Promoting Regional Planning Dialogue Through Multi-Criteria Analysis and GIS: Improving the Decision-Making Process
Planning a section of a 15-km linear park has generated a delicate situation in the regional county municipality of Portneuf (Quebec, Canada). Faced with discontent among some citizens groups, the county had to define a course of action based on five management designs proposed by the different groups of promoters involved. Since consultations resulted in an impasse, opponents have taken the case before the courts. This paper, based on our doctorate thesis work, attempts to demonstrate how a well-balanced methodological approach that incorporates a planning system of reference, geographic information system (GIS) tools and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) can sometimes help to set apart the preferences of regional players to promote negotiations and simplify the decision-making process.