Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE)

Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) is an application that assists and guides a user in doing Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) in a spatial way.

As input for the application, you need to build a criteria tree:

  1. specify a main goal and supply a name for the final output map,
  2. optionally, add groups to the main goal; a group is supposed to contain multiple factors,
  3. add criteria to the main goal, and specify whether a criterion is a factor or a constraint.

For each factor and for each constraint, you need to specify a name as text (like a description), and an input map or input attribute column.

A criteria tree lists and defines:

The initial output of the operation are so-called 'composite index' raster maps. These maps combine all input data according to the rules for weighing and standardization of the factors and/or constraints.

The output maps show the suitability for the goal that was set, and can be an aid in planning and decision-making.