A spatial decision support system for retail plan generation and impact assessment

Current geographic information systems typically offer limited analytical c apabilities and lack the flexibility to support spatial decision making eff ectively. Spatial decision support systems aim to fill this gap. Following this approach, this paper describes an operational system for integrated la nd-use and transportation planning called Location Planner. The system inte grates a wide variety of spatial models in a flexible and easy-to-use probl em solving environment. Users are able to construct a model out of availabl e components and use the model for impact analysis and optimization. Thus, in contrast to existing spatial decision support systems, the proposed syst em allows users to address a wide range of problems. The paper describes th e architecture of the system and an illustrative application. Furthermore, the potentials of the system for land-use and transportation planning are d iscussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.