Role Playing Debate on Landslides

I developed the following roles for my microteaching course, in which I only had four students to teach. I think I could expand this debate for a much larger class, by creating some new roles, and having multiple people in other roles, each with slightly different information.

Homeowner

You built your dream home ten years ago on a beautiful site with a picturesque view of Puget Sound. You were a little uncertain about the stability of the site, but the contractor assured you that he'd built on similar slopes before, and the city zoning board had just okayed the area for residences based on a slope stability study. The bank which holds your mortgage is threatening to seize your assets (2 cars, bank account, stock portfolio, etc.) to make up for the loss of your home and property, which would leave you and your family penniless as well as homeless. Naturally, you're looking for someone else to foot the bill.

Contractor

You built this house with a design you've used before on a similar steep slope. You know from a study at another site that this house design does not add significant weight to the slope such that it would cause a landslide. You asked the homeowner if s/he wanted a study done on this site, but s/he declined, thinking that the city wouldn't have zoned it for residences if it was unsafe. In your own judgment, you thought the site was safe, and concurred that the city had already studied the site. You never actually looked at the results of the study done by the city, which were available, but not ever publicly broadcast. If you were to be successfully sued, you'd lose credibility and would be looking for a new line of work.

Insurance Representative

Flood and Landslide coverage are not part of the basic homeowner policy (homeowner can refer to page nine, line 26 of policy). When the homeowner first purchased the policy ten years ago, you did ask if s/he wanted the coverage, but s/he laughed and said something like "what do I need flood insurance for, I'm 100 feet above the water!" You have not brought up the issue again when the homeowner has renewed the insurance policy.

City Official on Zoning Board

The zoning board was put under a lot of pressure to okay this area as residential, both from the city which wanted the property taxes, and from the potential buyers who loved the view. A study of the general slope stability was done. The findings were that the slope had a one percent chance of failure given 1.5 times the rainfall of the largest rainstorm recorded in the last 50 years. This study did recommend that the drainage be added to the slope to increase stability. The results of this study were available to anyone interested in them, provided they came down to city hall and asked for them; the results were never publicly broadcast or printed.