Multicriteria analysis model for urban open space renovation. An application for Rome

Urban public open space has continuously played a significant role in enhancing the quality of life of urban inhabitants and in supporting urban metabolism. However, open space has experienced a physical and social decline, while its heterogeneity and richness is often neglected and its contribution to the well-being of a community ignored within current planning instruments. Therefore, the aim of the research presented in this study is to develop a multicriteria analysis (MCA) method to support the decision process of open space renovation and the selection of a renovation scenario. The method is based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and adapts existing models and criteria to the investigation field. It is applied by means of a computer-based tool, which permits an ex-ante evaluation of alternative projects, rating them against several weighted objectives using a set of indicators, thus combining the common design practice of scenario planning with a multicriteria analysis. In order to clarify the tool operation, this article illustrates its application to a theoretical case, which represents a conceivable public open space renovation in a simplified way. The choice of a theoretical case, instead of an actual one, permits us to follow the process without referring to a specific situation, in order to have a general overview of the MCA method's implementation. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.