can be applied to a site to generate landscape forms that embody the defined character. In this dissertation, the spatial counterparts of the linguistic concepts of vocabulary and grammar rules are formalized and implemented for use in a custom-developed geographic information system. Methods that enable the use of landscape grammars in a planning environment are presented and subsequently applied through the formal expression of planning regulations into the grammar-based model. The theory, methods and software implementation are demonstrated using a residential area of the island of Bermuda. The iterative grammatical generation of an example two-dimensional landscape scene is demonstrated with further three-dimensional representations of the results for visualization purposes. Alternative planning regulations are also incorporated into the case study grammar and resultant three-dimensional landscapes are shown. Several suggestions for future research on landscape grammars are offered in the conclusions of the dissertation.
Ecotourism and Community Development: Case Studies From Hainan, China
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Stone, Michael J.
Ecotourism is one of the fastest expanding tourism markets. It has received much attention in developing countries and economically impoverished regions around the world. As an agent of change, ecotourism has been linked to sustainable development strategies and initiatives in many places. However, ecotourism can induce a variety of both positive and negative environmental, cultural and socioeconomic impacts at a destination. Operating in its ideal form (according to some), ecotourism provides the tourist with a quality nature experience, generates funds and support for conservation efforts, has minimal environmental impact and provides socioeconomic benefits to local host communities. While there is evidence that ecotourism's espoused benefits can be realized, there are equally as many, if not more, cases where ecotourism has fallen short of its proposed objectives. Indeed, ecotourism's impact has been highly variable. At the same time, some have criticized that there have been relatively few practical assessments of ecotourism's status at specific destinations. This study sought to assess the current status of ecotourism at two destinations where it is being promoted as a regional development strategy. The existing tourism-park/resource-community relationships and impacts are evaluated at Jianfengling and Diaoluoshan National Forest Parks, in Hainan Province, China. Hainan, although endowed with a wealth of natural resources, is one of China's most economically backward provinces. Ecotourism has been identified as an important provincial strategy for balancing economic growth and conservation. The study is intended to enhance the capacity of ecotourism to generate benefits for both the local communities and destinations (the protected areas), and thus contribute to the sustainable development of the region more generally. Given the exploratory nature of the research, qualitative analysis was used. Interviews, observations and secondary sources were the main vehicles of inquiry employed in this study. Basic quantitative analysis was used to aid in the interpretation of interview results. Triangulation, in terms of both data sources (primary and secondary) and methods (document collection, observations, interviews, quantitative analysis), was used wherever possible to limit personal and methodological biases. Similar results were found in both the Jianfengling and Diaoluoshan case studies. Ecotourism development is at an early stage. As such, socioeconomic benefits for the local communities have been very limited. At the same time, residents have had to cope with reduced access to resources since the Parks were established in the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, community residents generally support conservation and are optimistic that tourism growth will yield benefits. Both Parks receive relatively few tourists, and neither Park charges a user fee. As a result, (eco)tourism has not, to date, contributed revenues towards conservation efforts. Although the Parks offer spectacular tropical scenery, facilities are basic and educational opportunities for tourists are few. Planning direction and recommendations are offered based on the study findings and the salient ecotourism literature. Identified opportunities, constraints and recommendations are used to provide a potential framework for the development of a park (eco)tourism plan at each study site. Results and recommendations could inform planning and management processes, and thus enhance the capacity of ecotourism to generate benefits at the study sites and, more generally, throughout Hainan.
The Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS to Facilitate Sustainable Urban Environmental Management: The Case of Bangkok, Thailand
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Malcolm, Neil
Cities in developing countries are facing serious problems as a result of rapid urban population growth. Not the least of these problems is the creation of environmental stresses at the rural-urban fringe of these cities as they increase in area and envelop fertile surrounding agricultural lands. Because of this rapid rate of growth, sustainable urban environmental management (SUEM) policies and practices are often difficult to develop and implement proactively. This thesis argues that rapid population growth and subsequent urban expansion occurs such that urban form and function are built around the transportation network. In this context, a basic requirement for the facilitation of SUEM is the ability to be able to detect and extract indicators of urban expansion, in particular the road network, from available satellite remote sensing (RS) data. Subsequently, the indictors of growth derived from RS imagery can be integrated into a multi-source GIS database with ground-based census data to facilitate potential environmental stress analysis. The extraction of useful data from RS imagery for GIS-based analysis of urban growth is achieved through an integrated conceptual and operational framework presented in the thesis. This framework allows for environmental stress analysis at the urban periphery that can assist with the design of policies to contain urban growth.
Exploring the Social, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Trail Surfacing Decisions
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Giles, Andrew
Visitor activities in parks often have a heavy impact on the soil, vegetation, water and wildlife. In front country areas, the most extreme damage is concentrated on and adjacent to recreational trails. Aside from controlling the numbers, activities and behaviours of trail users, managers may choose to make trails more resistant to impact through surfacing. Unfortunately, surfacing may have negative influences on park visitors' enjoyment of trails by limiting access or detracting from the primitive setting. In addition, some surfaces may be ineffective in certain environmental conditions such as wet ground or steep slopes. Finally, the wide variety in construction and maintenance costs may make some surface types economically unfeasible. The goals of this research are to investigate the role of trail surfacing in the management of impacts from outdoor recreation; to develop better understanding of the social, economic and environmental aspects of trail surfacing decisions; and to explore a comprehensive framework for incorporating these three factors in trail management. It is hoped that this research can assist park managers in selecting surfacing options to reduce visitor impact without excessively compromising recreational experience or organizational limitations, such as financial resources. In addition to a comprehensive review of literature on visitor impact management on trails and surfacing techniques, this research employs three methods to further investigate the social, environmental and economic aspects of trail surfacing: a trail user survey, manager survey and trail condition assessment. The trail user survey was conducted at two well-used natural areas in southwestern Ontario, Canada: Presqu'ile Provincial Park and Belfountain Conservation Area. Surveys at each area explored trail users' perceptions and preferences of trail surfacing techniques in late summer 1999. The managers' survey provided insight into organizational approaches to surfacing, including construction cost and observations on recreational or environmental effectiveness. Finally, the trail condition assessment explored an approach to determining environmental effectiveness of trail surfacing techniques, but was limited by the physical and recreational variation between trails. Seven recommendations for trail managers are presented, tying in several conceptual frameworks of visitor impact management and trail surfacing decisions developed in the thesis. First, trail managers are recommended to develop a full understanding of trail design principles and alternative visitor impact management techniques. If surfacing is selected as the best impact management technique, trail managers should obtain as much information on user characteristics, environmental conditions and organizational limitations as possible. Despite the benefits and drawbacks for all surfaces, road base gravel (or angular screenings with fines) merits special attention as an excellent surface, while asphalt and concrete are not recommended for front country, semi-primitive recreation. Finally, trail managers are encouraged to share information on surfacing more freely and open surfacing decision processes to affected trail users. Overall, trail managers are provided with an approach to surfacing decisions that considers the social, environmental and economic aspects of trail surfacing, with the goal of working toward more enjoyable, environmentally responsible and cost-effective trail solutions.
Visioning Diversity: Planning Vancouver's Multicultural Communities
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Lee, Joyce C.
The roles and responsibilities of planners in managing culturally diverse cities are beginning to be articulated in the literature. "Visioning,"as planners have used it in recent years, has the potential to help realize "multicultural planning" because of its intentions to involve broad public participation and represent diverse interests, thereby promoting equity and facilitating democracy. This exploratory study examines how the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada has involved ethnocultural groups through a visioning process. To date, four Vancouver communities containing a sizeable immigrant population have participated in preparing plans for their neighbourhood through the city's Community Visions Program. Information for this study was gathered through a critical review of planning-related documents and key informant interviews with staff and community participants (including those of visible minority background) in the Visions Program. Results from the data collection were grouped into main themes and triangulated for analysis. Results indicate that visioning, as it has been used in Vancouver, is capable of being a useful technique in carrying out multicultural planning. There is evidence that planners have learned a great deal from engaging in multicultural planning, as seen through the increased success of outreach in the latter two communities to undergo the Visions Program. This suggests that Vancouver's visioning exercise will improve simply by virtue of continued outreach. However, it is important to differentiate between the public consultation process and the resultant products in regard to policy and land use change. There appears to be more general satisfaction with the inclusive visioning process than with the end results. Empirical research suggests that if planners are serious about engaging in a multicultural planning process, they will need to guarantee some tangible results that can be seen in the community and that acknowledge and respect cultural diversity.
Regulatory Dynamics, Institutional Cohesiveness, and Regional Sustainability
(University of Waterloo, 2002) Parto, Saeed
It is generally acknowledged that economic activity continues apace and at the expense of social and ecological integrity while the course of economic development remains far from any approximation of sustainability. Few would dispute the fact that since 1992 little has been accomplished in practical terms to meet Agenda 21 objectives. Many would agree that Agenda 21-inspired local visions and goals have not translated into actual local change in part because of the complex and the multi-faceted nature of the issues involved. Policy work on ecological modernization and sustainability needs to be explicit on the question of scale and the role of governments. The central challenge for policy makers, action takers, and researchers is to determine the appropriate territorial (physical, social, economic, and political) scale at and through which government power needs to be deployed to effect transition to sustainable modes of regulation. This question is particularly relevant given the current discourse on regionalization / globalization. Adopting a 'post-disciplinary' approach this thesis examines how institutional inter-relations shape the outcome of plans to meet policy objectives on sustainable development at the local (municipality) scale. In-depth analysis of interview and secondary data reveals that numerous factors 'regulate' what occurs at local and other scales in relation to sustainable development. This thesis concludes with exploring the policy and future research implications of the findings.
Social Experiments in Innovative Environmental Management: The emergence of ecotechnology
(University of Waterloo, 2003) Rose, Gregory
Human production needs are met through the use of modern technology that is increasingly recognised as a threat to the planetary ecosystem and social sub-system. In light of this recognition, there is evidence that a planned transition towards more sustainable technological infrastructure is occurring across various production sectors. This change is often associated with re-orientating technology based on the concept of sustainable development and national-level strategies such as ecological modernisation, which prescribes phasing-out environmentally malignant conventional technology for cleaner post-industrial solutions. There is evidence, however, that a transition towards cleaner technological options is occurring at the local level. In southern Ontario, Canada ecological technology (ecotechnology) has been adopted in small-scale agricultural and educational facilities for the management of manure and domestic sewage. Ecotechnology is designed to meet human production requirements and to restore the environment through combining natural systems and engineered components to achieve cleaner production. Two types of ecotechnologies were investigated during this research: constructed treatment wetlands for the management of manure and greenhouse-based biological technologies for the management of domestic sewage. These options are novel and can be expected to encounter barriers resulting from a selection environment favouring pre-existing technological options that have previously become established. The overall objective of the research was to identify key factors both driving and constraining the adoption and implementation of the ecotechnology across four case studies. This objective was accomplished through employing a qualitative, collective case study approach. The case studies revealed the motivation behind the adoption of the ecotechnology arose from the environmental values of users and formed the basis for rejecting the conventional options because they were not viewed as capable of improving the environment. However, the ecotechnology also exceeded user's aesthetic and operational level expectations. Barriers to the implementation of ecotechnology were also identified. The investigation revealed the existence of a perspective-gap between the ecological engineering science and traditional engineering science, which constrained implementation of the ecotechnology. Skepticism was found to arise due to the unique performance parameters and soft operational characteristics of ecotechnology, which contrast the hard technological fixes that are familiar to traditional engineering science. This perspective-gap may account for the institutional inertia, which became clear after the 1996 provincial budget reductions decreased the level of support for research and environmental technology development programs in Ontario. These reductions also devolved authority for small-scale wastewater treatment to the municipal level where lack of technical expertise and reliance on standardised regulations has constrained the development of alternatives. Constructive technology assessment suggests that the development of technology must be guided in cooperative social learning processes capable of reflecting the needs and values of stakeholders in order to achieve beneficial social and technological change. Evidence from the case studies revealed that a significant amount of capacity was developed when stakeholders collaborated and legitimated the social experiments where the ecotechnology was applied. These experiments demonstrate the significance of creating settings where users, technology proponents and provincial and local approval agents can collaborate. Through collaboration, social learning can be facilitated during the development of alternative technological solutions that may be congruent with ecological modernisation and the re-orientation of technology towards options that are ecologically-oriented.
Implementation of a GIS to Assess the Effects of Water Level Fluctuations on the Wetland Complex at Long Point, Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2003) Hebb, Andrea
The Long Point wetland complex is one of the most significant coastal wetland systems in the Great Lakes, containing a diverse mosaic of wetland vegetation communities that have developed in response to water level fluctuations due to natural climate variability. Natural short-term water level variations are important for promoting wetland productivity and diversity, but long-term water level changes resulting from human-induced climate change can have serious and long-term consequences on the integrity and health of wetlands. The historical response of the wetland to water level fluctuations was quantified and modelled to provide an indication of how the wetland may respond to future projected water level changes - water level fluctuations are used as a surrogate for climate change. A spatiotemporal trend analysis was conducted within a geographic information system (GIS) to determine the effects of water level conditions on wetland vegetation and land cover at the wetland complex at Long Point, Ontario for seven years from 1945 to 1999. The spatiotemporal trend analysis documented changes in the structure and composition of the wetland complex in response to declining and rising water level conditions. During drier periods, there were significant increases in the amount of drier emergent and meadow vegetation, especially within the Inner Bay and northern portion of the outer peninsula. There was less fragmentation and complexity in the wetland as these drier communities expanded forming larger continuous patches of vegetation. During wetter periods, open water increased and there was a predominance of wetter emergent and meadow communities in the wetland. Drier vegetation communities became interspersed with water creating a more fragmented convoluted wetland landscape. The historical response of the wetland vegetation and land cover to water level fluctuations was then simulated with three different wetland models developed in the GIS. A rule-based model, a probability model, and a transition model were developed to assess wetland response to future water level changes. The models were evaluated using simple statistical methods. The transition and rule-based models performed the best and were successful in predicting over 80 % of the wetland vegetation distribution correctly. The probability model was the least successful, predicting only 55 % of the response correctly. The GIS proved successful in documenting wetland response to historical water level fluctuations and providing insight into the potential impacts of future climate change though water level fluctuations on the Long Point coastal wetland complex. The spatiotemporal analysis and wetland modelling advance the role of GIS in wetland management and analysis. They are practical methods within a GIS that can be used to assess the impacts of climate change on wetland systems and to document and model wetland change in other coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes.
Exploring the Ecological Footprint of Tourism in Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2003) Johnson, Peter A.
Once considered a 'green' industry, tourism and its associated ecological impacts are now widely acknowledged. Focus within tourism planning has aimed to reduce the ecological burden placed on a destination area, and move towards a more sustainable tourism industry. This research proposes the use of the Ecological Footprint (EF) as a tool to compare the ecological costs of different types of tourism. The EF shows the relative amount of productive land appropriated by the activities and choices of an individual tourist. The main goal of this study was to analyse and compare the ecological resource use of tourism in Ontario. Surveys were conducted with tourists staying at 9 different types of accommodations throughout Ontario. Additional data were collected from personal interviews with accommodation managers at each location and incorporated into the EF calculation. Four areas of tourism ecological impact were identified; tourists' personal consumption, transportation, activity, and accommodation costs. These four components contributed in varying degrees to each tourist Ecological Footprint, and this variation became the main area of analysis. The findings of this research demonstrated that air travel contributes significantly to the total ecological cost of a particular tourism experience. Comparably, travel by personal car made a much smaller contribution to the tourist EF. Thus, local area tourists who could drive to a destination had a smaller EF than those long-distance domestic and international tourists who flew. Accommodation ecological costs were primarily a factor of the amount of built space available, and total energy usage per guest. Accommodations that had a large number of occupants for a given area and level of energy consumption achieved a scale of efficiency. In this manner, larger, more efficiently constructed accommodations often made smaller contributions to the tourist EF than small-scale, but inefficient accommodations. The main conclusion was that the ecological impacts of tourism can be quantitatively recorded, and that a complete trip view of tourism ecological resource use is necessary. When considering practical applications in the tourism industry, an Ecological Footprint analysis could be used by tourism managers as an evaluative tool to compare the ecological outcome of various construction, programming, and operational changes. For the tourist, the EF can serve as an 'eco-label', to distinguish one type of 'green' tourism from another, creating a more informed consumer. Ultimately, the Ecological Footprint serves one purpose- to demonstrate that less ecologically consumptive tourism choices are possible for both tourists and tourism managers.
Achieving Cultural Diversity in Wilderness Recreation: A Study of the Chinese in Vancouver
(University of Waterloo, 2003) Hung, Karin
As Canada welcomes immigrants from around the world, planners increasingly strive for policies and initiatives that meet culturally diverse needs. In Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, park planners have directed more attention to wilderness use by ethnic minority groups, particularly the Chinese population. Nowhere in Canada are people of Chinese ancestry more prominent than in Greater Vancouver, where they comprise 47% of the visible minority population and 17% of the total population. However, the rate of Chinese participation in wilderness recreation is less than that of the general population. This exploratory study examines the cultural nuances and institutional barriers that impede Chinese participation in wilderness recreation activities. It is primarily based on 51 in-depth interviews with members of the Chinese community in Greater Vancouver during 2002. Recruitment was by a hybrid convenience-purposive-snowball sampling method, which resulted in a non-random sample. Interview questions addressed views about wilderness, outdoor recreation and wilderness experience, awareness of local recreation opportunities, means to retrieve park information, and preferences for park settings and facilities. The Vancouver Index of Acculturation was used to measure participants' levels of acculturation. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed, and information from field notes and transcripts were organized into main themes and triangulated with secondary data sources for analysis. Results indicate that Chinese who are more acculturated to Canadian culture ('High Mainstream Chinese') visit a greater number of parks and are willing to travel a further distance to access them. They also tend to visit parks more often, stay longer, and tend to be attracted to more physically demanding or 'hard adventure' activities, whereas less acculturated individuals ('Low Mainstream Chinese') are inclined to more passive outdoor activities. The study points to reasons that explain why Low Mainstream Chinese ? particularly recent immigrants ? are participating less in wilderness recreation. Factors include fear of the wilderness environment, preference for more highly developed parks, a lack of awareness of wilderness opportunities, and inadequate access to park information. Subtle aspects of the Chinese subcultural identity, such as importance of cleanliness, emphasis on academics, priorities on work, and clannishness, also play a role in Chinese under-participation. Thus if park planners want to facilitate Chinese use of designated wilderness areas, they should address issues such as safety, level of park development, availability of information, and awareness of wilderness opportunities in a culturally sensitive way. Doing so would promote more equitable access to a public resource. Increased awareness and appreciation of wilderness by ethnic minority groups may also help garner political support for future conservation initiatives and build a stronger local economy.
DISCONNECT: Assessing and Managing the Social Effects of Development in the Athabasca Oil Sands
(University of Waterloo, 2003) Earley, Robert
This research investigated the system by which the social effects of oil sands development on Fort McMurray, a city in northeastern Alberta, are assessed and managed. The research focused on Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and the work of an industry initiative, the Regional Issues Working Group (RIWG). The oil sands industry, which involves large, labour-intensive mining and drilling operations in a boom-bust cycle, places considerable pressure on Fort McMurray, a city of approximately 50,000 inhabitants and the only urban area within 350 km of the oil sands. The social effects experienced there include exorbitant housing prices, shortages in service industry labour, insufficient social services, at times, to assist individuals and families who can no longer cope with the difficult conditions in the area, and a variety of other negative effects. Sixteen key informant interviews were conducted with urban planners, municipal politicians, provincial employees, a spokesperson for one of the First Nations in the area, community NGOs, and oil sands industry representatives. Data from the interviews were combined with a literature review and a document analysis. A modified McKinsey 7S Integrated Management Framework was used as a structure for describing and analyzing the Social Effects Assessment and Management System (SEAMS) in Fort McMurray. The SEAMS was found to be weak in comparison to the needs of the community. Project-by-project assessment of oil sands development was found to downplay the cumulative nature of social effects. Furthermore, no legislation or regulation existed that demanded action based on the findings of SIA. As a result, mitigation and management of social effects was insufficient, often occurring only when it was directly in the interests of the oil sands industry. While government and industry have plans in place to resolve some of the negative social effects, their actions were criticized by informants as being uncoordinated, inconsistent and often ineffective. The findings indicate that a strategy for exploiting Alberta's oil sands is necessary. The project-by-project evaluation of oil sands development proposals is not addressing the important long-term and regional social issues that arise as a result of construction and operation of the mines and facilities. A tool recommended for incorporating resolutions to long-term, regional social effects into the development plan is SEA with an explicit Strategic Social Assessment component. This strategic assessment and planning process should be undertaken by a publicly-accountable government body empowered to rationalize the pace of oil sands development based on social, environmental and economic effects, and to coordinate long-term responses by government and industry.
Planning for selective use and ecologically compatible forms of outdoor recreation: One means of core area revitalization in the City of Waterloo, Ontario.
(University of Waterloo, 2003) Nowaczek, Agnes
This thesis explores the potential contribution that could be made to core area revitalization through the integration of outdoor recreation planning, ecological planning, and urban planning. The revitalization of urban centres, and especially those of mid-size cities, has typically been explored through policy planning, economic vitality, and urban design. An area, which often has been neglected, is that of urban outdoor recreation, specifically recreation that is carried out in an ecologically compatible fashion. The thesis examines theoretical and practical approaches in outdoor recreation planning, ecological planning, and urban planning, addressing any gaps and insufficiencies that seem to hinder the integration of the three disciplines in terms of devising practical solutions to identified issues. The core area in the city of Waterloo serves as a case study to examine the feasibility of integrating ecological planning, outdoor recreation planning, and urban planning. This research indicates that ecological planning is a versatile and responsive planning approach whereas outdoor recreation planning and urban planning seem disconnected from each other. Planning for outdoor recreation needs to be more inclusive and coordinated with other disciplines, such as urban planning and ecological planning. The thesis applies these findings in recommendations for the City of Waterloo to consider when planning its core area.

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