Developing Multi-Criteria System for Prioritization of Urban Developmental Projects Gaza City as a Case Study

Abstract

In the meantime, development projects sometimes targeted unneeded geographical zones without having a clear framework that are based on studying Multi-Criteria of urban zones in term of poverty rates, available resources, current developmental projects, unemployment rates, youth distribution in the urban zones, gender share, ages and all related Multi-Criteria that should be taken into consideration while doing the needs assessment for Human Developmental Projects. Therefore, projects funded by donors or local institutions do not always properly integrate into a comprehensive planning system that correspond consistently with local community needs. So, it is crucial to develop a method for prioritizing the required projects based on the urban planning strategies available in the Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Local Governance and local municipalities. The Thesis discussed how to identify priorities for improvement and to create an optimized program to facilitate access to the measurement of these indicators. The methodology of the research was based on identifying relevant indicators and the weight of each one, in addition to the interrelated nature of the relationship between them. The main results were having a sample of computerized program that could be used to measure these indicators and their weights. Sub-indicators were also proposed based on response of 100 questionnaires that targeted professionals and stakeholders in Gaza City, as needed to help identifying these priorities and how to determine the extent of its power based on economic, social, and environmental aspects, additionally, regional plans and structural elements of local communities were taken into account. The thesis developed a new multi-criteria system using Gaza City urban structure as a case study to help the decision makers in NGO’s and government in ranking developmental projects. The case study constituted a framework for available database for urban planning based on geographical distribution of developmental projects. The Thesis ended up with a framework for three case studies, the development of water networks, water wells and allocation for new schools that can be implemented by most of INGOs and Governmental Organizations in which they will be able to have a systemic approach in doing any needs assessment for urban planning for developmental Projects.