The municipality of Sandviken is in a state of strong growth. This affects the need for more hotel rooms in Sandviken, in a way that it’s profitable to invest in a new hotel. Sandvikens largest company, the steal industry Sandvik AB, grows just like Sandviken, and have great influence on the need of more hotel rooms. Today there are three hotels placed in Sandviken, and these hotels aren’t enough when the pressure of hotel guests is at its top. The purpose with the project was to analyse the criteria’s that are important for localization of a new hotel in the Sandviken, and to clarify what kind of hotel Sandviken is in need of. The need of hotel rooms in Sandviken where to be challenged during the investigation. To find the most appropriate locations, a multi-criteria analysis was used that was based on the weighting of criteria from a questionnaire study. The questionnaire study contained two parts. The first part where selecting which criteria’s the multi-criteria analysis would include. The other part was weighting the selected criteria’s to be able to input them in the multi-criteria analysis. The weighting where made by selected persons, chosen due to their skills in the particular area. The selected criteria’s in the multi-criteria analysis where: traffic noise, proximity to sports arena, proximity to park area, proximity to travel centre, proximity to restaurants, proximity to Sandbacka park and proximity to Sandvik AB. When the multi-criteria analysis was done, it presented which areas that had the highest values. The mean value for all the selected weightings gave the results of high values in the central parts of Sandviken. This analysis where then complimented with a visual stock-taking of selected areas around Sandviken that where considered free space for building new hotel. The investigation shows that there is a need for more hotel rooms in Sandviken at the moment. This need for hotel rooms will probably grow cause of the recruitment of new personnel by Sandvik AB, and the fact that three new sports arenas is planned to be built in Sandviken. The questionnaire studies shows that the category of hotels with the most need in Sandviken, is especially business hotels. The reason for this is mostly due to Sandvik AB. The areas that are most appropriate for hotel establishment in Sandviken, are located in the central parts of Sandviken. / Sandvikens kommun befinner sig i ett starkt växande tillstånd, det påverkar behovet av fler hotellrum på så sätt att ny etablering av hotell är aktuellt. Sandvikens största företag, stålindustrin Sandvik AB, växer precis som Sandviken, och det har stor påverkan på behovet av fler hotellrum. I Sandvikens tätort finns idag tre hotell, som inte klarar behovet av hotellgäster när antalet gäster är som mest. Dessa är Alséns hotell, Stadshotellet Princess och Högbo Brukshotell. Syftet med arbetet var att analysera vilka kriterier som är viktiga för lokalisering av ett nytt hotell i Sandvikens tätort, samt att klargöra vilken kategori av hotell Sandviken är i behov av. Behovet av fler hotellrum i Sandvikens tätort ifrågasattes även under utredning. För att hitta de platser som är lämpligast, användes en multikriterieanalys som grundade sig på viktade kriterier från en enkätundersökning. Enkätundersökningen bestod utav två delar. Den ena delen valde ut vilka kriterier som skulle ingå i multikriterieanalysen. Den andra delen viktade de utvalda kriterierna för att sedan matas in i multikriterieanalysen, viktningen skedde med hjälp utav utvalda personer som ansågs kunniga på området. De utvalda kriterierna till multikriterieanalysen var: närhet till större idrottsanläggning, buller (hur viktigt det är med låg nivå av buller), närhet till handel, närhet till parkområde, närhet till resecentrum, närhet till restauranger, närhet till Sandbacka park och närhet till Sandvik AB. Multikriterieanalysen visade sedan vilka områden som gav de högsta värdena. Medelvärdet för alla de utvaldas viktningar gav ett resultat av höga värden vid centrala delarna av Sandvikens tätort. Denna analys kompletterades sedan med en visuell inventering av utvalda områden som ansågs lediga platser för hotellbygge. Utredningen visar att det i dagsläget finns behov av fler hotellrum i Sandvikens tätort. Detta behov kommer med all sannolikhet att öka på grund av att Sandvik AB anställer ny personal, samt att tre nya idrottsarenor byggs i Sandvikens tätort. Enkätundersökningarna visar att den kategori av hotell som det finns störst behov av i Sandvikens tätort är framförallt företagshotell. Detta beror framförallt på storföretaget Sandvik AB. De områden som är lämpligast för etablering av hotell i Sandvikens tätort, enligt den multikriterieanalys som gjorts, är de centrala delarna av Sandvikens tätort.

Fire plays an important role in forest ecosystem management depending on the dual character of it. It should be managed and supervised effectively. In this particular study, the study area was located in the north part of Gävleborg County in Sweden, which is in a high- latitude region. Seven factors, divided into natural factors and human caused factors, were extracted from digital elevation model (DEM), classified land use map and feature shape files provided by National Land Survey of Sweden (Lantmäteriet). Two different weighting schemes for the factors were determined by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. With the help of ArcGIS 9.3 and Erdas 9.3, two classified result maps were obtained, where forest fire risk ranks were shown as five classes, very low, low, moderate, high and very high. The 43 fire incidents in the year 2007 and 2008 recorded by Global Fire Management System were used to evaluate the results. The results show that the higher rank the region is, the larger is the probability for forest fire risk and higher the risk to spread the fire. Furthermore, according to the occurrence time of the fire incidents, the period of time from end of May to beginning of June was generalized as a dangerous period for forest fire risk in this study area. After analyzing and discussing, even if there might be some uncertainties caused by variable selection, resolution problem and weighting schemes, the results were generally reliable.

Nowadays, GIS techniques have been widely used in every walk of life. Owing to the rapid urban growth, it is of importance to plan and develop the cities in a reasonable and scientific way. As a result, optimum sites of different constructions should be considered to make full use of land resources and optimize urban structure. Although the traditional field-survey method is important, GIS-based multi-criteria analysis (MCA) provides a more reasonable and scientific way in site selection issue. Weihai, our study area, is one of the fastest developing coastal cities in China. Owing to the rapid urban expansion, Weihai government municipality planned to develop the Poyu town into a new district with multifunctions. In consideration of its advantages in natural resources and geographic position, a holiday resort is proposed. In the aim of applying GIS-based MCA in site selection, this thesis would present an experiment to select the optimal site for a holiday resort with the help of GIS techniques. The data used in this project is a satellite image and digital elevation data of Poyu town. The satellite image has been digitized to obtain the current land use map, based on which constraint maps and factor maps have been made to make preparation of multi-criteria analysis. Finally, the multi-criteria analysis model has been made. The weights for multi-criteria analysis are obtained from the advice of experienced people in Weihai Planning Bureau and also earlier studies on the site selection. There are three sets of weights based on three themes that have been used in this project. The three themes which were fruit-picking theme, seascape and seafood theme as well as leisure and recreation theme were decided based on the results of the questionnaire. Through the discussions of the results, a final selected site for the holiday resort was determined. It includes the optimal site for the main part focusing on both fruit picking theme and leisure and recreation theme and also the optimal site for an accessory part focusing on seascape and seafood theme. The final section concludes the general project work, its perspectives and the function of GIS-based MCA in site selection.

This thesis studies the use of a collaborative spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis tool in site evaluation with multiple participants. The approach is situated within the context of three concepts of space, choice and participation, and is informed by fields as diverse as Decision-Making, Participatory Planning, Geographical Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, Voting, and Group Collaboration. A collaborative spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis software tool called MapChoice was designed for this thesis, built upon open source components and featuring easy-to-use decision support functionality in both single-user and collaborative modes. MapChoice was then evaluated in a real-world site selection situation with a case study on the location of much-needed affordable housing in the Town of Collingwood, Ontario. Based on previous discussions and workshops on the project, a workshop was held with a group of community housing advocates to compare a set of possible sites for an affordable housing project according to a set of spatial and aspatial criteria. The study indicates that a collaborative spatial MCA approach can be used in dealing with complex planning problems, and that it has the potential to contribute to improved consensus between participants.

Wildfire is a naturally occurring process that regenerates vegetation in forests.  However, these fire regimes are becoming increasingly altered by human beings.  This study attempts to predict the risk of human caused forest fire incidents in the Cranbrook Fire Zone in British Columbia, Canada.  A multi-criteria analysis using 16 spatial and socioeconomic variables was developed to produce three separate outputs, each having a different weighting and ranking scheme derived from either The Rank Method, or AHP Method.  Results were compared with point locations of human caused incidents from 1950 to 2008 and the accuracy of the model is very promising; however, further study and analysis is required for true validation.

Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies and remote sensing (RS) technologies have developed rapidly in recent years, and they have been widely used indaily life of ordinary people. The combination of these two remarkable technologies isuseful for location decision making and has been applied in different kinds of study cases.Guangyuan is one of the fastest developing cities in the southwest of China. Especiallyafter the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, the development in economic and urbanreconstruction increased rapidly. Many infrastructure constructions and the reformprojects are in progress. At the same time, China's urban sewage treatment facilities areseriously inadequate. Only a small percentage of sewage has been treated by sewagetreatment plants in China. So the purpose of this study is to select an optimal site for asewage treatment plant in Guangyuan in a scientific way.In this particular study, based on GIS software and GIS-based multi-criteria analysis(MCA), a decision making model has been built for optimal site selection for a sewagetreatment plant. Two types of data were used in this study. Digital elevation model andsatellite image, several factor maps and constraint maps were created for the final analysis.The analytic hierarchy process was used to apply the weights for each factor along withformula method, in order to get the best result and find the optimal site. Finally, a MCAmodel has been made to be an example for future similar studies.In the end, an optimal site has been selected. Although aims are achieved in this study,there are still some limitations in different perspectives of the study. In the future, moreprecise data can be used in MCA studies, data limitations could be reduced with thedevelopment of RS techniques. In the future, more similar studies will be finished, whichmeans more scientific papers can provide reliable references of determining the criteriaand weights.

The public sector often invests in large projects in different sectors, such as education, health care and infrastructure. It can be argued that investment appraisal process in these projects should differ from conventional approaches due to the complex interests the public sector holds, which often implies that several aspects need to be considered. Conventional techniques may not suffice and therefore this thesis aims to investigate the applicability of real options analysis and multi-criteria analysis in a combined approach. The study is conducted in the form of a case study at publicly owned Sundsvalls Logistikpark, where options in the form of the utilization of development areas and the non-monetary aspect reduction of carbon dioxide are included in the appraisal. The model developed compares two alternative strategies where one is based upon conventional usage of the area and the other represents the environmentally friendly alternative. The results show that including the value of flexibility in the appraisal significantly raises the initial valuation, whereas the comparison of the strategies show that the results either details which strategy is preferred, if input to both strategies are available, or where the threshold for indifference lies. It is concluded that this model is applicable in terms of its ability to capture the value of flexibility and inclusion of several aspects of the decision problem. However, it is also concluded that the numerous simplifications made may lead to unreliability in the results, and the process of obtaining accurate input may time-consuming, depending on the case. The usability of the model is high in terms of its potential, but lower in terms of the knowledge-based threshold required of the user.

Due to the current high levels of urbanisation and the lingering effects of Apartheid, South African municipalities have experienced difficulties in planning for sustainability and more specifically sustainable community development. Sustainable community development is needed in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable towns and cities with an improved urban environment and a higher quality of life. Due to this sustainable community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Although policies and legislation exist at international, national and local level, there is a lack of suitable planning instruments to guide sustainable community development. Tlokwe Local Municipality is researched as study area to test and develop planning instruments for sustainable community development. An assessment matrix of sustainability indicators is linked to Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and applied to identify the themes and sub-themes applicable to sustainability in which intervention is required to improve the sustainability rating of the municipality. A Goal Assessment Matrix (GAM) approach is used to score and prioritise municipal projects, plans and strategies according to sustainable community development fundamentals. The top scoring projects are indicative of the achievement of sustainable community development goals and objectives. The result of the sustainability assessment is that the Tlokwe Local Municipality is considered to be relatively sustainable, performing overall better than the three spheres of government against which it was measured. Subsequent to the GAM assessment a lack of alignment between the sectoral plans was identified as well as the duplication of projects. The projects, plans and strategies of the municipality are found to not have been formulated with sustainable community development framework as a guiding goal. It is recommended that municipalities use the assessment matrix methods to determine its level of sustainability when developing respective sectoral plans (SDFs, ITPs, EMFs and IDPs). Areas in which there is a lack of sustainability are highlighted and can consequently be addressed through intervention strategies. Prioritising municipal projects, plans and strategies through the use of GAM identifies crucial projects that need special attention to ensure their successful implementation as this will largely aid sustainable community development. Both the assessment matrix method and the GAM approach are valuable planning instruments with which to achieve sustainable community development. / Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Due to the current high levels of urbanisation and the lingering effects of Apartheid, South African municipalities have experienced difficulties in planning for sustainability and more specifically sustainable community development. Sustainable community development is needed in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable towns and cities with an improved urban environment and a higher quality of life. Due to this sustainable community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Although policies and legislation exist at international, national and local level, there is a lack of suitable planning instruments to guide sustainable community development. Tlokwe Local Municipality is researched as study area to test and develop planning instruments for sustainable community development. An assessment matrix of sustainability indicators is linked to Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and applied to identify the themes and sub-themes applicable to sustainability in which intervention is required to improve the sustainability rating of the municipality. A Goal Assessment Matrix (GAM) approach is used to score and prioritise municipal projects, plans and strategies according to sustainable community development fundamentals. The top scoring projects are indicative of the achievement of sustainable community development goals and objectives. The result of the sustainability assessment is that the Tlokwe Local Municipality is considered to be relatively sustainable, performing overall better than the three spheres of government against which it was measured. Subsequent to the GAM assessment a lack of alignment between the sectoral plans was identified as well as the duplication of projects. The projects, plans and strategies of the municipality are found to not have been formulated with sustainable community development framework as a guiding goal. It is recommended that municipalities use the assessment matrix methods to determine its level of sustainability when developing respective sectoral plans (SDFs, ITPs, EMFs and IDPs). Areas in which there is a lack of sustainability are highlighted and can consequently be addressed through intervention strategies. Prioritising municipal projects, plans and strategies through the use of GAM identifies crucial projects that need special attention to ensure their successful implementation as this will largely aid sustainable community development. Both the assessment matrix method and the GAM approach are valuable planning instruments with which to achieve sustainable community development. / Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Šio baigiamojo magistro darbo tikslas yra patobulinti kiekybinį pastatų gaisrinės saugos ir rizikos vertinimą, įtraukiant gaisrinės saugos (rizikos) rodiklius į daugiatikslės analizės uždavinius. Darbą sudaro dvi pagrindinės dalys. Pirmoje teorinėje darbo dalyje aprašomi kiekybinio gaisro rizikos vertinimo modeliai, gaisro rizikos privalumai ir trūkumai, daugiatikslės analizės modeliai, daugiatikslės analizės uždavinio sprendimas ir sprendimo kriterijai, aptariamas gaisrinės rizikos vertinimo ir daugiatikslės analizės derinimo poreikis. Antroje darbo dalyje yra sprendžiamas daugiatikslio pastato projektavimo uždavinys. Kaip uždavinio objektas pasirenkamas daugiaaukštis administracinis pastatas. Vertinamos trys skirtingos aukštų plano alternatyvos: atviro, koridorinio ir mišraus tipo. Taip pat šiame skyriuje yra apibrėžiami daugiatikslei analizei tinkantys gaisro rizikos rodikliai. Taikant kompiuterinį modeliavimą apskaičiuojami evakuacijos ir nepakeliamų sąlygų laikai, suskaičiuojami ekonominiai rodikliai ir apklausos būdu įvertinamas alternatyvių pastato aukštų patrauklumas. Visi šie rodikliai įtraukiami į daugiatikslės analizės uždavinį ir matematiniu būdu nustatoma geriausia alternatyva. Išsprendus uždavinį pateikiamos išvados ir pasiūlymai. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamas literatūros šaltinių sąrašas. Darbo apimtis – 58 p. teksto be priedų, 22 iliustr., 11 lent., 52 biografiniai šaltiniai. / The aim of this postgraduate thesis is to improve quantitative building fire safety and risk assessment, including fire safety (risk) indicators in the analysis of multi-criteria tasks. The work consists of two main parts. The first part is theoretical, it describes the quantitative fire risk assessment models, fire risk advantages and disadvantages, multi-criteria analytical models as well as the solution of multi-criteria analysis problem and solution parameters. The assessment of fire risk and the need for conformance of the multi-criteria analysis is also discussed. The second part of the work, focuses on the multi-criteria building design task. A multi-storey office building has been selected as the task object. Three different floor plan types are evaluated: open space, one with the corridor and the mixed type. In addition fire risk indicators suitable for the multi-criteria analysis are defined in this section. Using computer modeling times of evacuation, unbearable conditions and economic indicators are calculated, then the attractiveness of alternative building storey is assessed according to a survey. All these indicators are included in the task of multiple-criteria analysis and the best solution is determined using mathematical method. After solving the task at the end of the paper findings and recommendations are presented followed by references. Thesis consist of: 58 p. text without appendixes,22 pictures, 11 tables, 52 bibliographical entries.