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Journal Article•DOI•

A Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis of the Performance of Global Cities

Karima Kourtit1, Cathy Macharis1, Peter Nijkamp1•
VU University Amsterdam1
01 May 2014-Applied Geography (Elsevier BV)-Vol. 49, pp 24-36
TL;DR: In this article, a multi-criteria methodology for identifying the relative position of various important cities on the basis of distinct assessment criteria is presented, where the explicit consideration of the perceptions of important classes of stakeholders on the performance outcomes of the various cities involved allows for an enhanced policy analysis.
About: This article is published in Applied Geography.The article was published on 2014-05-01 and is currently open access. It has received 41 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Policy analysis.

Summary (2 min read)

Jump to: [Introduction] – [1. Aims and Scope] – [2. Description of the Database] – [3. Results of the MAMCA Model] and [5. Policy Lessons]

Introduction

  • Tinbergen Institute has two locations: Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam Gustav Mahlerplein 117 1082 MS.
  • Duisenberg school of finance is a collaboration of the Dutch financial sector and universities, with the ambition to support innovative research and offer top quality academic education in core areas of finance.
  • The present paper aims to trace to what extent and why some cities outperform others.
  • Urbanisation, global cities, multi-criteria analysis, performance, stakeholders, MAMCA, PROMETHEE, GAIA * Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands Pn585kkmc 1, also known as Keywords.

1. Aims and Scope

  • In their urban century the majority of the people on their planet will live in cities.
  • A spatial concentration of activities, involving spatial and social proximity, increases the opportunities for interaction and knowledge transfer, while the resulting spillover effects reduce the cost of obtaining and processing knowledge.
  • Cities offer in this context an enormously rich potential for a wide array of innovative business opportunities.
  • This megatrend does not only mean a quantitative change in the share of inhabitants in urban areas in the national territory, but also a qualitative transformation of both a socioeconomic and political nature.

2. Description of the Database

  • Cities are engines of economic power but also nodes in global networks.
  • This idea formed the basis of the creation of the above-mentioned GPCI database.
  • This extensive GPCI database offers also the possibility for benchmarking of each individual city, in terms of strength and weakness regarding each individual performance indicator.
  • In addition, the importance of these indicators was carefully assessed by 5 distinct groups of 4    stakeholders, viz.

3. Results of the MAMCA Model

  • The authors study has tried to identify the potentially most powerful global city – measured in terms of 6 main criteria and a vast set of subcriteria – by applying an appropriate multi-criteria model, coined MAMCA.
  • MAMCA is a member of the family of multi-criteria analysis methods which have gained much popularity over the past decades.
  • Berlin, Amsterdam and Brussels appear to show the same pattern with always the same ranking, but Singapore is clearly very attractive for doing business, but clearly, much less attractive for the class of artists.
  • It may be added that also for the class of top-10 GPCI cities the strength-weakness profile for a given class of stakeholders, for example, the class of visitors, can again be mapped out, so that a more detailed view on the positive and negative aspects of a city for that specific actor can be provided .
  • This kind of analysis can show the most prominent and interesting interactions between the criteria at hand.

5. Policy Lessons

  • The above analysis has brought to light important findings on the relative position of major cities in their world.
  • Contrasting Regional, National and Global Perspectives, also known as The World’s Cities.
  • The design of operational synergies in multicriteria-analysis, also known as “PROMETHEE and AHP.

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Citations
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Journal Article•DOI•
Reviewing the Use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for the Evaluation of Transport Projects: Time for a Multi-Actor Approach

[...]

Cathy Macharis1, Annalia Bernardini1•
Vrije Universiteit Brussel1
01 Jan 2015-Transport Policy
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for transport project appraisal can be found, where the authors provide an outline of the increasing use of MCDA methods in the evaluation of transport projects.

227 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Smart Cities Governance

[...]

Walter Castelnovo1, Gianluca Misuraca, Alberto Savoldelli•
University of Insubria1
01 Dec 2016-Social Science Computer Review
TL;DR: Building on a review of the literature and practice in the field, this paper proposes a performance assessment framework that overcomes the limitations of existing approaches and contributes to filling the current gap in the knowledge base in this domain.
Abstract: Most of the definitions of a ?smart city? make a direct or indirect reference to improving performance as one of the main objectives of initiatives to make cities ?smarter?. Several evaluation approaches and models have been put forward in literature and practice to measure smart cities. However, they are often normative or limited to certain aspects of cities' ?smartness?, and a more comprehensive and holistic approach seems to be lacking. Thus, building on a review of the literature and practice in the field, this paper aims to discuss the importance of adopting a holistic approach to the assessment of smart city governance and policy decision making. It also proposes a performance assessment framework that overcomes the limitations of existing approaches and contributes to filling the current gap in the knowledge base in this domain. One of the innovative elements of the proposed framework is its holistic approach to policy evaluation. It is designed to address a smart city's specificities and can benefit from the active participation of citizens in assessing the public value of policy decisions and their sustainability over time. We focus our attention on the performance measurement of codesign and coproduction by stakeholders and social innovation processes related to public value generation. More specifically, we are interested in the assessment of both the citizen centricity of smart city decision making and the processes by which public decisions are implemented, monitored, and evaluated as regards their capability to develop truly ?blended? value services-that is, simultaneously socially inclusive, environmentally friendly, and economically sustainable.

181 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
A military airport location selection by AHP integrated PROMETHEE and VIKOR methods

[...]

Bahar Sennaroglu1, Bahar Sennaroglu2, Gulsay Varlik Celebi2•
Anglia Ruskin University1, Marmara University2
01 Mar 2018-Transportation Research Part D-transport and Environment
TL;DR: In this paper, a location selection problem for a military airport using multiple criteria decision making methods is presented and the decision criteria to evaluate alternative locations are specified, and the objective is to identify the best location among candidate locations.
Abstract: This paper presents a location selection problem for a military airport using multiple criteria decision making methods. A real-world decision problem is presented and the decision criteria to evaluate alternative locations are specified. The objective is to identify the best location among candidate locations. Nine main criteria and thirty-three sub-criteria are identified by taking into account not only requirements for a military airport such as climate, geography, infrastructure, security, and transportation but also its environmental and social effects. The criteria weights are determined using AHP. Ranking and selection processes of four alternatives are carried out using PROMETHEE and VIKOR methods. Furthermore, the results of PROMETHEE and VIKOR methods are compared with the results of COPRAS, MAIRCA and MABAC methods. All methods suggest the same alternative as the best and produce the same results on the rankings of the location alternatives. One-way sensitivity analysis is carried out on the main criteria weights for all methods. Statistically significant correlations are observed between the rankings of the methods. Therefore, it is concluded that PROMETHEE, VIKOR, COPRAS, MAIRCA and MABAC methods can be successfully used for location selection problems and in general, for other types of multi-criteria decision problems with finite number of alternatives.

170 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
A Unified Smart City Model USCM for Smart City Conceptualization and Benchmarking

[...]

Marijn Janssen1, Leonidas Anthopoulos, Vishanth Weerakkody2•
Delft University of Technology1, Brunel University London2
01 Apr 2016
TL;DR: Different conceptualization, benchmarks and evaluations of the smart city concept are reviewed, shedding light to parameters that can be measured and controlled in an attempt to improve smart city potential and leaves space for corresponding future research.
Abstract: Smart cities have attracted an extensive and emerging interest from both science and industry with an increasing number of international examples emerging from all over the world. However, despite the significant role that smart cities can play to deal with recent urban challenges, the concept has been being criticized for not being able to realize its potential and for being a vendor hype. This paper reviews different conceptualization, benchmarks and evaluations of the smart city concept. Eight different classes of smart city conceptualization models have been discovered, which structure the unified conceptualization model and concern smart city facilities i.e., energy, water, IoT etc., services i.e., health, education etc., governance, planning and management, architecture, data and people. Benchmarking though is still ambiguous and different perspectives are followed by the researchers that measure -and recently monitor-various factors, which somehow exceed typical technological or urban characteristics. This can be attributed to the broadness of the smart city concept. This paper sheds light to parameters that can be measured and controlled in an attempt to improve smart city potential and leaves space for corresponding future research. More specifically, smart city progress, local capacity, vulnerabilities for resilience and policy impact are only some of the variants that scholars pay attention to measure and control.

138 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Sustainable urban freight transport in megacities in emerging markets

[...]

Bram Kin1, Sara Verlinde1, Cathy Macharis1•
Vrije Universiteit Brussel1
01 Jul 2017-Sustainable Cities and Society
TL;DR: In this article, a theoretical framework is developed which is subsequently applied on literature to analyze the UFT system in megacities in emerging markets, showing that demand in different supply chains is fragmented as well as the transport.

87 citations

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Smart cities in Europe

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Andrea Caragliu, C. Del Bo, Peter Nijkamp
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Frequently Asked Questions (1)
Q1. What are the contributions mentioned in the paper "A multi-actor multi-criteria analysis of the performance of global cities" ?

The present paper aims to trace to what extent and why some cities outperform others. Starting from an extensive database on many important characteristics of global cities, this paper offers a multi-criteria methodology for identifying the relative position of various important cities on the basis of distinct assessment criteria. From a technical assessment perspective, the applied part of the paper employs the MAMCA and PROMETHEE multi-criteria methodology, which have proven their analytical power in various multi-criteria evaluation problems over the past years. The paper concludes with some policy perspectives and lessons.