The concept of web-based spatial decision support system for accessibility analysis

This paper describes the concept of spatial decision support system (SDSS), which combines network analysis and spatial analysis of accessibility with a web-based map service. There are two main objectives of this research: (1) to assess spatial variation of accessibility to certain services within the city area based on network analysis and (2) to share this knowledge with potential users (citizens and local decision makers) in the form of a web-based SDSS. Such system can help people take better decisions regarding location and accessibility (by answering such questions as “Which part of the city has good access to primary schools and parks?”). These questions involve multi-criteria spatial analysis. This article focuses mainly on concepts and theory behind the web-based SDSS, as it is achieved with the help of open source solutions. An open source web-based spatial decision support system is proposed. It is based on GeoServer, which is used as a main data provider. Data is exposed as a WMS service. The web user interface is built using ExtJS and GeoExt frameworks with OpenLayers as a main map client. Finally, dynamic Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD), generated with PHP script is incorporated for creating interactive and user-oriented maps.