Application of Multicriteria Decision Making and Multi-Objective Planning Methods for Evaluating Metropolitan Parks in Terms of Budget and Benefits

Urbanization is inevitable in developed countries. This study investigated the design of metropolitan parks, which are essential for sustainable cities. The developed model examined the suitability of parks in Taichung City, Taiwan, and explored the three aspects of ecological, economic, and social indicators for park design using De Novo planning tools and the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory-based Analytic Network Process. Because the De Novo programming method can redesign budget restrictions, this method can help managers arrange budget programming and reduce the impact of excessive investment on resource utilization in specific projects. After obtaining each factor’s price, the De Novo planning approach can reduce economic and ecological resource input and improve benefits relative to existing resource utilization methods. When assuming a fixed investment of resources, the De Novo planning method moves resources from the economic and ecological aspects of leisure and recreation, thus increasing the total benefit of metropolitan parks. Multicriteria decision-making and multi-objective planning methods can provide an effective solution for evaluating metropolitan parks.