Decision-making in complex sustainability: Using OPTamos in a multi-criteria process for residential area sustainability in suburban metropolitan Jakarta, Indonesia

Numerous studies have shown that the suburban region of Jakarta, commonly known as the Metropolitan suburb, is facing spill-over effects such as a surge in population growth and rapid development of residential areas by private developers. Although these residential areas have a positive impact on the regional economy, they also have adverse effects on the social and environmental aspects of the region, highlighting the need for a policy framework that ensures sustainability and addresses these impacts. To this end, this study proposes an innovative approach that utilizes an iterative transdisciplinary framework for Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process, which engages key stakeholders in the decision-making process. This approach involves a comprehensive review of existing options and the development of new software called OPTamos to manage and process options provided by stakeholders effectively. The approach was applied to the sustainable residential areas decision-making process in South Tangerang and Depok City, which form the hinterland of Metropolitan Jakarta. The results produced acceptable options for sustainable residential areas in the suburban region of Metropolitan Jakarta, which satisfied key stakeholder criteria, and an action plan was formulated accordingly.