In the context of territorial development, we introduce a novel decision support framework aimed at identifying, characterising, and prioritising spatially explicit strategic corridors, with a focus on their developmental processes. These corridors offer opportunities for directing investments into transportation and urban systems from a “policy-first” perspective.
We outline the development process and delineate the structure of a domain model for strategic corridors, which is constructed upon both conceptual and behavioural models documented in Unified Modeling Language (UML). This domain model, driven by standards, is designed to translate requirements into technical components, ensuring interoperability while allowing for flexible extensions.
UML models facilitate adherence to ISO/TC 211 and INSPIRE standards and leverage best practices in data integration from diverse stakeholders across various spatial scales. Beginning with policy scenarios, we streamline the required data to a minimum, derive and merge numerous quantitative indicators, and utilise spatial data to rank strategic corridors across different policy scenarios.
We apply this integrated framework across the entire African continent, where we identify, characterise, and rank 55 terrestrial corridors using policy-driven utility functions and indicator weights. For selected strategic corridors, we propose the identification of sub-corridors, incorporate feedback from local stakeholders, refine scenarios with investment priorities, and conduct recursive characterisation and ranking of sub-corridors, focusing on areas ripe for intervention and development.
This innovative framework serves as a systematic foundation for developing diverse applications, fostering interoperability across domains. It enables the transferability of the decision support framework to assess potential investment opportunities at various spatial scales across different regions of the world.
KUCAS Andrius;
TÓTH Katalin;
SULIS Patrizia;
KOMPIL Mert;
PROIETTI Paola;
MAISTRALI Antigoni;
OLIETE JOSA Sergio;
GEORGELIN Lenaic;
KAVALOV Boyan;
2026-09-17
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
JRC138649
1435-5949 (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC138649,
10.1007/s10109-026-00491-w (online),
| Name | Country | City | Type |
|---|
This document is only visible at the Commission level.
You are not authorized to publish or distribute it outside the European Commission.
This is a public document. You can share this publication.
Datasets
| ID | Title | Public URL |
|---|
Dataset collections
| ID | Acronym | Title | Public URL |
|---|
Scripts / source codes
| Description | Public URL |
|---|
Additional supporting files
| File name | Description | File type |
|---|