A spatial decision support system for the management of public housing

摘要

A Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) is a unique tool designed to assisthumans manage real-world challenges. The NSW Department of Housing (DoH)faces increasingly complex problems requiring a balanced consideration of social,environmental and economic factors. Sometimes, these challenges present wickedproblems in which no absolute solution exists, requiring on-going communication andmediation between a range of stakeholders. The limitations of the systems currentlyin use at DoH are being revealed at a micro-urban (sub-cadastral) level. Thispresents the opportunity to test the emerging technologies surrounding three-dimensionalurban visualisation with regard to the DoH situation.Community regeneration targets areas with the most pressing challenges and a longtermfocus is encouraged to best ensure sustainability. In these time frames, thegeographic location of the focus area is one of the few constants. Establishing afoundation of geospatial data and protocols feeds on to create richer informationsystems and explicit knowledge frameworks that are pivotal for providing a highquality of support for spatial decisions. These challenges and opportunities areinternationally unique and, as such, this research makes an original and essentialcontribution to the body of knowledge.The thesis begins by analysing the public housing context in NSW and positions theresearch amongst international parallels. A literature review has been structuredaccording to the hierarchy of data, information and knowledge. The theorysurrounding the built environment, community decision-making, and digitaltechnology is examined and critically focuses on dangers and ethical concerns theabove realm provokes. DoH staff were then interviewed during an informationgathering phase and subsequently, a working prototype SDSS has been built andtested and applied to four case-study areas presenting a diversity of built environsand community types. The prototype modules were then tested with DoH staff andcommunity members in a testing and user evaluation phase. The thesis concludeswith a discussion covering the future directions and research gaps a threedimensionalSDSS brings to the management of public housing and interaction withthe communities involved. Recommendations are proposed along with speculation asto how appropriate the SDSS model is to other government departments with similarportfolios.