Multi-Criteria Analyses of Urban Planning for City Expansion: A Case Study of Zamora, Spain

Marco Criado, Antonio Martínez-Graña, Fernando Santos-Francés, Sergio Veleda and Caridad Zazo
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Marco Criado: Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Plaza de la Merced s/n, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Antonio Martínez-Graña: Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Plaza de la Merced s/n, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Fernando Santos-Francés: Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Avenue Filiberto Villalobos, 119, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Sergio Veleda: Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Plaza de la Merced s/n, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Caridad Zazo: CSIC-National Museum of Natural Sciences, Geology section, José Gutiérrez Abascal Street 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: This study has established a methodology to determine the most environmentally suitable area for the expansion of Zamora (Spain) using geographic information system (GIS) technology. The objective was to develop a GIS-based methodology for the identification of urban peripheral areas that are suitable for the accommodation of new buildings and services, that are compliant with environmental criteria, and that guarantee an adequate quality of life for the future population such that extra construction costs are avoided. The methodological core is based on two multi-criteria analyses (MCAs): MCA-1 determines areas suitable for building—the most environmentally sustainable areas that do not present risks or discomforts to the population—by analyzing the restrictive factors; MCA-2 takes the sectors that received a favorable evaluation in MCA-1, determines which of those have a lower economic overhead for construction, and analyzes the different conditioning criteria related to their pre-existing infrastructures. Finally, the location of the sectors is determined by a decision factor that satisfies some strategic need of the municipality.

Keywords: multi-criteria analysis; urban planning; sustainability; GIS; environmental thematic cartography (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:10:p:1850-:d:115189

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