Planning support system (PSS)

A planning support system, usually PSS, is a digital tool built to support planning and decision-making in urban and regional development. It brings data and models together so a planner can test what a proposal would do, compare options and see the consequences of a decision before it is taken.

What separates a PSS from GIS software in general is the purpose. A GIS is a general tool for spatial data. A PSS is aimed at a decision, which means it has to produce outputs a non-specialist can act on and discuss, and it has to let someone build and compare scenarios rather than only describe the situation as it is.

The idea has a long research history and a well documented gap between what these tools can do and what planning practice actually adopts. The tools that get used tend to be the ones that answer a question a planner already has, in a form they can put in front of a committee. GOAT is an accessibility instrument in this family, and the research on whether it is useful in practice is in the docs under Scientific Publications.