Multicriteria Decision Analysis Applied to Sponge City Construction in China: A Case Study

Abstract

To address stormwater management, China initiated the construction of sponge cities (SPCs) in 2014. Sponge city construction in China has previously been evaluated using subjective expert methods. Based on China's SPC evaluation regulations, the evaluation criteria system was divided into 6 categories and 22 indicators. This study presents a multicriteria approach to evaluating SPC construction through multicriteria attributes value theory (MAVT). Coupled with the entropy method, this approach can reduce errors caused by individual methods. This work improved the evaluation method from a subjective to an objective method. Additionally, the sensitivity of an alternative to these criteria was conducted. The analysis reveals the inner relationship between the SPC alternative and the criteria. The city of Hebi, an actual SPC project, was selected as a case study. The findings indicate that the proposed approach is efficient and simple. It can help decision makers better understand SPC performance, and it is a pilot SPC evaluation method using relatively objective means. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:703–713. © 2019 SETAC.

Addressing Challenges of Urban Water Management in Chinese Sponge Cities via Nature-Based Solutions

“…to receiving waters (e.g., urban lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds) [90,91]. The rich body of knowledge assembled by the EU presents an opportunity for Chinese urban planners to learn from and improve on best practice, so as to overcome the tough challenges posed by pollution, floods, and water scarcity, while avoiding mistakes that have been made elsewhere [66].…”

“…All urban programmes and projects are influenced by a range of stakeholders. Understanding stakeholder preferences and priorities through effective engagement is important for finding solutions that are appropriate for, supported by, and accepted by both the city's decision makers and the communities they serve [66]. Since the SCP began in 2014, the programme has mainly focused on the planning, construction, and delivery of solutions at the site-specific, project scale, based on following the relevant SCP guidance documents.…”

Sponge City Program (SCP) and Urban Flood Management (UFM)—The Case of Guiyang, SW China

“…The Water Conservancy Bureau invests in and operates flood projects such as reservoirs and floodwalls. The Urban Construction Bureau oversees urban drainage systems, and the Emergency Management Bureau manages the rescue works [58]. An official noted the following: "For the most part, the authorities can cooperate in flood management issues.…”

Development of a Multicriteria Scheme for the Identification of Strategic Areas for SUDS Implementation: A Case Study from Gijón, Spain

“…Thus, the modelling through the use of decision-making tools such as multi-criteria matrices and the optimization tools are paramount in order to efficiently locate SUDS, as well as to predict their behavior, whilst appraising their impact on the urban system [55]. Different Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) have been reported to be implemented for the evaluation of stormwater management in dense urban areas, noting the following: Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) [56], Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) [56], Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) [57], fuzzy AHP [58], Analytic Network Process (ANP) [59], fuzzy logic [60], Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) [61], fuzzy TOPSIS [58], Simple Additive Weighting Model (SAW) [62], Elimination and Choice Expressing the Reality (ELECTRE) [63], and PROMETHEE-GAIA [63]. One of the most popular is the AHP model [56,[63][64][65], becoming the most common GIS-MCDA used for flood susceptibility analysis [66,67].…”

“…Different Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) have been reported to be implemented for the evaluation of stormwater management in dense urban areas, noting the following: Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) [56], Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) [56], Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) [57], fuzzy AHP [58], Analytic Network Process (ANP) [59], fuzzy logic [60], Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) [61], fuzzy TOPSIS [58], Simple Additive Weighting Model (SAW) [62], Elimination and Choice Expressing the Reality (ELECTRE) [63], and PROMETHEE-GAIA [63]. One of the most popular is the AHP model [56,[63][64][65], becoming the most common GIS-MCDA used for flood susceptibility analysis [66,67]. Various researchers have applied the weighted linear combination of GIS with AHP in this context [54,57,66,68,69].…”