Aplicação do método de apoio multicritério à decisão na escolha de pavimentos urbanos: estudo de caso em São Carlos/SP

Abstract

As a result of the expansion of cities, the need for urban pavement in Brazil is very significant. Urban pavement benefits all citizens by providing safe and accessible circulation in the urban space. However, pavement associated with urbanization may generate significant changes in the environment, with long-term consequences. During the designing of projects of this kind, one must consider that many factors are involved, such as: financial aspects, environmental concerns, and concerns that the project meets relevant technical requirements (durability, comfort, safety, among others). Therefore, choosing a pavement that satisfies all of these goals can become somewhat complex. When researching the literature on studies related to urban pavement, a common research problem was the lack of studies concerning the choice of pavement types. In this context, it was considered that an adequate approach to this issue would be to apply the Multicriteria Decision Analysis Approach (MCDA), which has been widely used in the transport field. Accordingly, this research proposed the creation of a model that can support the decision-making during the choice of urban pavements. The model was created by means of a case study in the city of São Carlos, Brazil, which was developed in three main stages: structuration of the problem, evaluation of different alternatives of urban pavement types, and the recommendations on the most appropriate type of pavement. In the first stage, the context of the decision and the actors involved were defined. Afterwards, interviews were made to establish the structure related to decision-making problem. The evaluation phase of the pavement choices was performed by analyzing their attributes, which were elaborated at various levels of specificity. These attributes were given values that represented the subjectivity of the decision makers. With this data, a numerical value was calculated for each type of pavement using a function where the one with the highest result was the one recommended. Three types of pavements were evaluated: Warm Mixed Asphalt (WMA), Precast Concrete Blocks for Paving (PCBP), and a PCBP type equipped with a structure that allows infiltration and storage of rainwater (permeable PCBP). A sensitivity analysis was performed to validate the results obtained and to support the recommendations. The application of MCDA in this research has provided an in-depth view about the choices of urban pavements, including several attributes, which also expressed the objectives of the actors consulted. During the process of defining the attributes, it was possible to obtain a better understanding of the difficulties in evaluating these objectives, and of the strengths and limitations of each pavement choice. When consulting the decision makers to evaluate each attribute, it was possible to understand which attributes were most relevant for the city managers. As a result of the case study, the WMA pavement was recommended. The model used for this study may be replicated in other realities, and in future transport and planning projects.