<s>
Suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
is	O
the	O
process	O
and	O
procedures	O
used	O
to	O
establish	O
the	O
suitability	O
of	O
a	O
system	O
–	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
of	O
a	O
system	O
to	O
meet	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
a	O
stakeholder	O
or	O
other	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
GIS	B-Application
(	O
a	O
computerized	O
method	O
that	O
helps	O
to	O
determine	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
)	O
was	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
mid	O
to	O
late	O
20th	O
century	O
,	O
city	O
planners	O
communicated	O
their	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
ideas	O
by	O
laying	O
transparencies	O
in	O
increasing	O
darkness	O
over	O
maps	O
of	O
the	O
present	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
technique	O
's	O
descendant	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
application	O
called	O
multicriteria	O
decision	O
analysis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
feed	O
a	O
growing	O
population	O
that	O
is	O
pushing	O
on	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
extensively	O
farm	O
,	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
is	O
becoming	O
more	O
necessary	O
to	O
utilize	O
the	O
most	O
productive	O
land	O
to	O
its	O
fullest	O
potential	O
,	O
matching	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
plants	O
more	O
carefully	O
to	O
the	O
existing	O
assets	O
in	O
the	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
track	O
and	O
label	O
potential	O
hazards	O
,	O
like	O
earthquakes	O
,	O
contamination	O
,	O
or	O
even	O
crime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Overlay	O
analysis	O
is	O
a	O
common	O
method	O
for	O
creating	O
a	O
suitability	O
model	O
which	O
involves	O
using	O
GIS	B-Application
techniques	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
in	O
this	O
step	O
that	O
data	O
must	O
be	O
gathered	O
and	O
layers	O
created	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
it	O
may	O
be	O
known	O
that	O
deforestation	O
usually	O
happens	O
a	O
certain	O
distance	O
from	O
city/road/agricultural	O
areas	O
,	O
therefore	O
a	O
Euclidean	O
distance	O
tool	O
(	O
within	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
software	I-Application
package	O
)	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
distance	O
raster	O
around	O
these	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
a	O
common	O
number	O
scale	O
should	O
be	O
chosen	O
(	O
usually	O
1	O
to	O
9	O
for	O
a	O
weighted	O
overlay	O
and	O
0	O
to	O
1	O
for	O
a	O
fuzzy	O
overlay	O
;	O
with	O
larger	O
values	O
signifying	O
more	O
favorable	O
areas	O
)	O
and	O
each	O
dataset	O
reclassified	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
scale	O
(	O
there	O
should	O
be	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
this	O
in	O
most	O
GIS	B-Application
applications	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
in	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
context	O
is	O
a	O
geographic	O
,	O
or	O
GIS-based	O
process	O
used	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
appropriateness	O
of	O
a	O
given	O
area	O
for	O
a	O
particular	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
premise	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
is	O
that	O
each	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
landscape	O
has	O
intrinsic	O
characteristics	O
that	O
are	O
to	O
some	O
degree	O
either	O
suitable	O
or	O
unsuitable	O
for	O
the	O
activities	O
being	O
planned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
GIS	B-Application
suitability	O
model	O
typically	O
answers	O
the	O
question	O
,	O
"	O
Where	O
is	O
the	O
best	O
location	O
?	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Land	O
use	O
analysis	O
:	O
Land-use	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
requires	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
(	O
Geographic	B-Application
Information	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
)	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
survey	O
geographical	O
suitability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
jurisdictions	O
use	O
land	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
for	O
site	O
selection	O
,	O
impact	O
studies	O
,	O
and	O
land	O
use	O
planning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retail	O
site	O
selection	O
:	O
Suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
is	O
critical	O
for	O
both	O
marketing	O
and	O
merchandising	O
purposes	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
choosing	O
new	O
retail	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
possibility	O
space	O
is	O
a	O
framework	O
that	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
analysis	O
of	O
all	O
possible	O
consequences	O
and	O
benefits	O
of	O
a	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Values	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
:	O
Human	O
values	O
(	O
like	O
aesthetic	O
preferences	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
suitability	B-Application
analysis	I-Application
comes	O
back	O
into	O
play	O
here	O
by	O
helping	O
planners	O
prioritize	O
which	O
need	O
is	O
greater	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
the	O
example	O
,	O
is	O
housing	O
or	O
agricultural	O
land	O
more	O
necessary	O
in	O
light	O
of	O
economic	O
or	O
demand	O
pressure	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
