Title: Creating GIS-based spatial interaction models for retail centres in Jeddah City

Authors: Abdulkader A. Murad

Addresses: Faculty of Environmental Design, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80210, Jeddah-21589, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: Spatial interaction models are used today in facilities planning research for predicting and for allocating flows of demand between origin and destination areas based on the attractiveness of each facility and based on the distance between facilities and demand areas. These models have been adapted to a wide range of application areas including predicting flows of people to shops, offices, schools, and hospitals. The aim of this paper is to use GIS for producing spatial interaction models for two retail centres Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. These models are created using ArcGIS software and using the interaction function which is available within the network analysis module. To produce these models, detailed geo-database was created that covers location of retail centres, the capacity of each centre, the size of centres demand at the study area, and road network coverage for Jeddah City. The created models can be used by city planners for identifying areas of the city that are poorly served by existing retail centres. In addition, these models can be used to define the impacts of expanding retail supply and or retail demand at the study area.

Keywords: GIS; geographic information systems; spatial interaction models; retail centres; retail demand; Saudi Arabia; facilities planning; modelling; geo-database; urban planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2014.059755

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2014 Vol.15 No.3, pp.358 - 372

Published online: 07 Jun 2014 *

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