| Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a decision-making process that often involves public participation in the scoping and reviewing stage. Although the importance of engaging the public in the EIA process has long been recognized, it is often considered ineffective due to factors such as time, budget, resource, technical and procedural constraints as well as the complexity of environmental information. Geographic Information System (GIS) and information technology are considered two of the major vehicles to overcome those problems. This study aims at improving the effectiveness of public participation in the EIA process. The research integrated GIS, Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), social media tools, data mining, and mobile technology to design a conceptual framework for promoting public participation in EIA. A Spatially Intelligent Public Participative System (SIPPS) was also developed as a proof-of-concept of the framework. The research selected the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP) as the pilot study area and designed survey questionnaires to collect user feedback. Evaluation was conducted with both citizens and selected decision makers. Correlation and reliability analysis were performed on the survey response data. Results show that SIPPS was able to improve the effectiveness of public participation, promote environmental awareness, and achieve good system usability. The major significance of the study lies in its unique multidimensional combination of GIS, VGI, data mining, social media tools, and mobile technology in the EIA process. In addition, the prototype not only serves as an instrument to educate the public in understanding a particular EIA, but also contributes to the knowledge base about the dynamics of EIA and development of a sustainable society. |
