Optimal location model of spas through spatial analysis in the province of Buenos Aires. Argentinian republic

Abstract

The Territorial Ordering (TO) is a process which purpouse is to organize, plan and manage the occupation and use of a territory according to its cultural, biophysics, social,economic and politic characteristics. The territorial ordination is a planned method for preventing problems caused by territorial imbalances, land-use conflicts and/or natural risks. The study area belongs to the surrounding sector of the Epecuén lagoon, localized in the Adolfo Alsina district in the south-west of the Buenos Aires Province. This area is characterized by its lacustrine dynamics, which varies depending on the wet and dry seasons causing negative effects on the places located in the coast and in its activities. The water’s advance and setback complicate the accesses-to health resort, monuments, ruins, etc.-and the use of amusement and recreation spaces. As a consequence of this situation, studying the geographic conditions of the area in order to set up optimal localization sites for a health resort that won’t be affected by the referred dynamics becomes the main objective of the investigation. Through spatial analysis and multicriteria evaluation techniques, it’s been selected, created, considerate and related some relevant geographic variables to determine the optimal sites referred in the objective. That way we have arrived at the final result: a matrix resulting from a linear sum of previously weighted variables,which represents the cells with different degrees of aptitude for the location of a health resort.