Port Sivad: A Locational Decision Game for a Noxious Public Facility.

The project presented here provides a role-playing game simulation that points out the complexities of locational decision and indicates ways in which those decisions might be influences by various public and private citizens groups. It focuses on the bargaining, citizen reaction, and possible side payments. Designed as a heuristic devise, the game focuses upon a number of issues: 1) inequities in the location of noxious public facilities; 2) the effect of citizen organization on governmental decision-making processes; 3) potential influence of money power on politics; 4) civil disobedience as an instrument of power; 5) the pressure of time on decision making; and, 6) the overall nature of group interaction with regard to locational decisions. The total number of players must be at least fifteen, and an ideal number would fall between thirty and sixty. The three major sections of the paper are: 1) the game materials in their entirety; 2) instruction and comments on the organization of the game, illustrating possible outcomes and points to be highlighted in class discussions; and, 3) a commentary on one play of the game. The game has been played primarily with undergraduate students, but it is equally instructive for individuals more directly involved in locational decisions. (Author/JLB)