Spatial Decision Support System for Low-Income Families

Abstract

Housing relocation or housing mobility is not uncommon in the United States, with the average family relocating once every 6 years. As part of this process, individuals and families take into account a variety of factors. One of the important factors is that of transportation and its availability. Various researchers have studied the impact of transportation information on relocation choice. However, the need for a structured methodology that incorporates various factors, such as transportation, has been highlighted from a study of the current practice of relocation counseling. The objectives of this paper are threefold: (a) to develop an analytical hierarchy process to rank census tracts for relocation purposes of individuals, (b) to present a prototype of the spatial decision support system (SDSS) with an example, and (c) to evaluate the impact of relocation choice of individuals by using a spatially unconstrained approach. With data from the six-county northeastern Illinois region, the SDSS is developed and showcased with the help of a sample application. Two scenarios are tested for each respondent. The first is based on only housing criteria, and the second compares all criteria in the analytical hierarchy process matrix with each other. The improvements in travel time determined from the results of the two scenarios are compared, and the results are discussed to highlight the salient features of the decision support system.