Suitability Analysis

Places are not the same. Certain locations possess greater value than others when seeking answers to questions of geography. The benefits and consequences of various factors can be quantified to produce scores of suitability. In the suitability analysis of landfills, several factors, both physical and human, contribute to the suitability of a parcel of land. This type of analysis is used by urban planners, developers, consultants, and politicians to determine the best (and worst) locations for a landfill based on certain criteria. Regarding the Kettleman City landfill, suitability analysis can be used on the area to determine how ideal the current site is for toxic waste disposal and where the best places for expansion (if any) are.

Potential landfill sites would receive scores based on the area’s terrain features and the site’s relationship to human-made features. Terrain features would include soil drainage, proximity to bodies of water, and elevation. Human factors would include proximity to other development (especially residential zones), access to the entire region (waste transportation), and the effect of the site on local health. In order to determine suitability, these features, along with many others, would be given a score range. With many of the factors, it is up to the analyst to decide a location’s score and differences between scores. Some values may have their own classes, while values for another factor may be arbitrarily grouped into larger classes.

One of the more influential factors would be “potential risks to local health”. Areas near residential zones, agriculture, and water supplies are not ideal and should be given very low suitability scores. Arsenic in drinking water is already an issue in Kettleman City and residents do not need anymore sources of harmful chemicals. Ideal locations would be large parcels of unused land in rural places, far removed from the city and its water infrastructure.

After analysis is completed on the area, the results may indicate that the current landfill is not an ideal location at all. While it is too late to move the current waste, it is possible to seal the site and divert all future waste to a new location. This may prove more costly to the waste management company than simply using open land adjacent to the current site, but it may be necessary to prevent further negative impacts to residents. Human life is more valuable than company profits. If expansion continues around the current site, there could be more consequences than birth defects.

Suitability analysis is a useful tool, but gives the analyst much power. Depending on the analyst’s stance or employer, criteria can be modified and places can be given biased scores. This problem is difficult to avoid when quantifying subjective concepts such as “suitability”, as certain factors inevitably carry more weight than others. Nevertheless, suitability analysis is a vital technique in planning and development that has the ability to shape both policy and, by extension, reality. Until sound analysis is carried out on the Kettleman City region, landfill expansion should not take place.