A whole life cycle group decision-making framework for sustainability evaluation of major infrastructure projects

The success of public major infrastructure projects (MIPs) is becoming a dominant driving force of new-type and sustainable urbanization boom in China. Sustainability evaluation of MIPs is essentially a group decision-making (GDM) process, involving various parties influenced by MIPs. Furthermore, complicated and dynamic decision-making information from group decision-makers is determined by the multi-level and multi-dimensional decision-making attributes of whole life cycle (WLC) infrastructure sustainability. More importantly, how the public stakeholders can integrate the dynamic interactive decision-making information from group decision-makers is indeed significant to achieve the sustainability goal. This research, therefore, aims to develop a comprehensive evaluation indicator system of infrastructure sustainability as GDM attributes through establishing an operational Sustainability Breakdown Structure (SBS) framework. Moreover, from a WLC perspective, a conceptual Dynamic Interactive Coordination based GDM (DIC-GDM) framework is going to be established for determining GDM attributes’ evaluation weights and integrating GDM information of MIPs sustainability evaluation. Combining with the SBS, the DIC-GDM framework will objectively and scientifically normalize the MIPs sustainability evaluation process under public participation. Consequently, main findings will not only valuable in theoretical framework innovation of GDM and sustainability evaluation, but also certainly significant in realizing long-term MIPs sustainability in urbanization practices from a public participation perspective.