Land development suitability analysis for transport planning evaluation and optimization in mountainous ecological region

Transportation planning is a critical component for creating an orderly, intensive, and sustainable pattern of land development. By comprehensively considering the potential and suitability of transport construction, a comprehensive method combining resources and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) and land development suitability (LDS) was developed by using techniques of GIS, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and three-dimensional magic cube. Taking Aba prefecture in Sichuan Province of Southwest China as a case study, LDS for transportation was analyzed from three aspects, including overall planning layout, different transport modes, and transportation projects. The results showed that the transport planning scales of most counties in Aba were suitable, and the order of LDS of different transport modes was railway > highway = superhighway > tourism track, which already included 42 new transportation projects. We found that two counties (Maoxian County and Jiuzhaigou County) should improve the ecological protection level of transportation, in which the railway network construction should be encouraged, and some transportation projects with low LDS should be postponed or constructed harmlessly. We suggest the combination of RECC and LDS for transportation could enhance the territorial space optimization and sustainable transport construction.