The purpose of this study is to examine the social opportunity cost of preserving specified recreation sites along the lower Fraser River. In achieving this purpose it does the following:
1. it examines the institutional arrangements whereby land is allocated to specific uses,
2. it identifies the potential recreation sites for possible preservation,
3. it assesses the nature and extent of the conflict between recreation sites and existing and potential industrial shoreland use,
4. it develops an analytic framework for examining the social opportunity cost of preserving recreation sites,
5. it applies the framework to determine the benefits which the region might forgo if it were to preserve the recreation sites identified.
An examination of the institutional setting found that private markets alone may not provide recreation facilities in the lower Fraser in accordance with society's willingness to pay for them. Public institutions have evolved to regulate the market, however, and an analysis of the social opportunity cost of preserving recreation sites is made in order to assist decision makers in future shoreland allocations. For this analysis to be meaningful it was necessary to identify specific recreation sites, and to determine the nature and extent of the conflict between these and industrial use. Thirty-two major recreation sites were identified. About two-thirds of these were found to conflict with potential industrial needs for shoreland designated industrial by the Regional Plan, and with log storage activities of the forest industry. Ideally a technique for allocating shoreland to recreational or industrial uses should be based on an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative land uses. However, an opportunity cost approach is all that is practicable at this time because of the difficulties associated with evaluating present and future recreation demands. A qualitative approach to the evaluation was devised because past attempts to measure social opportunity cost were not appropriate in this situation where concern was primarily with demand far into the future. The analysis focussed on the rental value differences between industrial use of shoreland and upland, the supply and demand for industrial shoreland, and the cost of log storage alternatives.
The analysis produced four main findings. First, most firms do not attach a significantly higher rental value to shoreland than to upland sites. Second, the supply of waterway access is much greater than anticipated industrial demand, and the opportunity cost of preserving land with recreation potential is zero in the short run. Third, the study area has sufficient land designated industrial that a small reduction for the preservation of recreation sites will net affect the land market. Four, seasonal storage leases and bundle booming can be implemented to free recreation sites of stored logs without incurring a net opportunity cost. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/18987 |
| Date | January 1974 |
| Creators | Friesen, Brock Frederick James |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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