Fuzzy multiple criteria decision-making assessment of urban conservation in historic districts: Case study of Wenming Historic Block in Kunming City, China

Like most historic district in China, Wenming Historic Block in Kunming City is facing complex problems in the process of a property-led urban conservation project. This study presents the methodology of fuzzy multiple criteria decision-making (FMCDM) to figure out the most problematic issues among stakeholders in the process of urban conservation. First, this study reviewed related papers and government documents and then conducted fieldwork. This process made it possible to confirm the status quo of the urban conservation project in Wenming Historic Block. Thereafter, this study assessed the project. FMCDM was used to reveal the priority criteria of different stakeholder groups using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and to figure out the most problematic factors in the process of urban conservation with fuzzy simple additive weighting (FSAW) under the evaluation of four stakeholder groups. The criteria (1) management policy and regulation, (2) public engagement and information openness, and (3) traditional culture protection were identified as the most problematic issues in the project. Finally, the most problematic issues are discussed in detail. The result shows that FMCDM is an effective method to evaluate the performance of the urban conservation project.