Public initiatives of settlement transformation. A theoretical-methodological approach to selecting tools of multi-criteria decision analysis

In Europe, the operating context in which initiatives of settlement transformation are currently initiated is characterized by a complex, elaborate combination of technical, regulatory and governance-related factors. A similar set of considerations makes it necessary to address the complex decision-making problems to be resolved through multidisciplinary, comparative approaches designed to rationalize the process and treat the elements to be considered in systematic fashion with respect to the range of alternatives available as solutions. Within a context defined in this manner, decision-making processes must often be used to obtain multidisciplinary and multidimensional analyses to support the choices made by the decision-makers. Such analyses are carried out using multi-criteria tools designed to arrive at syntheses of the numerous forms of input data needed to describe decision-making problems of similar complexity, so that one or more outcomes of the synthesis make possible informed, well thought-out, strategic decisions. The technical literature on the topic proposes numerous tools of multi-criteria analysis for application in different decision-making contexts. Still, no specific contributions have been drawn up to date on the approach to take in selecting the tool best suited to providing adequate responses to the queries of evaluation that arise most frequently in the various fields of application, and especially in the settlement sector. The objective of this paper is to propose, by formulating a taxonomy of the endogenous and exogenous variables of tools of multi-criteria analysis, a methodology capable of selecting the tool best suited to the queries of evaluation which arise regarding the chief categories of decision-making problems, and particularly in the settlement sector

Enhancing geographical information systems capabilities with multi-criteria evaluation functions

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04271 Abstracts Collection -- Preferences: Specification, Inference, Applications

From 27.06.04 to 02.07.04, the Dagstuhl Seminar 04271 ``Preferences: Specification, Inference, Applications\u27\u27 was held in the International Conference and Research Center (IBFI), Schloss Dagstuhl. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

Discovery of resources over Cloud using MADM approaches

Cloud and P2P computing allows the sharing of resources among its users from diverse geographical locations. The resources are heterogeneous in nature and possess distinct attributes. The majority of the existing techniques rely on the static attributes during resource selection. However, the matching of resources based on static attributes may not be the best for the execution of user jobs. The resources could be very attractive as per the static configuration but might be heavily loaded with other multiple jobs since the working memory and storage space might have already been utilized. Hence, there is a need to consider the dynamic state of the resources in order to locate the most suitable resources for user jobs. In this paper, a 2-phased multi-attribute decision making (MADM) mechanism is proposed to locate the appropriate resources. The first phase explains a mechanism to discover all the matched resources and the second phase then applies the PROMETHEE MADM approach on the set of resources to find the most suitable resource for the user job. The proposed approach enables users to find the most suitable resource for their respective jobs

GIS-based multicriteria analysis as decision support in flood risk management

In this report we develop a GIS-based multicriteria flood risk assessment and mapping approach. This approach has the ability a) to consider also flood risks which are not measured in monetary terms, b) to show the spatial distribution of these multiple risks and c) to deal with uncertainties in criteria values and to show their influence on the overall assessment. It can furthermore be used to show the spatial distribution of the effects of risk reduction measures. The approach is tested for a pilot study at the River Mulde in Saxony, Germany. Therefore, a GISdataset of economic as well as social and environmental risk criteria is built up. Two multicriteria decision rules, a disjunctive approach and an additive weighting approach are used to come to an overall assessment and mapping of flood risk in the area. Both the risk calculation and mapping of single criteria as well as the multicriteria analysis are supported by a software tool (FloodCalc) which was developed for this task. --

Developing a decision support system to identify strategically located land for land reform in South Africa

Land reform is identified as a key tool in fostering development in South Africa. With two decades after the advent of democracy in South Africa, the land question remains a critical issue for policy makers. A number of frameworks have been put in place by the government to identify land which is strategically located for land reform. However, many of these frameworks are not well aligned and have hampered the government’s land reform initiative in promoting inclusive development. Strategically located land is herein defined as land parcels that are well positioned for the promotion of agriculture, human settlements, rural and tourism development. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a decision tool which facilitates the identification of strategically located land for development. This study proposes the use of geographic information systems (GIS), earth observation (EO) data and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to develop a spatial decision support system (SDSS) to identify strategically located land for land reform. The SDDS was therefore designed using GIS, EO data and MCDM to create an index for identification of strategically located land. Expert-led workshops were carried out to ascertain criteria for identifying strategically located land and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was utilised used to weight the criteria. The study demonstrates that GIS and EO are invaluable tools in facilitating evidence-based decisions for land reform. However, there is need for capacity building on GIS and EO in government departments responsible for land reform and development planning. The study suggests that there is an urgent need to develop sector specific criteria for the identification of strategically located land for inclusive development

Enhancing the ELECTRE decision support method with semantic data

Prendre una decisió quan les opcions es defineixen mitjançant un conjunt divers de criteris no és fàcil. Aqueta tesi es centra en ampliar la metodologia ELECTRE, que és el mètode del tipus "outranking" més utilitzat. En aquesta tesi ens centrem en problemes de decisió que involucren informació no numèrica, tal com els criteris semàntics multivaluats, que poden prendre com a valors els conceptes d'una ontologia de domini determinada. Primer proposo una nova manera de manipular els criteris semàntics per evitar l'agregació de les puntuacions numèriques abans del procediment de classificació. Aquest mètode, anomenat ELECTRE-SEM, segueix els mateixos principis que el clàssic ELECTRE però, en aquest cas, els índexs de concordança i discordança es defineixen en termes de la comparació per parelles de les puntuacions que indiquen l'interès de l'usuari sobre diferents conceptes de l'ontologia. En segon lloc, proposo crear un perfil d'usuari semàntic mitjançant el emmagatzemant de puntuacions de preferències a l'ontologia. Es vincula una puntuació d'interès numèrica als conceptes més específics, això permet distingir millor les preferències de l'usuari, i també s'incorpora un procediment d'agregació per inferir les preferències de l'usuari considerant les relacions taxonòmiques entre conceptes. La metodologia proposada s'ha aplicat en dos casos d’estudi: l'avaluació de plantes de generació d'energia i la recomanació d'activitats turístiques a Tarragona.Tomar una decisión cuando las opciones se definen sobre un conjunto diverso de criterios no es fácil. Esta tesis se centra en ampliar la metodología ELECTRE, que es el método del tipo "outranking" más utilizado. En esta tesis nos centramos en problemas de decisión que involucren información no numérica, tal como los criterios semánticos multi-valuados, que pueden tomar como valores los conceptos de una ontología de dominio determinada. Primero propongo una nueva forma de manejar los criterios semánticos para evitar la agregación de puntuaciones numéricas antes del procedimiento de clasificación. Este método, llamado ELECTRE-SEM, sigue los mismos principios que el clásico ELECTRE, pero en este caso los índices de concordancia y discordancia se definen en términos de la comparación por pares de unas puntuaciones que indican el interés del usuario sobre distintos conceptos de la ontología. En segundo lugar, propongo crear un perfil de usuario semántico mediante el almacenamiento de puntuaciones de preferencias en la ontología. Se asocian puntuaciones numéricas a los conceptos más específicos, lo cual permite distinguir mejor las preferencias del usuario, y se incorpora un proceso de agregación para inferir las preferencias del usuario mediante las relaciones taxonómicas entre conceptos. La metodología propuesta ha sido aplicada en dos casos de estudio: la evaluación de las plantas de generación de energía y la recomendación de actividades turísticas en Tarragona.Reach a decision when options are defined on a set of diverse criteria is not easy. This thesis is focused on improving the methodology ELECTRE, which is the most used outranking-based method. In this dissertation, we focus on decision problems involving non-numerical information, such as multi-valued semantic criteria, which may take as values the concepts of a given domain ontology. First, I propose a new way of handling semantic criteria to avoid the aggregation of the numerical scores before the ranking procedure. This method, called ELECTRE-SEM, follows the same principles than the classic ELECTRE but in this case the concordance and discordance indices are defined in terms of the pairwise comparison of the interest scores. Second, I also propose to create a semantic user profile by storing preference scores into the ontology. The numerical interest score attached to the most specific concepts permits to distinguish better the preferences of the user, improving the quality of the decision by the incorporation of an aggregation methodology to infer the user's preferences by considering taxonomic relations between concepts. The proposed methodology has been applied in two case studies: the assessment of power generation plants and the recommendation of touristic activities in Tarragona

A lisbon case study

Manzolli, J. A., Oliveira, A., & Neto, M. D. C. (2021). Evaluating walkability through a multi-criteria decision analysis approach: A lisbon case study. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(3), 1-20. [1450]. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031450New strategies to improve the quality of urban pedestrian environments are becoming increasingly important in sustainable city planning. This trend has been driven by the advantages that active mobility provides in terms of health, social, and environmental aspects. Our work explores the idea of walkability. This concept refers to the friendliness of the urban environment to pedestrian traffic. We propose a framework based on the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology to rank streets in terms of walkability levels. The city of Lisbon (Portugal) is the location of the streets under examination. Findings confirmed the framework’s replicability and suggested the possibility of this strategy being used as a support tool for designing urban policies.publishersversionpublishe

Combining Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Methods with Building Information Modelling (BIM): A Review

Integrating building information to support decision-making has been a key challenge in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. The synergy of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is expected to improve information integration and decision-making. The aim of this paper is to identify strategies to improve the synergy between MCDM and BIM. From the earliest literature (2009) to the present, this study examines 45 articles combining MCDM with BIM. We find that the five major application domains are sustainability, retrofit, supplier selection, safety, and constructability. Five established strategies for improving the synergy between MCDM and BIM were discussed and can be used as a benchmark for evaluating the application of decision techniques in practice. This study points out gaps of combining MCDM and BIM in the current literature. It also sheds new light into combining MCDM with BIM for practitioners, as to promote integrated decision-making