MULTICRITERIA EVALUATION FOR REGIONAL PLANNING: SOME PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES

The paper discusses the experience the authors have obtained in the application of multicriteria techniques to a location analysis of a politically sensitive subject, i.e., the future gravel production in the Dutch province of Limburg. In the study explicit attention had to be given to all dimensions of the problem due to the use of qualitative and quantitative criteria and alternative weighting schemes. It appears that a multicriteria approach can be a helpful method to stimulate and structure discussions. Therefore the study has been instructive for all participants. The study also illustrates that the success or failure of an approach is strongly related to the people who are directly involved in the project and the organizational and social circumstances in which a project functions. The paper focusses mainly on the methodological experience and findings.