A Spatial Decision-Support Framework for Prioritizing Heritage Villages: Integrating Spatial Analytics and Heritage-Based Planning

Heritage villages are increasingly recognized as important cultural assets that can support conservation, tourism development, and regional regeneration. However, the large number of heritage settlements and the limited availability of conservation resources create a growing need for evidence-based prioritization approaches. The paper develops and applies a Spatial Decision-Support Framework (SDSF) for the prioritization of heritage villages tested in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia. The framework integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis, field-based assessment, stakeholder-informed weighting, and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to evaluate a set of heritage villages using 26 indicators grouped into seven dimensions: authenticity and integrity, cultural and historical significance, environmental and landscape value, tourism potential, community engagement, accessibility and infrastructure, and government and investment feasibility. The results reveal substantial variation in village performance and indicate that heritage significance alone is insufficient to explain prioritization outcomes. Villages with similar heritage characteristics often exhibit markedly different levels of accessibility, tourism readiness, community capacity, and implementation feasibility. The assessment further revealed distinct village performance profiles, demonstrating that settlements with similar heritage value may require substantially different conservation, revitalization, and development strategies. The study highlights the value of integrating heritage assessment with planning-oriented criteria within a single decision-support framework and provides a structured methodology for supporting heritage-led development.