Cooperative scenario building in environmental planning: Agents, roles, architectures

The new complexity of planning knowledge implies innovation of planning methods, in both substance and procedure. In this concern, an increasing number of experiences on multi-agent interactions is today located within processes of spatial and environmental planning. Case studies have not been deliberately set up using formalized and/or predefined multi-agent-system layouts. Therefore, a multi-agent approach and supporting system (MAS) emerged in a bottom-up fashion, driven by the needs demanded by the activities carried out. However, such approaches have not been formalized properly to date. The present paper aims at scanning experiences on the setting up of cooperative multi-agent systems, in order to investigate the potentials of that approach on the interaction of the agents in planning processes.