Assessing Sustainable and Inclusive Future City Development: An Integrated Indicator Framework Using DEMATEL–ANP

Against the background of globalization, urbanization, and industrialization, cities are facing constant problems due to their large population inflows. These problems include damage to the natural environment, excessive demand for infrastructures, gradually intensified economic inequality, the deprivation of rights of disadvantaged and marginalized groups, and other unsustainable urban development phenomena. To alleviate and resolve these unsustainable urban problems, countries worldwide have dedicated themselves to sustainable urban development. Moreover, issues related to future city development have become complex due to the effects of global climate change, advancements and broad applications of information and communication technology, and promotion of concepts regarding public participation and the collaborative governance. Sustainable future city development is achieved through the integration of the environmental, economic, and social dimensions by considering the interdependence and synergy among them. Future cities must develop a comprehensive urban development framework and an assessment model for evaluating their performance and implementation outcomes in relation to each development objective.Therefore, this study aimed to construct a future city assessment model and employed a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method to obtain quantitative or qualitative measurable attributes for evaluation. This study first reviewed the development concepts, planning standards, and relevant evaluation criteria for sustainable development, smart cities, and inclusive growth to provide a foundation for the future city assessment model. And by applying Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) to select critical criteria. Subsequently, using the MCDM model combining Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) to perceive the interdependence among dimensions, sub-dimensions, and criteria, and then calculate the priority weights of criteria for developing future city. At last, Taichung City’s policy implementation plans in recent years were evaluated and analyzed to validate the proposed evaluation model. And the proposed model may provide a reference for decision makers and planners in making constructive and pioneering decisions with limited resources.