Planning for the suitable? Land use suitability and social and ecological factors for locating a new hazardous facility

A land suitability analysis, one of the oldest forms of decision-making support systems in the field of planning is still referred as an effective decision-helping aid that will enhance the complicate planning decision environment. Also, technological improvements, such as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and personal communication devices have accelerated the movements toward more technical solutions. The GIS implemented decision-making support system is a particularly good way to handle the difficult planning situations. Within this regard, this paper utilizes a suitability analysis to determine the most acceptable location for a proposed landfill facility in Hays County in the State of Texas. Using the Delphi panel discussion, Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP), and map algebra in GIS environment, three most suitable sites for a future landfill facility are identified. This paper also has provided an in-depth overview on the latest decision support systems research and spatial multi-criteria decision sciences. Land suitability analysis is one of many possibilities that GIS could bring to the field of land use planning, and should be studied constantly.