Game Theory in Urban Studies: The Motives and Strategies of Stakeholders in Spatial Planning Conflicts

Abstract

The land and property development processes involve interaction between individuals, groups of people, various institutions and governments. The viewpoints of stakeholders involved in the decision-making process differ, which leads to conflicts, unacceptable land use planning, and ultimately results in the process deviating from its objectives. Understanding the decision-making mechanisms of the stakeholders in land-use changes is essential to effectively manage land resources and mitigate conflicts. In other words, in order to achieve planning objectives and gain social welfare, sustainable development and environmental protection, it is important to analyze how actors’ decisions relate and to clarify the relationship between stakeholders. This paper proposes a framework of the game theory to model multi-agent decision-making processes. Consequently, the aim of the paper is to explore the utility and limitations of game-theoretic modeling to analyze and predict actors’ behaviors in relation to land and property development. We provide conditional solutions to general cases and model different stakeholders’ behavior patterns simulating various conflict and competition scenarios. Our research shows that the game theory can be helpful to identify the main strategic decisions in land and property development projects by showing different benefits for stakeholders in their selected strategies and choosing the best balance among all parties involved. Thus, we conclude that game-theoretic modeling can be a useful tool for spatial planning to support decision-making because it provides ways to consider the complexity of strategic interaction and can be used to formulate a sustainable land policy with an optimal derivation of utility for all stakeholders concerned.