Chapter 6
Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis
to Assess Urban and Territorial
Transformations: Insights from Practical
Applications
I. M. Lami, M. Bottero, and F. Abastante
Abstract This chapter aims at providing concrete reflections about the use of the
Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDAs) in urban and territorial decision
processes. The reflections provided by this chapter come from a critical analysis of
different case studies faced by the Turin research group (Politecnico di Torino,
InterUniversity Department DIST) composed by the authors, in some case in
collaboration with other academics. Over the last decade in fact, the authors applied
a number of MCDA to case studies of different nature in order to provide answers to
decision-making problems in urban and territorial planning realms, towards a sustainable development. Specifically, the case studies analysed in this chapter refer to
seven contexts: (i) infrastructural transport planning strategies; (ii) location of
undesirable facilities; (iii) strategic urban planning; (iv) urban energy retrofitting;
(v) real estate investments; (vi) cultural adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings; and
(vii) environmental systems. The aforementioned case studies cover different geographical scales of intervention (local, national and transnational) offering here the
opportunity to reflect around the use of MCDA as Analytic Network Process (ANP),
ANP and Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), Dominance Based Rough-Sets
Approach (DRSA), Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation
Technique (MACBETH), Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE), CATegorization by Similarity-Dissimilarity
(CAT-SD) and Elimination Et Choix Traduisant La Realité (ELECTRE). The
applications presented show that the MCDA can be a useful support to the
decision-makers in order to structure the decision process in exam, characterized
by a plurality of stakeholders with different interests, powers and goals. In particular,
starting from the case studies, the authors highlight the applicability and the
decision-making relevance of the different MCDA.
I. M. Lami (*) · M. Bottero · F. Abastante
Politecnico di Torino, Inter-University Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
(DIST), Turin, Italy
e-mail: isabella.lami@polito.it
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Rezaei (ed.), Strategic Decision Making for Sustainable Management of Industrial
Networks, Greening of Industry Networks Studies 8,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55385-2_6
93
Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis
to Assess Urban and Territorial
Transformations: Insights from Practical
Applications
I. M. Lami, M. Bottero, and F. Abastante
Abstract This chapter aims at providing concrete reflections about the use of the
Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDAs) in urban and territorial decision
processes. The reflections provided by this chapter come from a critical analysis of
different case studies faced by the Turin research group (Politecnico di Torino,
InterUniversity Department DIST) composed by the authors, in some case in
collaboration with other academics. Over the last decade in fact, the authors applied
a number of MCDA to case studies of different nature in order to provide answers to
decision-making problems in urban and territorial planning realms, towards a sustainable development. Specifically, the case studies analysed in this chapter refer to
seven contexts: (i) infrastructural transport planning strategies; (ii) location of
undesirable facilities; (iii) strategic urban planning; (iv) urban energy retrofitting;
(v) real estate investments; (vi) cultural adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings; and
(vii) environmental systems. The aforementioned case studies cover different geographical scales of intervention (local, national and transnational) offering here the
opportunity to reflect around the use of MCDA as Analytic Network Process (ANP),
ANP and Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS), Dominance Based Rough-Sets
Approach (DRSA), Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation
Technique (MACBETH), Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE), CATegorization by Similarity-Dissimilarity
(CAT-SD) and Elimination Et Choix Traduisant La Realité (ELECTRE). The
applications presented show that the MCDA can be a useful support to the
decision-makers in order to structure the decision process in exam, characterized
by a plurality of stakeholders with different interests, powers and goals. In particular,
starting from the case studies, the authors highlight the applicability and the
decision-making relevance of the different MCDA.
I. M. Lami (*) · M. Bottero · F. Abastante
Politecnico di Torino, Inter-University Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning
(DIST), Turin, Italy
e-mail: isabella.lami@polito.it
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Rezaei (ed.), Strategic Decision Making for Sustainable Management of Industrial
Networks, Greening of Industry Networks Studies 8,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55385-2_6
93