826 relevant conditions and priorities are reflected. Step 2 involves translating the regional system into a simplified planning representation based on nodes and connections, where nodes represent sources, demands, storage elements, and junctions, each characterised by capacity or demand attributes. Alternative development and climate scenarios are then defined to represent plausible future conditions in terms of demand growth, source availability, and planning constraints, allowing the system to be evaluated under uncertainty. Step 3 performs spatial layout optimisation using a least-cost path approach in a GIS environment. A cost surface is constructed to represent relative penalties for infrastructure placement, accounting for environmental and social sensitivities. Least-cost paths between node pairs are identified, generating a set of candidate pipeline routes with associated attributes such as length and elevation change. Step 4 applies a computational decision-support tool, that uses optimization algorithms, to optimise the water supply network by selecting which candidate connections are activated and allocating flows to meet demands, subject to mass balance and capacity constraints. System performance is evaluated using a multicriteria structure that makes trade-offs between economic efficiency, environmental impact, and social considerations explicit. Step 5 focuses on result analysis and interpretation, using spatial visualisation and performance indicators to compare shared and project-based infrastructure configurations and to support deliberation. Step 6 closes the process through iteration, as insights gained from the analysis are used to refine assumptions, scenarios, and cost representations, enabling the identification of robust and socially acceptable infrastructure strategies. Figure 1 – Overview of the participatory methodological framework. (adapted from Pagliero et al., 2024)
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