A critical review of multicriteria decision analysis practices in planning of urban green spaces and nature-based solutions

Abstract

Green spaces and nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly considered by land-use planning policies to respond to the multiple challenges related to sustainable development. The multiple benefits brought by NBS make the use of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) essential to optimally balance their use. MCDA offers a catalog of methods allowing to structure problems with multiple objectives and to help adopt the optimal solution. However, NBS planning is a recent discipline and research is still ongoing to make this practice more common. We carried out a critical literature review on MCDA-NBS tools and practices, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) method on the Web of Science database. We selected 124 papers on the subject between 2000 and 2022. We present a state-of-the-art MCDA approach for NBS and green space planning by looking at where these practices are applied, why and how this process is conducted, and who is involved in it. We found that studies are usually conducted in the global North on a single case study with the help of experts involved in the criteria weighting phase and the help of GIS MCDA tools often integrating a direct ranking method or the AHP method. HIGHLIGHTS MCDA methods help to consider all NBS benefits and evaluate planning alternatives.; Environmental and social criteria are more represented than economic and technical ones.; Stakeholders are rarely involved throughout the entire MCDA process.; MCDA tools for NBS planning are rarely accessible and adaptable to various contexts.; MCDA processes are mainly conducted in countries of the Global North.;

Keywords

• green spaces
• mcda
• nbs
• planning support