Land Use Planning: A Decision Support System

The NERC/ESRC Land Use Programme has led to the development of a decision support system (DSS) for land use planning. A conceptual framework for DSS development has been modified to encompass the unique needs of a system which aims to deal with a wide range of land use issues. Large volumes of diverse, land use related data have been brought together into a central database using geographical information system and relational database management system technology. The data, as well as economic, ecological and hydrological modelling capabilities, are made available to the decision maker via a user-friendly graphical interface specifically designed for this project.