Sustainable Site Selection: An AHP-MAUT Decision-Making Approach using a GIS Platform

Abstract

While green building rating systems allow for projects to follow a set of guidelines to construct a healthy, resource-efficient building, a building should only be considered sustainable, in a holistic sense, if a similar level of thought is placed on the project’s site. The US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (USGBC LEED) rating system provides a set of credits related to the site’s location in its Sustainable Sites, Location & Transportation, Energy & Atmosphere, and Regional Priority categories, however these parameters cannot account for the feasibility of these solutions or their financial effectiveness. This study proposes to mitigate this problem utilizing a combined Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multi-Attribute Utility Theorem (MAUT) decision-making tool that will assess several desired site attributes (e.g. cost, distance to public transportation, solar potential) using a set of user-defined attribute weights, via pairwise comparisons, to produce a site score that outlines each location’s desirability and allows for comparisons between the alternatives. The study proposes assessing the desirability of four potential sites (in the state of Florida in the United States) for the location of a low-rise office building seeking LEED certification. A GIS model, constructed predominately from information provided by the Florida Geographic Data Library, will allow for estimating several site parameters that would otherwise be difficult to obtain without on-site analysis. The four project alternatives will be compared based on their site scores and how well they meet the project’s individual goals.