Comparative review of methods supporting decision-making in urban development and land management

This paper discusses how and where technologies supporting decision-making can play, or are already playing, a role in both urban development and land management. The review analyzes and compares three types of technologies: cellular automata (CA), artificial intelligence (AI), and operational research (OR), and evaluates to which extent they can be useful when dealing with various land planning objectives and phases. CA is one of the most useful models for simulating urban growth, AI displays great potential as a solution to capture the dynamics of land change, and OR is useful in decision-making, for example to conduct locational analyses. The evaluation relies on a collection of relevant articles, selected on the basis of both content and actuality. The paper offers new perspectives towards innovative methods in urban planning and land management and highlights where and when which type of tool can be considered useful and valid. The existing gaps, i.e., phases or areas in spatial planning or land management where the methods have not been applied, are also discussed.