GIS Modeling for Landfill Site Selection via Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Utilizing multi-criteria decision analysis as an alternative to traditional screening processes for GIS modeling for landfill site selection (LSS) has attracted significant interest in recent years because of its time and cost savings and its ability to achieve better validation and accuracy. This paper surveys the developments in the modeling of LSS using geographic information systems (GIS) on the basis of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) in the past two decades from 1997 to 2014. Emphasis is placed on the third and fifth stages of the overall applied methodology (selection of weights and decision rules), as well as on the efficiency of the LSS models. From the review, the strengths and limitations of using MCDA for LSS modeling via GIS are identified. Moreover, artificial neural networks instead of MCDA can be used as a new approach in the third and fifth stages of LSS models to enhance validation and accuracy.