At Creekside Condominium trees were planted in the

At Creekside Condominium, trees were planted in the shared property when it was built. However, tall growing were planted by were By mistake, talltrees growing trees mistake, rather than short trees. planted rather than short growing trees.

After a few years, the trees grew and covered the views of a number of apartments.

People were divided over whether to remove the trees or leave them alone.

The directors were under a lot of pressure from both sides. Ethelo offered to help.

We began by mapping out the general issues. Which Trees? Landscaping Strategy Time Period

It wasn’t a black and white decision. Which Trees? Leave as is Landscaping Strategy Remove and Replace Prune Just remove Time Period

South-Facing All Trees View-blocking Which Trees? Leave as is Landscaping Strategy Remove and Replace Prune Just remove Time Period

South-Facing View-blocking All Trees Which Trees? Leave as is Landscaping Strategy Remove and Replace Prune Just remove Time Period Three years One year Two years

South-Facing View-blocking All Trees There were actually quite a few possibilities. Which Trees? Leave as is Landscaping Strategy Remove and Replace Prune Just remove Time Period Three years One year Two years

All Trees (10) Leave as is South-Facing (5) View-blocking (3) Which Trees? = $0 Landscaping Strategy Remove and Replace $100 house call fee Just remove = $300/tree Time Period = $850/tree Prune There were also financial constraints. = $80/tree Three years One year Two years

Landscaping Strategy Which Trees? Time Period Prune All Trees One year Just remove South-Facing Two years Remove and Replace View-blocking Leave as is Three years A simple approach gave 36 possible outcomes

We configured Ethelo and invited residents to participate. Each apartment was given an online access code.

How does Ethelo work?

“Social Preference” research shows people will resist outcomes where satisfaction is distributed unfairly They will also support outcomes they don’t agree with, if they feel the process was fair.

The Ethelo algorithm finds highly supported outcomes where satisfaction is distributed fairly Ethelo distributes influence fairly to reduce polarization

Ethelo identified the decision that would maximize satisfaction and minimize resistance.

Ethelo rejected decisions with low satisfaction and high resistance.

The result: Council voted to simply prune the trees that were blocking the views. There was no opposition. “We were delighted with the recent results achieved by Ethelo. We recommend Ethelo as an effective tool in dispute resolution and decision optimization. ” Terry Li, Rancho Management Services

Designing a neigbourhood park We need to design a park that won't go over budget, and that f its within the available land. We only have $75, 000 to spend The maximum area is 100, 000 square feet

It’s best to configure Ethelo AFTER identifying the issues and options.

Participate in the Park decision by visiting: http: //neighbourhoodpark. ethelodecisions. com Create your own Ethelo account by visiting: http: //ethelodecisions. com/ncddsignup