This article presents issues related to the development of a system supporting decision-making concerning optimization of development of marginalized rural areas. The described decision-making support system, based on the spatial information systems, could constitute a perfect tool for facilitating the preparation of developmental strategies of marginalized rural areas, for saving money and time and above all for the implementation of the sustainable development principles and for determining long-term simulations of the human effect on the environment. This system can also help in the determination of the developmental directions of restructured rural areas and in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the following types of programs: protective, support or easing of social and economic problems. The GIS technology in this system constitutes a natural frame which provides a comfortable method of analysis and representation of information connected with the spatial and architectural components, data management, allowing the integration of extremely different types of information as well as detailed and general knowledge. The expert system connected with the geographic information system is the most important element of the described decision-making support system. It allows to store complicated knowledge on the natural, economic and social processes in the form of rules. Using a specially developed algorithm, this knowledge is combined with knowledge of natural and anthropogenic forms stored in a specially designed database. This study describes the particular elements of the system and justifies the selection of the presented solutions.

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