A product life cycle approach to urban waterfronts: The revitalization of Galveston

Abstract

Urban waterfronts are increasingly the focus of revitalization efforts designed to enhance tourism and recreation. The evolution of urban waterfronts suggests that these resources experience distinct stages of introduction, growth, maturity, decline, and sometimes revitalization. In this paper the product life cycle is broadened to describe the evolution of the waterfront district of Galveston, Texas. Implications of the product life cycle model of urban waterfront revitalization pertain to public policy formation, “product”; development, and management response to different life cycle stages.     

Implementing coastal zone management: 1972–1990

Abstract

The implementation history of the Coastal Zone Management Act offers insights into the process of long‐term intergovernmental policy implementation. This five‐stage history is explained as a coproduction process, in which coastal state, environmental, and development advocacy coalitions interacted with congressional committees and the federal coastal office to shape coastal policy and manage coastal development. The coproduction approach proved invaluable during the Reagan assault on the coastal program, when the states and Congress assumed responsibility for keeping the program alive. Acknowledging underlying stakeholder dynamics as the basis for coastal program evaluation could strengthen future coastal management implementation.     

A land‐use planning model for coastal zone management

Abstract

In this article we consider a linear programming model for assessing the aggregate impact of land‐use activities scattered over a large area on the resultant pollutant concentrations in coastal waters. The dispersion to coastal waters of the adverse environmental loads generated by the land uses is described by a set of transport coefficients that measure the attenuation of pollutants, such as industrial BOD, carried to the coast along surface drainage basins. Further dispersion in the waters caused by tidal action is then described by the simple procedure know as “pollution susceptibility.”; The model seeks to minimize the steady‐state concentrations of pollutants by establishing an optimal spatial configuration of residential, commercial, and industrial land uses. This configuration is constrained by a number of restrictions based on local and regional targets for growth and development. The methodology discussed in this article is intended to be useful to regional planners, and is based on a study conducted for the Long Island area.     

Marina inventory and berthing supply projections: Mississippi's Gulf Coast

Abstract

The location as well as pace of marina development is a major issue in current coastal zone management. The supply and demand for marinas providing certain services in specific locations are growing and must be met. At the same time the environmental integrity of the coastal zone must be maintained against the many possible impacts of marina development. Compounding these problems from the view of both the developer and coastal zone manager is the absence of necessary data and accepted methodologies for estimating future supply needs for marine berthing. This paper describes a multi‐focii approach to the establishment of an information base and marina supply projections for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Data on existing marina types, services, and facilities are obtained via fieldwork; future marina slip supply needs are estimated using a combination of several techniques and data sources. The study serves two purposes. First, it initiates the basis for improved management of marina development on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Second, on a more theoretical level, it stimulates research toward developing and validating supply and demand projection techniques for marinas.     

Environmental assessment in the Prc: Third phase of the Qinhuangdao coal port

Abstract

The use of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is relatively recent in the People's Republic of China (PRC). China is committed to a reversal of the environmental degradation resulting from its industrialization and the central government has initiated a requirement for environmental planning and assessment for large development projects. Today large scale harbor developments are subject to the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Law (1979) and the Marine Environmental Law (1982). Because the third phase expansion of the coal port of Qinhuangdao would increase the ports’ capacity to handle coal by 30 to 50 million tons, an EIA was required.

Since 1981, the Environment and Policy Institute of the East‐West Center (EWC), Honolulu, has had a program of research focusing on the environmental impacts of coal transportation. On the basis of workshops in China that centered on the problems associated with planning coal transportation projects, the Ministry of Communications of the PRC invited the EWC to participate in the environmental assessment for the third phase coal port expansion at Qinhuangdao. A 10‐member team with specialities in environmental assessment and port environmental problems from five countries representing the EWC worked with a 25‐member team from four different agencies of the PRC Ministry of Communications.

This article describes the environmental regulations in the PRC that affect this harbor expansion, discusses the process by which the EWC assisted the PRC in the preparation of the environmental assessment and evaluates the assessment product against PRC regulations and U.S. standards. The most important contribution of the EWC was the provision of guidelines adapted from the EIA experience in several countries which will assist the PRC in the environmental evaluation of future pon expansion projects.     

Identification and assessment of aquatic resources for power plant sites on Maryland's Eastern shore

Abstract

A power plant siting procedure which accounts for the protection and preservation of aquatic resources, defined as sensitive life forms and life stages of economically valuable species of finfish and shellfish, is presented as it was executed on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Negative effects of power plant development and operation are generated principally by the cooling water intake and discharge system. The site‐selection procedure is thus presented as a two‐faceted process, termed regional screening, requiring the separate but simultaneous identification of land‐based sites and cooling systems. Criteria included in regional screening for cooling systems reflected life‐sustaining processes essential to the maintenance of aquatic resources. Major sources of effects of power plants on aquatic resources and siting principles as they affect aquatic resources are defined. Information‐gathering techniques included extensive interviews with key research scientists, state personnel, and numerous Chesapeake Bay watermen.     

Israel's coastal program: Resource protection through management of land use

Abstract

Presently, much of Israel's 190‐kilometer‐long Mediterranean coast is either unoccupied, devoted to unsuitable uses, or is in use by activities which have no special need to be near the water's edge. This has resulted from years of lack of appreciation by policy‐makers of the coast as a valuable resource, of national development policies that directed attention to other regions, and of the relatively limited demand for coastal recreation.

In the last decade the importance of these factors has diminished. In turn, there is now mounting pressure for the development of coastal land. Increasingly, rising standards of living with a greater demand for recreational facilities, the growth of tourism as a major industry, and demands of the environmental lobby for conservation of part of the coastal land are factors bound to cause intensive change along the coast and to affect the quality of its resources. These trends have brought about public intervention in deciding the future of the coast. This paper reviews and analyzes Israel's coastal policy and its resource management programs, and also discusses the potential challenges to their full implementation.

Three types of programs were suggested as the main management tools: a coastal research and development effort, national coastal land use planning and pollution prevention, and monitoring and control programs. Major objectives of the programs were to be achieved through land use controls. Consequently, an important role is given in the development and implementation of the coastal program to agencies responsible for the management of physical land use planning and development.

Successful implementation of the management program, however, will depend on the ability of its administrators to coordinate the actions of many interests, on success in changing attitudes among decision‐makers as to the value of the coast, and on widening support for coastal resource conservation among a presently uninvolved public.     

The visual effects of port redevelopment alternatives

Abstract

In the early 1970s, Seattle Piers 90/91 were declared surplus federal property by the GSA. These obsolescent half‐mile‐long piers and their adjacent uplands were purchased by the Port of Seattle for redevelopment. This urban waterfront site of almost 200 acres presents the Port of Seattle with a number of severe planning problems. While it is the last large deep‐water site on Elliott Bay, it is also in a very sensitive location, since it is overlooked on two sides by vocal residential communities with a history of active intervention in development projects on visual and other environmental grounds.

At Piers 90/91, public concerns over the visual effects of port redevelopment include:

1. nuisance effects of night‐operations lighting on adjacent hillside residences;

2. nighttime obstruction of distant views due to increased foreground illumination;

3. day and night view obstruction by tall structures such as container‐handling cranes;

4. alteration of the character of both day and nighttime views by new port facilities.

As part of a program to study the effects of alternative redevelopment strategies for Piers 90/91, the Port has undertaken a through examination of the visual effects of different uses, their visual appropriateness, and the ways by which adverse visual effects can be mitigated. The results were incorporated into an environmental impact statement which documented compliance with the Seattle Shoreline Master Program and with view protection and glare provisions of the City's S.E.P.A. guidelines.

A systematic Visual Resource Management (VRM) approach was successfully employed on this coastal zone project. Major elements included visibility mapping, key view selection, analysis of existing visual character, simulation of alternatives, assessment of relative visual compatibility, and determination of effective mitigation measures. Community involvement has also been a critical element in this approach to assessing and managing the visual effects of redevelopment in a major urban port.     

Energy facility siting in the urban coastal zone: Compatible or not?

Abstract

Most federal and state coastal laws were framed with a distinct emphasis on preservation of rural/recreational areas. Yet in recent years a rural/urban coastal dichotomy has emerged. This has been especially prominent in the siting of energy facilities since these operations are often water dependent; power plants, for example, need huge amounts of cooling water, and offshore oil and gas extraction requires onshore support facilities. Recently, this issue has gained special prominence on the East Coast with the commencement of offshore oil and gas exploration. A case study was conducted in Hudson County, New Jersey, in New York harbor. In this area five oil‐related facility proposals were rejected from 1972 to 1976, primarily due to citizen opposition. Citizen activists now see the urban waterfront as a special place to which they want access and amenity uses rather than a continuation of past, almost exclusive industrial development. Hudson County citizens share the aspirations of those in several urban coastal areas which have experienced waterfront revitalization, including Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New Haven, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. Innovative siting which utilizes inland, rather than coastal, locations is suggested as one way to lessen urban/rural siting tensions.     

Assessing land‐use regulations in coastal wetlands: The case of the long point area,lake Erie,Ontario

Abstract

The first comprehensive attempt at development control along the Canadian Great Lakes shoreline was the 1976 lakeshore regulation policy adopted by the Regional Municipality of Haldimand‐Norfolk on the north Lake Erie shore. This innovative strategy was initiated at the municipal level as a component of the regional land‐use planning process. Determination of efficiency and effectiveness of the policy implementation process is based on analysis of permit approval files. All development applications submitted between 1976 and 1980 in the Turkey Point and Long Point Peninsulas are evaluated. Those areas, the most popular cottaging areas in the region, are most susceptible to flood and erosion hazards. Of the total applications submitted during the four‐year study period, 37 percent were in these areas. The policy was ineffective and inefficient in controlling development in the two peninsulas. Applications were approved in the majority of cases, despite regulatory prohibition of developments in hazard‐susceptible areas. There were lengthy decision‐making delays, often exceeding one year, and frequent violations of regulatory procedures. Recommendations are suggested to improve policy implementation.     

Lancaster sound regional study: Coastal and marine resource planning in the Canadian high arctic

Abstract

The Lancaster Sound Regional Study serves as a pilot project for regional planning in the Arctic. Probably the most biologically productive area of all arctic regions, Lancaster Sound represents a unique Canadian heritage. And since it occupies the strategic eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage, the Sound has long been a summer shipping route. Now, proposals are under review that would permit year‐round shipping of oil and gas from the Beaufort Sea by means of ice‐breaking tankers. Also proposed are the exploration and development of possible hydrocarbon reservoirs within the Sound. Actual decisions for the area's use must respect the interests of the native Inuit who have lived there for centuries as well as the preservation of the environment. This paper describes the preliminary phase of the regional planning for the region: the preparation of a public discussion paper to elicit informed comment and opinion on future uses of the Sound. It is a first step toward recommending suitable management and use options for the region.     

Planning for resilient coastal communities: Lessons from ecological systems theory

Abstract

One of the least understood aspects of coastal zone utilization is how communities respond and adapt to changes occurring in the marine environment and to changes which transform the socioeconomic, political, and administrative environment of the coastal zone. In Atlantic Canada, it is estimated that there are some 1,300 “fishing communities,”; yet these communities vary considerably in terms of population size, proximity to urban centers, and dependence upon the local resource base to provide employment opportunities and alternatives. Although numerous government planning documents have purported to support “community revitalization”; and “self‐sufficiency/self‐reliance,”; few inquiries have been directed toward ascertaining how communities have maintained resiliency in the face of unexpected and sudden shock, or have adapted to more gradual change. This essay argues that human communities and ecological systems may have similar attributes, and that appropriate resource development and management planning should take account of these traits as well as the sustaining structural support mechanisms.     

Public opinion and the environment: Ecology,the coastal zone,and public policy

Abstract

In a public opinion survey conducted in Santa Barbara county, California, respondents were interviewed regarding their feelings on coastal zone development, within a context of broader environmental and political issues.

A high degree of expressed concern for the environment was found, but the data also indicate a widespread reluctance to allocate a greater share of personal income to improve environmental quality.

Among the issues dealt with are citizen views on environmental problems, the effectiveness of government in the environmental field, offshore oil drilling, and coastal zone development.

The results show that on each of the issues analyzed, a person's education, age, and the extent of his political participation are the major factors which determine his concern for the environment. Additional variables appear to have some significance in determining attitudes toward local environmental projects and perceptions of government.

Offered are implications of the findings for the future of organized action on environmental problems.     

Agricultural land preservation: The case of Carlsbad,California

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a program of agricultural land preservation in Carlsbad, California. This program focuses on agricultural subsidies and has been adopted and certified by the California State Coastal Commission and is scheduled for implementation on January 1, 1982.

This subsidy program is a variation of development rights transfer. Although no property rights are actually transferred, owners of land designated for agricultural use are subsidized by fees imposed on land designated for potential conversion to residential use. The Carlsbad program is placed into context by means of a brief review of similar proposals which attempt to preserve agricultural land in a fair and equitable manner.

The importance of agricultural land preservation is emphasized through discussions of urban development pressure, the significance of agriculture in the Carlsbad coastal zone, and the work of the California State Coastal Commission.     

Evaluation of manatee habitat systems on the northwestern Florida coast

Abstract

Threats to the survival of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) vary throughout their range so that protection of this endangered species requires careful planning on a regional and local basis. The importance and vulnerability of various components of manatee habitats in the Crystal River area of northwestern Florida were assessed, using an ordinal‐combination mapping technique similar to procedures practiced in urban and regional planning. Habitat components were mapped and evaluated in juxtaposition with relevant characteristics of human use of the area, to identify areas of existing and potential manatee/human conflicts in need of reconciliation. Areas evaluated as the most important manatee habitats within this region include Crystal Bay and River, Homosassa River, and the Suwannee River estuary. Existing overlap of human activities with important manatee habitats is most critical near the urban communities of Crystal River and, to a lesser degree, Homosassa Springs. The need for integration of this ecological information into coastal land‐use planning is discussed.     

A Systematic method of public use zoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park,Australia

Abstract

This paper is an abridged version of a report on the application of a land‐use planning method developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to the task of providing a zoning scheme for a portion of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The approach involves the development of guidelines for making zoning decisions, the development of methods for measuring whether a scheme satisfies these guidelines, and the use of a computer‐aided technique to create successive schemes for evaluation against these guidelines.     

The Quiet Revolution in Visual Resource Management: A view from the coast

Abstract

This introductory piece traces the growth of knowledge and activity associated with visual resource management in general. A specific framework of questions regarding methods of coastal zone visual resource management is presented. The state‐of‐the‐art in methodological studies is listed for each question, and the methodological questions are related to the major articles with the special issue of the Coastal Zone Management Journal. Major legal federal statutes, state statutes, and court cases are reviewed in light of visual resource management in the coastal zone. The remaining articles within the special issue that deal with integration of VRM into decision‐making are then arrayed against a management framework. This framework includes regulatory situations for (1) public land management and planning, (2) public projects involving private lands, and (3) public regulation of private projects.     

Eilat: Multiple conflicts in an inherently uncertain environment

Abstract

Ports are often at the center of conflicts regarding the use of coastal areas and their management. Yet, it is often impossible to forecast the future development patterns of a port due to its dependence on shifting international relations and markets. Such inherent uncertainty complicates the management of coastal areas affected by the port. This article looks at how such a case is being addressed in Eilat, Israel's Red Sea port.

The development of Eilat's port has been a function of the changing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. At the same time it is in the center of a number of local conflicts involving the management and planning of Israel's Red Sea coast. Evaluation of the two alternatives proposed to address these conflicts is hampered by the inherent uncertainty regarding the port's growth patterns. The use of robust evaluation techniques is suggested as one way to address inherent uncertainties.     

Impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Indian subcontinent under future port development scenarios

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is twofold: the first is to assess the extent to which current port development initiatives contribute to securing the status of the Port of Colombo as a regional transshipment (T/S) hub to serve the Indian subcontinent; and the second is to generate plausible future development scenarios for the maritime industry in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A scenario analysis method is applied to examine the past trends and to build future development scenarios. The results showed that major Indian ports have experienced a significant growth in cargo volumes and vessel traffic. South and East Indian coastal ports continue to use the Port of Colombo as a T/S port in tandem with the corridors connected to the Indian Ocean. Scenario analysis highlights the growing importance of BRI-centric land-based economic corridors, which would generate a large amount of cargos from hinterlands up to China. This would be further fueled through the Great Mekong region-driven industrialization, which would add to the west-bound maritime cargo volume. The paper concludes that the increased capital influx from China would more likely to result in a substantial development of the present port and road/rail infrastructure in Sri Lanka.