Information analysis and dissemination for site selection decisions using a fuzzy algorithm in GIS

Abstract

Site selection for large-scale facilities is often a group multi-criteria decision-making problem under uncertainty. Creating a practical, user friendly, interactive environment for knowledge sharing among decision-makers and stakeholders can contribute significantly to the process by making the optimal solution easier to find, and enabling dissemination of information to affected groups. Existing algorithms for site selection have little or no capability for handling a non-consensus group environment, or to factor quantitative uncertainty into an analysis. This paper presents a new fuzzy algorithm that is practical to implement in raster GIS and suitable for multiple decision-maker site-selection problems under uncertainty. Differing linguistic assessments from decision-makers are combined using a relevance matrix, and quantitative uncertainty is modelled using a method based on type-2 fuzzy sets. Outputs from the algorithm have a high information value as they include measures for conflict, risk and uncertainty, as well as compensatory and non-compensatory aggregated suitability.