Public Initiatives of Settlement Transformation: A Theoretical-Methodological Approach to Selecting Tools of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

Development of Governance Evaluation Model for Accessible and Inclusive Urban Development in the United Arab Emirates Using Analytical Network Process.. [DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1958811/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

Accessibility and Inclusion are challenging issues for decision-makers due to its impact on equity and quality of life. This research presents a novel governance evaluation model (GEM) for Accessible and Inclusive Urban Development (AIUD) to develop quantitative approach by applying Analytical Network Process (ANP). Experts feedback was sought to first: rank priorities of governance principles (GP’s), second: determine interdependencies of GI’s with respect to GP’s, third: determine interdependencies of indicators with respect to each other and finally scores for public governance. Therefore, the model was used to evaluate public governance in Sharjah Emirate by four agencies representing public sector. AIUD GEM results showed that the most important governance principle at AIUD in the UAE is (Transparency and Accountability). While the highest rated governance indicator is (representation of persons with disabilities and their families). The model implementation in Sharjah, demonstrated organizations agreement on rating (political commitment and legitimacy) as the highest in Sharjah public governance. The final outcome established reliable tool to support decision making in resource allocation, prioritizing intervention actions in addition to determining areas of improvement needed among various stakeholders and sectors. It is this gap or niche in the field of AIUD that this research endeavoured to fill by formulating a bespoke GEM for AIUD in the UAE, with the potential for adaptation in other contexts around the world. The model formulated in this research is a holistic monitoring and evaluation tool that engages stakeholders from various sectors, uses indicators for which data collection is less time- and effort-consuming, and allows for continuous and easy monitoring by decision-makers. This research is a timely response to a trans-disciplinary subject which is a global concern to decision- makers due to its significant impact on sustainable development. Due to the impact of AIUD on social inclusion, human welfare and economic development, the development of GI’s facilitates decision-making through stakeholder’s involvement in order to allow benchmarking and comparison of performance. The model would enable the UAE to remain a role model in the field of AIUD and continue to influence knowledge and practice in this field globally. This research is the first published research that utilized MCDM tools to develop public GEM considering holistic approach in the context of AIUD. Therefore, it is forming solid base for academics and decision-makers to utilize this model to promote public governance performance not only in the UAE but also internationally.

Waste Classification of Spent Refractory Materials to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals Exploiting Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding Approach

The recycling of used refractory materials in the heavy industry constitutes one of the significant environmental problems in the industry related to environmental and financial issues. This study proposes a multicriteria methodological frame to characterize the refractory material waste and identify the recycling capabilities. Considering the chemical and physical analysis of the refractory material wastes, the proposed methodological frame progresses into a two-phase procedure. The first phase includes an on/off approach that allows discretizing the refractory material wastes to compatible or not compatible as far as their recycling prospects. Then, an additive value model is utilized, including (a) the marginal value functions used for every criterion related to critical environmental factors, and (b) the weight vector reflecting the relative importance of the criteria used. A group of experts concerning the environment and the refractory materials was employed to estimate the additive value model. The assessment of the marginal value function is achieved using the module of the Multicriteria Interactive Intelligence Decision Aiding System (MIIDAS), which is based on a modification of the mid-value split point technique incorporating focused dialogues, artificial intelligence, and visual techniques. The weight vector was assessed using the weight assessment through prioritization method (WAP), which concludes with the estimation of the weights based on the criteria ranking and the pairwise expression of the strength of preferences for the consecutive criteria according to their ranking. The outcome of this approach is to introduce an environmental appropriateness index for refractory materials based on their chemical composition and the judgement of an expert group. The main findings of this research may be useful for engineers, decision-makers, and scientists in the field of circular economy and waste management.

Risk Perception Gaps Between Construction Investors and Financial Investors of International Public–Private Partnership (PPP) Projects

Many international public–private partnership projects have suffered from frequent project pending status or failure because of dissimilar interests among stakeholders over projects’ long development period. Thus, this study compares the perception gaps of 27 risks between Korean construction investors and Korean financial investors depending on different development phases of international public–private partnership projects. In the project selection phase, construction investors and financial investors show few risk perception gaps. However, in the bid and proposal phase, they perceive many risks differently: construction investors tend to perceive the construction risk and financial risk as more important, whereas financial investors perceive stakeholder risk and country risk as more significant. This study also discusses the causes of risk perception gaps from three perspectives: (1) time-dependent risk; (2) risk exposure period; (3) risk transfer and responsibility. These findings will be helpful in recognizing the dynamic risk perception gaps between two leading investors for the sustainable development and investment of international PPP projects.

How to support the application of multiple criteria decision analysis? Let us start with a comprehensive taxonomy

Decision making is a complex task that involves a multitude of perspectives, constraints, and variables. Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a process that has been used for several decades to support decision making. It includes a series of steps that systematically help Decision Maker(s) (DM(s)) and stakeholders in structuring a decision making problem, identifying their preferences, and building a decision recommendation consistent with those preferences. Over the last decades, many studies have demonstrated the conduct of the MCDA process and how to select an MCDA method. Until now, there has not been a review of these studies, nor a proposal of a unified and comprehensive high-level representation of the MCDA process characteristics (i.e., features), which is the goal of this paper. We introduce a review of the research that defines how to conduct the MCDA process, compares MCDA methods, and presents Decision Support Systems (DSSs) to recommend a relevant MCDA method or a subset of methods. We then synthesize this research into a taxonomy of characteristics of the MCDA process, grouped into three main phases, (i) problem formulation, (ii) construction of the decision recommendation, and (iii) qualitative features and technical support. Each of these phases includes a subset of the 10 characteristics that helps the analyst implementing the MCDA process, while also being aware of the implication of these choices at each step. By showing how decision making can be split into manageable and justifiable steps, we reduce the risk of overwhelming the analyst, as well as the DMs/stakeholders during the MCDA process. A questioning strategy is also proposed to demonstrate how to apply the taxonomy to map MCDA methods and select the most relevant one(s) using real case studies. Additionally, we show how the DSSs for MCDA method recommendation can be grouped into three main clusters. This proposal can enhance a traceable and categorizable development of such systems.

Prioritizing Sustainable City Indicators for Cambodia

This research is based on our previous research that developed consensus sustainable city indicators for Cambodia through three-round Delphi panel surveys. That research developed indicators in the first round based on UN sustainable development goal 11, ASEAN environmentally sustainable city, Korean case study, and domestic green and clean city indicators, and validated the developed indicators in the last two rounds. After consensus analysis, that research obtained 32 assessment indicators categorized by nine criteria. However, these indicators are not prioritized yet due to the limitation of the Delphi technique. Hence, this research aims to prioritize these indicators by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique and to confirm whether the levels of importance verified by Delphi can be used for prioritizing or ranking the indicators. This research surveyed potential respondents experienced and working in relevant fields both offline and online. Online surveys were processed through E-mail, Facebook, and LinkedIn. A total of 118 questionnaires were gathered from the surveys, and 16 were inconsistent (consistency ratio > 0.1). The results showed that the highest and lowest weights are 0.0557 and 0.086. The top ten indicators are slum population (0.0557), unemployment (0.0516), crime prevention (0.0470), water supply (0.0469), city’s migration (0.0462), low-income housing (0.0445), solid waste collection (0.0437), labor-force (0.0421), construction safety (0.0400), and traffic congestion (0.0398). The rank of all indicators based on their levels of importance is completely different from the rank of their weights. Therefore, this research confirms that the levels of importance verified by Delphi cannot be used for ranking or prioritizing the consensus indicators. The priority weights in this research would be useful to policymaking, strategic direction, and budget allocation for the development and management of sustainable cities in Cambodia.

Developing Sustainable City Indicators for Cambodia through Delphi Processes of Panel Surveys

Currently, Cambodia does not have sustainable city indicators, and green and clean city indicators are also limited compared to UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) indicators. Therefore, this research aims to develop sustainable city indicators for Cambodia and to address the questions “Are the green and clean city indicators limited in terms of sustainability?” and “Are the UN SDG 11 indicators suitable for Cambodia?” Delphi processes of panel surveys were conducted to develop the indicators in Round 1, pre-validate the indicators in Round 2, and validate the indicators in Round 3. The results showed that 69 initial indicators were obtained from Round 1; 41 pre-validated indicators were obtained from Round 2; and finally, 32 validated indicators were obtained from Round 3. All of the 32 indicators reached consensus. Based on the consensus indicators, the green and clean city indicators were found to be limited in terms of sustainability, and the UN SDG 11 has nine indicators suitable for Cambodia. These findings could be useful for applying the UN SDG 11 indicators to Cambodia and transforming the green and clean city indicators to sustainable city indicators. The 32 consensus indicators could be used as alternative sustainable city indicators for Cambodia.

An Economic Analysis Algorithm for Urban Forestry Projects

The second half of the 20th century was characterized by rapid growth of the urban population and lack of attention to environmental quality in the urbanizes territories. Thus, the development of many cities during that period took place through policies which, over time, resulted in a disaggregated landscape, both in morphological and functional terms. In some cases, these policies have caused the creation of land portions without a specific characterization, and the generation of urban voids that negatively affect the city’s development. To solve this problem, the public administration sectors of many countries are looking for new intervention strategies that are feasible from a social and economic point of view which are able to guarantee sustainable development. From this perspective, the execution of urban regeneration initiatives, including forestation, allows for the improvement of both environmental quality and citizens’ well-being, and promotes economic development. Considering the multiple effects that these initiatives can generate and the limited availability of public and private resources, it is appropriate to use multi-criteria decision support tools through which it is possible to evaluate the interventions’ complexity and best identify the city areas that lend themselves to be recovered and improved through the forestation. The aim of this work is to develop a support tool for public administrations aimed at identifying the optimal forestry projects’ location according to criteria that not only refer to financial type, but also their social, cultural, and environmental nature. Using Discrete Linear Programming algorithms, the model has been tested through a theoretical case study and reveals the advantages and limitations of the model, as well as future research prospects.

An Integrated Multicriteria Analysis Tool for Evaluating Water Resource Management Strategies

Water is involved, directly or indirectly, with many activities and needs that have to be met. The large scale and importance of water projects, the investments needed, the difficulty in predicting the results, and the irreversible character of the decisions have made decision making a complex scientific process. This paper presents a multicriteria analysis (MCA) tool for evaluating water resource management (WRM) strategies and selecting the most appropriate among them, using as an example a Greek area based on agricultural economy, which faces water scarcity problems. Seven alternative strategies were evaluated under hydrological and economic criteria. Four techniques were used—multi attribute utility theory (MAUT), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), elimination and choice expressing reality (ELECTRE), and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS)—based on the main MCA techniques (utility theory, analytical hierarchy, outranking theory, and classification theory, respectively), to compare their performance, and to reach the most appropriate and ‘fitting’ method for the examined problem. The weightings extracted from two samples, (i) a sample of decision makers/stakeholders and (ii) a group of WRM experts, were used to compare the results. The process was carried out for each questionnaire, and thus the model shows the uncertainty of each sample group and of each method, as well as the overall uncertainty. The results illustrate the reality of the WRM problems of the watershed, enlighten their roots, and have further strengthened our conviction that the cooperation between the scientific community and the authorities is vital for more sustainable and efficient WRM.