Detailed Sponge City Planning Based on Hierarchical Fuzzy Decision-Making: A Case Study on Yangchen Lake

We proposed a Hierarchical Fuzzy Inference System (HFIS) framework to offer better decision supports with fewer user-defined data (uncertainty). The framework consists two parts: a fuzzified Geographic Information System (GIS) and a HFIS system. The former provides comprehensive information on the criterion unit and the latter helps in making more robust decisions. The HFIS and the traditional Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method were applied to a case study and compared. The fuzzified GIS maps maintained a majority of the dominant characteristics of the criterion unit but also revealed some non-significant information according to the surrounding environment. The urban planning map generated by the two methods shares similar strategy choices (6% difference), while the spatial distribution of strategies shares 69.7% in common. The HFIS required fewer subjective decisions than the MCDM (34 user-defined decision rules vs. 141 manual evaluations).