Decision-support tools for sustainable urban development

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Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the complex, integrated decision-support tools (DSTs) for sustainable urban development. The main goal is to identify the principal strengths and weaknesses of these tools while considering the broader issue of how an integrated urban decisionsupport system can be developed (or existing tools improved) that will integrate a wide range of criteria including socio-economic and environmental aspects, plus stakeholder participation, into the decision-making process. To achieve this goal, a relatively large number of various DSTs were first identified. These tools were then analysed using a set of criteria developed specifically for that purpose. For each criterion, a description of a perceived ideal DST is provided and then used when analysing existing DSTs. Finally, it is concluded that modern integrated DSTs for sustainable urban development, despite increased complexity and flexibility, still need to be improved to provide better support in the associated decision-making processes. The recommended areas for future improvements include higher levels of DST integration, introduction of the systematic risk and uncertainty modelling, wider use of the ranking and optimisation methodologies, further development of the detailed impact assessment models, wider and better use of advanced visualisation techniques, improved support for group decision making and communication and more systematic calibration and validation of the models.
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