Strategic decision making for improved environmental security: Coalitions and attitudes

The utilization of decision support systems which are flexible enough to handle information about cooperative behavior and stakeholder attitudes are useful for analyzing complex social conflicts. One such conflict which arose from the redevelopment of a private brownfield property in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada is examined using such a decision support tool. Specifically, a formal model referred to as COAT which allows for the examination of conflicts with both coalition and attitude properties is rigorously defined and then implemented within the framework of the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution in order that insights may be gained on how the decision makers can reach win-win resolutions.