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Multicriteria Spatial Decision Support Systems

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Encyclopedia of GIS

Synonyms

Spatial multicriteria decision support systems

Definition

A spatial decision support system (SDSS) is an interactive, computer-based system designed to support a user or a group of users in achieving a higher effectiveness of decision making while solving a semi-structured spatial decision problem (Malczewski 1999). It lies at the intersection of two major trends in the spatial sciences: geographic information sciences and spatial analysis (Malczewski 1999). What really differentiates a SDSS and a traditional decision support system (DSS) is the particular nature of the geographic data considered in different spatial problems and the high level of complexity of these problems. An effective SDSS requires enhancing conventional DSS with a range of specific techniques and functionalities used especially to manage spatial data. According to Densham (1991), a SDSS should (i) provide mechanisms for the input of spatial data, (ii) allow representation of spatial relations and...

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Chakhar, S., Mousseau, V. (2017). Multicriteria Spatial Decision Support Systems. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H., Zhou, X. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17885-1_840

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