A Decision-Ready Framework for Sustainable Land-Use Planning Using Design Science Research

Abstract

Sustainable land-use planning involves complex decision-making under multiple, often conflicting objectives, regulatory constraints, and uncertainty. Conventional planning approaches frequently rely on fragmented analyses or case-specific tools that limit transparency, reusability, and defensibility of decisions. To address these limitations, this study applies a Design Science Research (DSR) approach to design and evaluate a decision support framework for sustainable land-use planning. The proposed framework is conceptualized as a reusable decision support artifact that structures land-use decisions through explicit sustainability criteria, feasibility constraints, and uncertainty analysis. It integrates environmental, economic, social, and governance dimensions within a transparent decision workflow, enabling systematic comparison of competing land-use alternatives. In line with DSR principles, the contribution of this study lies in the design of a generalizable framework and associated design knowledge, rather than in the implementation of a specific software system. The framework is demonstrated using a protected-area land-use planning scenario informed by techno-environmental exploration practices in the Bombo-Lumene Hunting Estate and Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evaluation focuses on utility, transparency, and robustness of decision outcomes. Sensitivity analysis is employed to examine the stability and interpretability of alternative rankings under varying planning priorities, complemented by qualitative assessment of decision traceability. The results indicate that the framework supports structured and defensible land-use decision-making by making sustainability trade-offs explicit and by enhancing robustness to changing assumptions. Overall, the study demonstrates the applicability of Design Science Research to spatial planning and sustainability challenges and contributes a decision-ready framework adaptable to diverse land-use planning contexts worldwide.