A Decision Support Method for Facility Relocation Planning due to Population Decrease

Abstract

Population decrease requires a reorganization of urban structure. Relocation of urban facilities and development of public transport systems are both indispensable for achieving compact and sustainable cities. This paper proposes a new decision support method for facility relocation planning based on spatial optimization. Multiple plans of facility relocation are derived by solving spatial optimization problems. The plans are quantitatively evaluated by summary statistics and graphically visualized by maps. Interpretation of tables and maps permits us to understand the relationship between the distribution of facilities and their users. This leads us to compare and evaluate a wide variety of facility planning that includes not only the closure of existing facilities but also their extension, development of complex facilities and improvement of transport accessibility. The method is applied to the relocation planning of elementary schools in an urban area of Japan. This paper illustrates a concrete usage of the method proposed and provides empirical findings.