Review of multi-criteria decision aid for integrated sustainability assessment of urban water systems

Integrated sustainability assessment is part of a new paradigm for urban water decision making. Multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) is an integrative framework used in urban water sustainability assessment, which has a particular focus on utilising stakeholder participation. Here MCDA is reviewed in the context of urban water management used in a decision making framework. Three other commonly used integrated approaches in urban water management (cost-benefit analysis, triple bottom line and integrated assessment) are compared with MCDA. Generic types of shortcomings associated with MCDA are discussed to provide an understanding of MCDA's limitation in urban water management decision making; including 1) preferential independency, 2) double counting and under-counting, and 3) transparency of MCDA methods and results.