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SMARTe: An MCDA Approach To Revitalize Communities And Restore The Environment
Citation:
Vega, A., R. Argus, T. Stockton, P. Black, K. Black, AND N. Stiber. SMARTe: An MCDA Approach To Revitalize Communities And Restore The Environment. Chapter 9, A. Marcomini, G. W. Suter II, and A. Critto (ed.), Decision Support Systems For Risk-Based Management Of Contaminated Sites. Springer Science + Business Media, New York, NY, (Section 2):179-204, (2009).
Impact/Purpose:
To describe the framework, functionalities, and structure of the system, the design aspects including stakeholder involvement, and a case study to demonstrate the application of SMARTe to a specific site.
Description:
SMARTe (Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools - electronic) is a free, open-source, web-based, decision-support system that helps revitalization stakeholders (communities, developers, regulators, etc.) overcome obstacles to revitalization and allows them to develop and evaluate future reuse scenarios for potentially contaminated sites (e.g., brownfields). SMARTe currently has four primary components: • eDocument: Through a series of menus (i.e., table of contents), SMARTe provides information, resources, links and case studies for all aspects of revitalization including visioning/planning, environmental risk mangement, social acceptance, and economic viability. • Tool Box: SMARTe contains stand-alone analysis tools and checklists for many aspects of revitalization including human health risk, site characterization and monitoring data analysis, net revenues, public involvement, and selecting a lawyer, environmental consultant, and developer. • My Project: A project-specific, password protected portion of SMARTe contains an integrated decision support system that helps users evaluate and assess both market and non-market costs and benefits of potential reuse options (i.e., future alternatives). This part of SMARTe also enables users to develop a revitalization plan. • Search Engine: A search bar available on the SMARTe banner enables users to directly search for specific information within the system. SMARTe ultimately helps communities preserve greenspace and natural systems since it facilitates revitalization of previously used sites, thus preserving previously undeveloped land. SMARTe is primarily intended for community members who are trying to learn about the revitalization process, improve their communities and encourage change. Other stakeholders, however (such as regulators, redevelopment agencies, local governments, developers, property owners, etc.), also benefit from SMARTe and are the primary users of the Tool Box and My Project components. SMARTe is available at smarte.org. This chapter will describe the framework, functionalities, and structure of the system, the design aspects including stakeholder involvement, and a case study to demonstrate the application of SMARTe to a specific site.
