Site Selection Criteria for Temporary Sheltering in urban environment by Using Geographical Information System and Fuzzy Logic

The inevitable occurrence of natural disasters and crisis arising from them causes a lot of losses globally, particularly in disaster-prone countries such as Iran. One of the main issues considered by organizations involved in crisis management is the selection of suitable sites for temporary sheltering for disaster victims. This study was carried out to choose safe places to establish temporary sheltering in urban environment. Initially, relevant factors are identified by reviewing literature and through consultation of disaster experts in the capital city of Iran. Next, the important layers were collected and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to assess the criteria weights based on their effectiveness on selection of safe sites for temporary sheltering. Finally for integrating layers of factors, overlay and fuzzy models were used in GIS environment and subsequently, a proper map was prepared and suitable areas were identified. In this study, 19 factors in 7 main criteria have been selected which have positive and negative effect on locating of the temporary sheltering. The results of fuzzy model in this study provide more accurate and limited safe areas for temporary sheltering when compared to index overlay model. The results of this study can help planners and local and regional authorities to better manage the temporary sheltering site selection in Iran

Keywords:

Temporary sheltering , urban environment , Index overlay , Fuzzy logic , crisis planning