Robert Dixon-Gough

Dispersion of relative importance values contributes to the ranking uncertainty: sensitivity analysis of Multiple Criteria Decision-Making methods

Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods are widely used in research and industrial applications. These methods rely heavily on expert perceptions and are often sensitive to the assumptions made. The reliability and robustness of MCDM analysis can be further tested and verified by a computer simulation and sensitivity analysis. In order to address this, five different MCDM approaches, including Weighted Sum Model (WSM), Weighted Product Model (WPM), revised Analytic Hierarchy Process (rAHP), Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) are explored in the paper. Real data of the case study for assessing housing affordability are used for testing the robustness of alternative ranking and finding the most sensitive criteria to the change of criterion weight. We identify the most critical criteria for any and best ranking alternatives. The paper highlights the significance of sensitivity analysis in assessing the robustness and reliability of MCDM outcomes. Furthermore, randomly generated and model-based data sets are used to establish relationship between the dispersion of relative importance values of alternatives and ranking uncertainty. Our findings demonstrate that the dispersion of relative importance values of alternatives correlate with the Euclidian distances of aggregated values. We conclude that the dispersion of relative importance values contributes directly to the ranking uncertainty and can be used as a measure for identifying critical criteria.

Archiving the Complex Information Systems of Cultural Landscapes for Interdisciplinary Permanent Access – Development of Concepts

European countries are characterised by valuable cultural landscapes that have gradually evolved through the interaction of people and the natural landscape, their survival being protected by traditional ways of land use. As the traditional forms of land use has changed, particularly over the past four decades, these valuable cultural landscapes are threatened and in places are facing extinction. Such landscapes often cannot compete with more urgent needs on the level of planning and the implementation of important infrastructural developments, together with the needs and requirements of modern agriculture. This contribution introduces the ad hoc concept of selective historic landscape characterisation programmes leading to the concept of systematically archiving the complex information systems of cultural landscapes for permanent interdisciplinary access prepared on the basis of empirical studies. Much of the data acquired is related directly to specific infrastructural projects and largely neglects the requirements for other similar projects that might arise in the future such as flood protection, climate change. It is considered that the interdisciplinary archiving of landscape elements and entire cultural landscapes is an opportunity to combine practice, through economic drivers, effects, and implications, with science through the development of an interdisciplinary approach to cultural landscapes.

Challenges for governance structures in urban and regional development

The urbanization process in Turkey which has begun following the Second World War has persisted mainly by a rapid population growth in urban areas as well as the raise in the number of new places that are defined as “city”. Before this process, a large part of the population was living in rural areas at the same time as the Republic of Turkey was established on 29 October 1923. However, starting with 1950s, rural-urban migration has been occurred. According to the urban studies, “city” or “urban field” can be defined by using different criteria. Within these, the demographic criterion is the most widely applied method. In other words, for identifying the “city”, a place with a certain population size is requested. The population size required for the threshold of the city varies between countries. Also, as observed in Turkey, different suggested population sizes to define city exist within the same country. Although the urbanization process in Turkey gained momentum in 1950s, it has begun to differentiate qualitatively rather than quantitatively after 1980s. While the distinctions between the rural and urban areas have been disappearing hastily, the process of transformation of rural areas into urban areas by the impact of neoliberal policies was observed. This process has remarkably continued especially in metropolitan areas with the introduction of metropolitan government system in 1984. Since 2000s, the boundaries of metropolitan municipalities have been gradually extended in various ways and in this manner rural areas have remained within the boundaries of metropolitan municipalities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this process that appears mainly in the metropolitan areas within the conceptual framework of participation, local autonomy, effectiveness, efficiency, productivity and rent.

Land Management : Potential, Problems and Stumbling Blocks

During the last decades planning systems in Europe have been changing towards more openness and extended possibilities for market players to take responsibilites in planning – market oriented planning. This paper discusses private actors’ rights to initiate statutory plans for property development. This is done in the light of the planning and building legislations in Norway and Sweden. Although the two countries have a lot in common, and have influenced each other in many ways, the right to initiate development plans has been treated differently. In Norway this right has been an integral part of the planning and building legislations since 1924, and the right as such has never been disputed. In Sweden the right for market players to initiate development plans is a recent invention, 2011, and is substantially more restricted compared to the Norwegian legislation. In planning theories external players’ rights to initiate and prepare plans for development projects is regarded a key-indicator of market intrusion in spatial planning. However, to what degree the planning systems in Norway and Sweden open up for market forces in practice can be discussed – the outset of the formal planning and permit system is one thing; the way matters work in practice may be very different (Cullingworth and Nadin 2006). In both systems, municipal governments are still in a strong position for formulating visions, setting agendas for overall development and projects, and allocate resources for the implementation of plans.

The status and role of modern mapping technology in Botswana

This paper will address the development and application of modern mapping technology towards the sustainable and economic development of Botswana. Much of the data is already available in relational databases, but the greatest problem lies in processing the data and analysing geographical relationships. The paper will examine the impact of modern data acquisition and processing techniques on the provision of current spatially related data, one of the major tools for sustainable development. The concept and application of spatial processing and the dissemination of those data will be addressed, together with the current situation in Botswana concerning the provision and availability of spatial data. It will then centre about three case studies, based upon Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These will examine the relevance and application of GIS to health statistics, with particular reference to the spread of tuberculosis; the analysis of road traffic accident statistics to identify possible causes and accident black spots; and the monitoring, management and display of wildlife data in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.