Date of Award:

5-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Environment and Society

Committee Chair(s)

Joanna Endter-Wada

Committee

Joanna Endter-Wada

Committee

Zhoa Ma

Committee

Josh Runhaar

Abstract

In July, 2009 in Logan, Utah, a wet, steep hillside failed, leveling a home below and destroying an irrigation canal that ran along the hill. Three people were killed. The event and the resulting policy changes present an opportunity to uncover how frames, or social constructions, play into the policy development cycle. This case also uncovers the nuances involved when old infrastructure takes on new social meanings. Planners and policymakers that pay attention to frames and social dimensions may be able to minimize conflict.

The landslide received immediate media attention and spurred state legislation on canal safety. The event had an effect on how agricultural producers like farmers and canal shareholders were perceived. Perception of a group’s deservedness and power often determine how benefits and burdens are delivered to them through policy. The tensions between how farmers are “framed” by others and how they are delivered benefits have been highlighted using newspaper articles, state legislation and code, and the documents prepared as part of the Environmental Impact Study,

This case study is relevant because it is an example of the social challenges involved in infrastructure upgrades. The canal system in Cache Valley is over a century old and in need of repair. Throughout the United States, water infrastructure systems like dams, drainage systems, and treatment facilities are reaching the point where they will need upgrading or replacement. Many of these facilities have social significance, as the old open canals do in Cache Valley. Understanding how the public defines and assigns meaning to these systems is important for finding equitable solutions in planning and policy.

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Comments

This work made publicly available electronically on September 18, 2012.

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