Abstract
The present paper proposes a spatial multicriteria approach for supporting decision makers in the siting process of a waste incinerator plant in the Province of Torino (Italy). Municipal solid waste management is an intrinsically complex problem because it involves different interconnected elements and must achieve objectives that are often in conflict. Given the spatial nature of the problem, a useful support is provided by a family of methods that are rapidly gaining traction for planning and policy-making, named multicriteria spatial decision support systems, which are based on geographical information systems and multicriteria analysis coupling. In the present study, a methodological framework is proposed for the integration of geographical information systems with a specific multicriteria analysis technique, named Analytic Network Process. The method is illustrated with reference to a case study in the Province of Torino. The purpose of the research is to generate a suitability map of the area under analysis in order to locate a municipal solid waste incinerator plant. The application allows the dependence relationships between the criteria to be assessed and the relative importance of all the elements to be evaluated. The results are obtained in the form of maps analyzed through the ILWIS 3.3 GIS software and have been further verified through a “what-if” analysis with reference to the clusters priorities in order to test the robustness of the model. The implementation of the spatial Analytic Network Process technique gives an originality value to the present research since it represents one of the first applications at both the national and international levels.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aerts, J. C., Esinger, E., Heuvelink, G. B., & Stewart, T. J. (2003). Using integer linear programming for multi-site land-use allocation. Geographical Analysis, 35, 148–169.
Agenzia del Territorio, www.agenziaterritorio.it. Accessed 15 February 2012.
Andrienko, G., Andrienko, N., & Jankowski, P. (2003). Building spatial decision support tools for individuals and groups. Journal of Decision Systems, 12, 193–208.
Aragonés-Beltràn, P., Pastor-Ferrando, J. P., Garcìa-Garcìa, F., & Pascual-Agullò, A. (2010). An analytic network process approach for siting a municipal solid waste plant in the metropolitan area of Valencia (Spain). Journal of Environmental Management, 91, 1071–1086.
Armstrong, M. P. (1993). Perspectives on the development of group decision support systems for locational problem solving. Geographical Systems, 1, 69–81.
Armstrong, M. P., Densham, P. J., Rushton, G. (1986). Architecture for a microcomputer-based decision support system. In 2nd International symposium on spatial data handling, 6–10 July 1986 Williamsville New York. International Geographical Union, pp. 120–131.
ATOR—Associazione d’ambito Torinese per il governo dei Rifiuti (2008). Studio di localizzazione del termovalorizzatore della zona nord della provincia di Torino. Resource document. http://www.atorifiutitorinese.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=95. Accessed 15 February 2012.
Barton, J. R., Dalley, D., & Patel, V. S. (1996). Life cycle assessment for waste management. Waste Management, 16(1/3), 35–50.
Bedard, Y., Merrett, T., & Han, J. (2001). Fundamentals of spatial data warehousing for geographic knowledge discovery. In H. Miller & J. Han (Eds.), Geographic data mining and knowledge discovery. London: Taylor and Francis.
Boroushaki, S., & Malczewski, J. (2010). Measuring consensus for collaborative decision-making: A GIS-based approach. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 34(4), 322–332.
Bottero, M., Comino, E., Duriavig, M., Ferretti, V., Pomarico, S. (2011). The application of a multicriteria spatial decision support system (MCSDSS) for the assessment of biodiversity conservation in the Province of Varese (Italy). Land use policy (under revision).
Bottero, M., & Ferretti, V. (2011). An analytic network process (ANP) based approach for location problems: the case of a new waste incinerator plant in the Province of Torino (Italy). Journal of Multicriteria Decision Analysis, 17, 63–84.
Burstein, F., & Holsapple, W. C. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook on decision support systems. Berlin: Springer.
Caruso, C., Colorni, A., & Paruccini, M. (1993). The regional urban solid waste management system: A modelling approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 70, 16–30.
Carver, S. (1991). Integrating multi-criteria evaluation with geographical information systems. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 5, 321–339.
Carver, S. (1999). Developing Web-based GIS/MCE: Improving access to data and spatial decision support tools. In J. C. Thill (Ed.), Spatial multicriteria decisionmaking and analysis (pp. 49–75). Aldershot, England: Ashgate.
Changa, N. B., Parvathinathanb, G., & Breedenc, B. (2008). Combining GIS with fuzzy multicriteria decision making for landfill siting in a fast growing urban region. Journal of Environmental Management, 87(1), 139–153.
Charlton, M., & Ellis, S. (1991). GIS in planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 34(1), 20–26.
Church, R. L., Scaparra, M. P., & Middleton, R. S. (2004). Identifying critical infrastructure: The median and covering facility interdiction problems. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 94, 491–502.
Comuni Italiani, www.comuni-italiani.it. Accessed 15 February 2012.
Densham, P. J. (1991). Spatial decision support systems. In D. J. Maguire, M. F. Goodchild, & D. W. Rhind (Eds.), Geographical information systems: Principles and applications (pp. 403–412). New York: Wiley.
Densham, P. J., & Armstrong, M. P. (1987). A spatial decision support system for locational planning: Design, implementation and operation. In Proceedings of the eighth international symposium on computer-assisted cartography (AutoCarto 8) (pp. 112–121). Baltimore, Maryland.
Densham, P. J., & Goodchild, M. F. (1989). Spatial decision support systems: A research agenda. In Proceedings GIS/LIS’89 (pp. 707–716), Orlando.
Dey, P. K., & Ramcharan, E. K. (2008). Analytic hierarchy process helps select site for limestore quarry expansion in Barbados. Journal of Environmental Management, 88(4), 1384–1395.
Dragićević, S., & Balram, S. (2004). A Web GIS collaborative framework to structure and manage distributed planning processes. Journal of Geographical Systems, 6, 133–153.
Dunn, C. E. (2007). Participatory GIS: A people’s GIS? Progress in Human Geography, 31, 616–637.
Eastman, R. J., Kyen, P. A. K., Toledno, J. (1993). A procedure for Multiple- objective decision making in GIS under conditions of conflicting objectives. In J. Hents, H. F. L. Ottens, H. J. Scholten, (Eds.), Fourth European conference on GIS (ESIG’93) Proceedings (pp. 438–447), Genova (IT), 1 (2).
Erkut, E., Karagiannidis, A., Perkoulidis, G., & Tjandra, S. A. (2008). A multicriteria facility location model for municipal solid waste management in North Greece. European Journal of Operational Research, 187, 1402–1421.
Farahani, R. Z., Staedie Seifi, M., & Asgari, N. (2010). Multiple criteria facility location problems: A survey. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 34, 1689–1709.
Feick, R. D., & Hall, B. G. (2004). A method for examining spatial dimension of multi-criteria weight sensitivity. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 18, 815–840.
Ferretti, V. (2011a). Integrating Multicriteria Analysis and Geographic Information Systems: a survey and classification of the literature. In Proceeding of the 74th meeting of the European working group “multiple criteria decision aiding”, Yverdon (Switzerland) 6–8 October 2011.
Ferretti, V. (2011b). A multicriteria- spatial decision support system (MC-SDSS) development for siting a landfill in the Province of Torino (Italy). Journal of Multicriteria Decision Analysis, 18, 231–252.
Geneletti, D. (2008). Impact assessment of proposed ski areas: A GIS approach integrating biological, physical and landscape indicators. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 28(2–3), 116–130.
Geneletti, D. (2010). Combining stakeholder analysis and spatial multicriteria evaluation to select and rank inert landfill sites. Waste Management, 30(2), 328–337.
Geneletti, D., Bagli, S., Napolitano, P., & Pistocchi, A. (2007). Spatial decision support for strategic environmental assessment of land use plans. A case study in southern Italy. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 27, 408–423.
Geneletti, D., Beinat, E., Chung, C. J., Fabbri, A. G., & Scholten, H. J. (2003). Accounting for uncertainty factors in biodiversity impact assessment: lessons from a case study. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 23(4), 471–487.
Glasson, J., Therivel, R., & Chadwick, A. (2005). Introduction to environmental impact assessment. London: Routledge.
Goodchild, M. F. (1993). The state of GIS for environmental problem solving. In M. F. Goodchild, B. O., Parks, L. T. Steyaert, (Eds.), Environmental modelling with GIS. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hale, T., & Moberg, C. R. (2003). Location science research: a review. Annals of Operations Research, 123, 21–35.
Higgs, G. (2006). Integrating multi-criteria techniques with geographical information systems in waste facility location to enhance public participation. Waste Management and Research, 24, 105–117.
Hokkanen, J., & Salminen, P. (1997). Choosing a solid waste management system using multicriteria decision analysis. European Journal of Operational Research, 98, 19–36.
ILWIS 3.3. (2005). The integrated land and water information system. ITC, Enschede, http://www.itc.nl/ilwis/.
Jankowski, P. (2009). Towards participatory geographic information systems for community-based environment decision making. Journal of Environmental Management, 90, 1966–1971.
Jankowski, P., & Richard, L. (1994). Integration of GIS based suitability analysis and multicriteria evaluation in a spatial decision support system for route selection. Environment and Planning, 21, 323–340.
Janssen, R., & Rietveld, P. (1990). Multicriteria analysis and GIS; an application to agricultural landuse in the Netherlands. In H. J. Scholten & J. C. H. Stillwell (Eds.), Geographical information systems and urban and regional planning (pp. 129–139). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Keeney, R. L. (1992). Value-focused thinking: A path to creative decision making. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Khalil, W., Goonetilleke, A., Kokot, S., & Carroll, S. (2004). Use of chemometrics methods and multicriteria decision-making for site selection for sustainable onsite sewage effluent disposal. Analytica Chimita Acta, 506(1), 41–56.
Khan, S., & Faisal, M. N. (2008). An analytic network process model for municipal solid waste disposal options. Waste Management, 28(9), 1500–1508.
Laaribi, A., Chevallier, J. J., & Martel, J. M. (1996). A spatial decision aid: A multicriterion evaluation approach. Computer Environment Urban Systems, 20(6), 351–366.
Leung, Y. (1997). Intelligent spatial decision support systems. Berlin: Springer.
Levy, J. K., Hartmann, J., Li, K. W., An, Y., & Asgary, A. (2007). Multi-criteria decision support systems for flood hazard mitigation and emergency response in urban watersheds. Journal of the America Water Resources Association, 43(2), 346–358.
Li, Y., Shen, Q., & Li, H. (2004). Design of spatial decision support systems for property professionals using MapObjects and Excel. Automation in Construction, 13, 565–573.
Malczewski, J. (1999). GIS and multicriteria decision analysis. New York: Wiley.
Malczewski, J. (2006). GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis: A survey of the literature. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 20(7), 703–726.
McDougall, F., White, P., Franke, M., & Hindle, P. (2001). Integrated solid waste management: A life cycle inventory. Blackwell Review, 63, 81–97.
McHarg, I. L. (1969). Design with nature. New York: Wiley.
Miller, C. C. (2006). A beast in the field: The google maps mashup as GIS/2. Cartographica, 41(3), 187–199.
Morrissey, A. J., & Browne, J. (2004). Waste management models and their application to sustainable waste management. Waste Management, 24, 297–308.
Neaupane, K. M., & Piantanakulchai, M. (2006). Analytic network process model for landslide hazard zonati. Engineering Geology, 85(3/4), 281–294.
Nekhay, O., Arriaza, M., & Boerboom, L. (2009). Evaluation of soil erosion risk using analytic network process and GIS: A case study from Spanish mountain olive plantations. Journal of Environmental Management, 90, 3091–3104.
Norese, M. F. (2006). Electre III as a support for participatory decision making on the localisation of waste-treatment plants. Land Use Policy, 23(1), 76–85.
OCS—Osservatorio Città Sostenibili. (2002). Indice del grado di naturalità del territorio. OCS Doc 2/2002, Dipartimento Interateneo Territorio del Politecnico e dell’Università di Torino.
Pereira, J. M. C., & Duckstein, L. (1993). A multiple criteria decision-making approach to GIS-based land suitability evaluation. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 7(5), 407–424.
Poloni-Staudinger, L. M. (2008). Are consensus democracies more environmentally effective? Environmental Politics, 17(3), 420–430.
Provincia di Torino. (2006). Programma Provinciale di Gestione dei Rifiuti (PPGR, 2006). Resource document. http://www.provincia.torino.it/ambiente/rifiuti/programmazione/ppgr2006. Accessed 15 February 2011.
Queiruga, D., Walther, G., Gonzalez-Benito, J., & Spengler, T. (2008). Evaluation of sites for the location of WEEE re cycling plants in Spain. Waste Management, 28, 181–190.
Saaty, T. L. (1980). The analytic hierarchy process. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Saaty, T. L. (2005). Theory and applications of the analytic network process: Decision making with benefits, opportunities, costs and risks. Pittsburgh: RWS Publications.
Sharifi, M. A. (2007). Integrated planning and decision support systems: concepts, adoption and evaluation. Asia Journal of Geo_Informatics, 7(4).
Sharifi, M., Hadidi, M., Vessali, E., Mosstafakhani, P., Taheri, K., Shahoie, S., et al. (2009). Integrating multi-criteria decision analysis for a GIS-based hazardous waste landfill sitting in Kurdistan Province, western Iran. Waste Management, 29(10), 2740–2758.
Sharifi, M. A., & Retsios, V. (2004). Site selection for waste disposal through spatial multiple criteria decision analysis. Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 3, 28–38.
Sharifi, M. A., & Rodriguez, E. (2002). Design and development of a planning support system for policy formulation in water resources rehabilitation: The case of Alcázar De San Juan District in the Aquifer La Mancha Spain. International Journal of Hydroinformatics, 4(3), 157–175.
Sharifi, M. A., van Herwijnen, M., van der Toorn, W. (2006). Spatial decision support systems: Theory and practice (pp. 13–21). ISPRS WG II/IV, to be published 2007.
Simon, H. A. (1960). The new science of management decision. New York: Harper and Row.
Simon, H. A. (1991). Bounded rationality and organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 125–134.
Steinitz, C. (1993). Geographical information systems: A personal historical perspective, the framework for recent project, and some questions for the future. Italy: Genoa.
Thill, J. C. (1999). GIS and multiple criteria decision making: A geographic information science perspective. London: Ashgate.
Truitt, M., Liebnman, J., Kruse, C. (1969). Simulation model of urban refuse collection. Journal of the Sanitary Engineering Division, April, 289–298.
Tseng, M. L. (2010). Environmental monitoring and assessment importance- performance analysis of municipal solid waste management in uncertainty. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 172, 171–187.
Tuzkaya, G., Onut, S., Tuzkaya, U. R., & Gulsun, B. (2007). An analytic network process approach for locating undesirable facilities: An example from Instanbul, Turkey. Journal of Environmental Management, 88, 970–983.
Wu, F. (1998). SimLand: A prototype to simulate land conversion through the integrated GIS and CA with AHP-derived transition rules. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 12, 63–82.
Zadeh, L. A. (1965). Fuzzy set. Information and Control, 8, 338–353.
Zoffer, J., Bahurmoz, A., Hamid, M. K., Minutolo, M., & Saaty, T. (2008). Synthesis of complex criteria decision making: A case towards a consensus agreement for a middle east conflict resolution. Group Decision Negotiation, 17, 363–385.
Zucca, A., Sharifi, A., & Fabbri, A. (2007). Application of spatial multi criteria analysis to site selection for a local park: A case study in the Bergamo Province, Italy. Journal of Environmental Management, 88, 752–769.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferretti, V., Pomarico, S. Integrated sustainability assessments: a spatial multicriteria evaluation for siting a waste incinerator plant in the Province of Torino (Italy). Environ Dev Sustain 14, 843–867 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9354-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9354-8