Land-use evaluation for sustainable construction in a protected area: A case of Sara mountain national park

The process of making decisions on sustainable development and construction begins in spatial and urban planning when defining the suitability of using land for sustainable construction in a protected area (PA) and its immediate and regional surroundings. The aim of this research is to propose and assess a model for evaluating land-use suitability for sustainable construction in a PA and its surroundings. The methodological approach of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis was used in the formation of this model and adapted for the research; it was combined with the adapted Analytical hierarchy process and the Delphi process, and supported by a geographical information system (GIS) within the framework of ESRI ArcGIS software Spatial analyst. The model is applied to the case study of Sara mountain National Park in Kosovo. The result of the model is a map of integrated assessment of land-use suitability for sustainable construction in a PA for the natural factor. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.