Assessing of the possibility of locating electric car charging stations using Fuzzy AHP and GIS - the case of Łódź, Poland

This paper examines the possibility of locating electric vehicle charging stations using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and GIS. The study presents an integrated approach, which can be helpful in spatial planning. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in using alternative power sources for motor vehicles. It is stimulated by top-down factors, such as regulations introduced by the European Commission or the introduction of the so-called “clean transport zones” by some local governments, as well as the bottom-up ones, including the increase in the cost of maintaining fossil fuel-powered cars. Local governments can employ the analysis presented in the paper to find a coherent development strategy for using electric vehicles (EVs) in cities. Based on the verified hypothesis, the Łódź city area has diverse suitability for EV charging stations, with predominant unfavourable regions for such investments. The research aims to find the methodology for performing the suitability analysis to locate new infrastructure elements in an urban space.