Prioritization of Cartagena Coastal Military Batteries to Transform Them into Scientific, Tourist and Cultural Places of Interest: A GIS-MCDM Approach

J. M. Sánchez-Lozano, F. J. Salmerón-Vera and C. Ros-Casajús
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J. M. Sánchez-Lozano: Centro Universitario de la Defensa de San Javier, Academia General del Aire, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), 30720 Murcia, Spain
F. J. Salmerón-Vera: Centro Universitario de la Defensa de San Javier, Academia General del Aire, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), 30720 Murcia, Spain
C. Ros-Casajús: Centro Universitario de la Defensa de San Javier, Academia General del Aire, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), 30720 Murcia, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: This study presents a combination of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodologies with geographic information systems (GIS) to carry out a prioritization of obsolete military coastal batteries with the aim of transforming them into touristic, scientific, and cultural places of interest. The study area is located in the Municipality of Cartagena, in Southeast Spain. Such a prioritization requires taking into account transport criteria (distance to roads or train stations), infrastructure criteria (distance to electrical grids or distance to water tanks), touristic or scientific criteria (distance to towns, beaches, archaeological sites, assets of cultural interest, etc.), and orography criteria (area, altitude, and slope of each battery). Therefore, this decision problem involves a set of alternatives (coastal military batteries) to be prioritized based on a group of criteria that should be considered. To tackle this, GIS software is used to provide the attribute table of alternatives and criteria (decision matrix), and the proposed decision problem is solved through a combination of MCDM methodologies based on the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques. The AHP approach is applied to determine the weights of the criteria whilst the TOPSIS method provides a ranking of alternatives in order to obtain a prioritization.

Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS); thematic layer; criteria; alternatives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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