ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the prototype and its main components. A Decision Support System (DSS) is a computer-based information system intended to help people to compile useful information, identify issues, assess them and help in making decisions. The basis of geospatial decision support is the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The BRIDGE project illustrated the advantages of considering environmental issues in urban planning, by focusing on specific components of urban metabolism: energy, water, carbon and pollutant fluxes. The simulation models are the most essential components of the BRIDGE DSS. The methodology developed in BRIDGE is based on the application of numerical models for assessing the performance of urban planning alternatives, based on environmental and socio-economic indicators. The philosophy behind the method implemented in BRIDGE is to study the behavior of planning alternatives in different decision conditions and to compare the impact on sustainability for each potential implementation.
