Integration of Sustainability Issues in Strategic Transportation Planning: A Multi-criteria Model for the Assessment of Transport Infrastructure Plans

Last decades have witnessed significant advances in transportation planning methodologies, facilitated by the development of computational algorithms, technologies, spatial modeling tools-such as geographical information systems (GIS) and decision support systems (DSS). However, at strategic planning levels, a commonly accepted assessment model integrating the sustainability paradigm is still lacking. This work presents a novel contribution to this research line, with the proposal of a multi-criteria assessment model embedded in a GIS. The criteria have been designed covering the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. This assessment model constitutes an interdisciplinary approach tightly linking network analysis, spatial geography, regional economic, and environmental issues in a GIS-based computer framework. The validity of the methodology is tested with its application in a case study: the extension of the high speed rail (HSR) network included in the Spanish Transport and Infrastructure Plan 2005-2020 (PEIT).