Coastal Zone Conflicts and Their Identification: The Use of Compatibility Matrixes

The spectacular growth of Hawaii's coastal zone has resulted in a disquieting array of use conflicts in recent years. This situation is further compounded by an oligopolistic pattern of shoreline ownership. The conflicts center primarily on massive resort development by private developers and coastal water pollution due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. The most frequent conflicts have been between private resort developers and local residents, the central issue being public access. Visual pollution, water pollution and air pollution are also dominant elements in the conflict rubric. This study shows that an effective technique to identify use conflicts involves the use of "compatibility matrixes." These matrixes enable planners to determine the degree of compatibility of a proposed or planned use with one or several existing uses and thus avoid potential use conflicts and consequent waste of precious resources.