coastal defences
Technological
development
Information
and environmental
management
raw materials and
products
Energy efficiency
Production
Technology
Toxic waste
Special waste
transport of
pollutants
agriculture
floods
(Lagoon) water quality
Treatment plant
Energy
Industrial policy
for the area
run off
Indust. area
(Sea) water quality
Solid waste
(River) water quality
Water
Water recycl.
Liquid waste
Employment
other discarges
Dredging
Landscape
Rail
Water
Road
Available
infrastructure
(road-rail-water)
Industrial "trend"
Road accidents
Accidents
Noise
Structure
Structure
ind.
ind. area
area
Emissions
Compensation
air quality
Regional transport
plan
Road traffic (local)
Global effects
Emissions from
transports
Mitigations
Mitigations
other pollution
sources
local effects
Figure 4. Example of a cognitive map used to structure the assessment of environmental impacts of
development strategies for an industrial area in Northern Italy [15]. The grey boxes are the fundamental
objectives and concerns of the analysis; the ellipses are the variables beyond the control of the policy makers
(scenario variables); and the shaded boxes are the decision areas, or the actions which could be undertaken to
achieve the objectives/ concerns of the actors. The white boxes indicate intermediate processes.