Applying fuzzy majority C approach for determining optimal sites for urban footbridge (A case Study in district #1 of Mashhad)

The installation of traffic and safety equipment in roads can play an important role in preventing accidents. Meanwhile, the role of pedestrian footbridge is more significant than other equipment. The lack of proper and optimal site selection of urban facilities, including pedestrian urban footbridge, reduces their use by public and increases accidents. Today, integration of participatory multicriteria decision analysis techniques with the capabilities of GIS provide exclusive tools for urban planners and decision makers. People can contribute to spatial decision making processes by entering their own concerns, attitudes, and preferences in the group decision making process for solving different urban problems. This study aims to solve the problem of optimal location of urban footbridge in Mashhad city by considering the criteria and using multi-criteria decision-making methods in two individuals and group modes. In this study, the individual mode of decision uses a number of criteria (spatial and non-spatial) in order to evaluate alternatives and also implements Order Weighted Average (OWA) operator for assessing and ranking the alternatives presented to decision-maker. In the group mode, Fuzzy majority decision rule approach is employed to integrate individual rankings of alternatives into group rankings. In other words, it integrates the individual solution maps into a single group decision map. In this way, the alternatives were evaluated to select the most suitable location for the construction of urban footbridge in the city of Mashhad. Consequently, according to the decision-makers’ preferences, the main streets of Ahmadabad, Faramarz Abbasi, Palestine and Water organization were ranked for the construction of a footbridge, respectively.