Planning Assessment
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Sustainable Urban Development in Kermanshah
2023 Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 224-239
Details
2023 Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 224-239
Abstract Urban development in recent decades in Iran has been associated with many damages challenges The city of Kermanshah as a metropolis has not been exempted from this rule Therefore this research has sought to examine the strengths weaknesses of urban development in the city of Kermanshah in Iran The research method is descriptive analytical and has been done with a questionnaire The software used was Excel The statistical population consisted of urban elites university professors and social activists which consisted of 100 people The sampling method was using snowball sampling The findings show that urban development has faced challenges in all economic social environmental dimensions The physical expansion of the city the high economic social poverty of the native people have been among the problems of the urban development of Kermanshah in recent decades However the development of tourism the reduction of urban violence along with the increase of cultural activities are useful solutions for the optimal management of urban development Concerns such as immigration conflicts high cultural ethnic diversity cause challenges for urban development
The ecological knowledge of local residents is a broad academic idea used to describe the traditional knowledge and sustainable development of environmental resources local to a particular area, which is a source of valuable information on the features of the ecosystem (Lee, 2022). The twentieth century can be called the period of return to the natural environment, since communities call attention to the environment, sustainable development, and optimal use of materials instead of focusing solely on the development. The list of issues that threat all systems that are vital for our life, are worrying (Rachel, 1962). Today, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Cities are considered as centers of social and economic development (Varol, Ercoskun et al., 2011). Due to rapid urbanization, the continuous outflow of population from rural areas, aging, and consequent labour shortage and deterioration of the living environment overlapped, resulting in the destruction of the urban and rural environment and loss of traditional culture (Yi and Son, 2022). Therefore, most of problems relate to cities (Connelly, 2007). So, the main manifestation of development and its negative or positive achievements mostly occur in cities (Oliver, 2008). In 1800, only 3 percent and in 1900 almost 14 percent of world’s population lived in urban areas; although this condition is related to 12 cities with a population of about a million people. Urbanization peak in 1950, at this time 30 percent of the world's population was based in urban areas and at the same time unprecedented growth in this area was seen. In 2008, for the first time, the crowd was divided evenly between urban and rural areas. Researchers have shown that by 2030, 6 out of every 10 people will live in cities and by 2050 this proportion will increase to 7. It is predicted that by 2025 about 5 billion people, and in 2050, 75% that is 7 billion people will live in cities (Khazaei and Razavian, 2013). The high rate of urbanization and growing development programs led to environmental, economic and social warnings in the 1970s (Taghvaiee and Asghar Abadi, 2013). The first result of the population growth is environmental issues in various forms of water, air and soil pollution and in social and economic dimensions, led to problems such as imbalanced distribution of resources, lack of services and facilities, differences in land prices, class differences, lack of social justice, and the inadequate distribution of population (Mousa Kazem and Shekoee, 2008). The large cities break the natural cycle of materials and have harmful effects on the environment; however, they show the lowest sensitivity to conservation of nature. Despite the great importance of nature, the use of nature is not appropriate. Currently, humankind is faced to unprecedented challenges in the environmental field. There is a general agreement between environment experts that earth ecosystem can no longer tolerate the current level economic activities (Arjmandnia, 2001). In addition to, the concentration of service provision centers in one location creates up and down poles in the urban districts that lead to the influx of the population to certain areas and entails environmental pressure. Thus, unbalanced distribution of facilities and services has a negative impact on urban sustainability (Rasoolimanesh, Badarulzaman et al., 2011). In response to issues and crises arising from the aforementioned events, concepts and approaches were proposed among which sustainable development, environmental justice, new urbanism and smart development can be named (Taghvaiee and Asghar Abadi, 2013). Hence, the sustainable development plan must respond to climate change, population growth, and the distribution of resources (Rotmans, Van Asselt et al., 2000) because the Sustainable development is a means of solving the economic, social and environmental problems in urban areas (Rasoolimanesh, Badarulzaman et al., 2011).
The sustainable development is one of the main issues in international arena. Environmental organizations and institutions in the world and also the UN are the most important organs involved in this matter. Sustainability was employed for the first time in 1972 at the National Conference of humans and the environment in Stockholm. Also in 1992, it was addressed in the National Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro with the adoption of 21 factors (Whitehead, 2003).
The sustainable development refers to equilibrium between the different dimensions of development that aims to improve the quality of human life (Maleki and Damanbagh, 2013). The most common definition of sustainable development is "the development which meets the needs of today's generation without limiting the possibilities of future generations to meet their needs". In 1991, UN defined sustainable development as a "policy that its implementation provides that the positive benefits of natural resources consumption will continue in the foreseeable future" (Leqaiee and Mohammadzadeh Titkanlo, 1999). In fact, the concept of sustainable development is a response to the challenges facing urban areas such as globalization, decentralization and rapid population growth (Rasoolimanesh, Badarulzaman et al., 2011).
Today, the action plan in agenda 21 is used for providing three essential needs of our time (Willis, 2006):
The sustainable development has several dimensions ranging from environmental, ecological, social, economic, cultural, political and psychological issues (Jansen, 2003) and as long as the indicators are not designed in detail, their implementation will not be possible (Berke and Conroy, 2000). In the study of urban issues in the framework of the sustainable development, it is assumed that if a cost (regardless of the equity mechanisms), is spent on developing infrastructure, urban equipment and services, it will exacerbate inequality between different population groups (Bolay, Pedrazzini et al., 2005). Therefore, the objective of urban sustainable development that is one of the subsets of sustainable development, it can be to achieve balanced development and maintaining economic, social and environmental sustainability. In general, urban development can only be sustainable if it provides specific solutions that present optimal supply for service needs of residents (Moradi Masihi, 2005).
At the international level and within the country of Iran, several studies are done in different fields including tourism, municipal solid waste, worn-out tissues, industry, etc by using strategic planning analysis, but few studies have focused on the urban sustainable development. In a study, by using quantitative models and methods such as AHP and SWOT, the sustainable development was investigated. The results show that the capacity and potential for the sustainable development is high and with strategic and prospective planning, the strengths and opportunities for sustainable development can be designed (Marsousi, POUR et al., 2014). In another research, the strategies for sustainable development in the Assaluyeh are identified (Mokhtari Malekabadi, Marsousi et al., 2015). The sustainable development of Zanjan city is discussed from an environmental standpoint using SWOT analysis. The result reflects the dominance of weaknesses over the strengths and threats over the opportunities and contingency strategy has been achieved (Rabieifar, ZAYARII et al., 2013). Halla in 2007 conducted research titled as "a SWOT analysis of strategic urban development planning” to study this issue in Dar es Salaam city in Tanzania. The findings of this research indicate that urban management approach have performed stronger than procedural or master planning approach in urban planning and management of cities in general, and of Dar es Salaam city in particular (Halla, 2007).
Kermanshah as one of the major Iranian cities which is faced to problems such as air pollution, water pollution, sewage, pollution from urban and industrial waste, noise pollution, lack of services and lack of optimal distribution facilities, expanding margins, decaying fabrics, etc. Meanwhile, population growth has also increased these problems. In this city, due to economic, social and ecological problems, a kind of instability and imbalance has emerged. So, a fundamental, accurate and comprehensive management and planning is required. This study seeks to investigate and identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in Kermanshah city and provide solutions for them. With respect to the importance of issue from the perspective of sustainable urban development, the present study tries to provide optimal solutions for balance and sustainability in Kermanshah.
In research that was conducted with the aim of investigating sustainability indicators and its relationship with development, it was said about the various methods of measuring development that these methods are based on different theoretical approaches and fields. which provide different classifications. But in all these classifications, a common theme has been clearly seen, and that is the difference between the constituent elements of a rural area (Copus and Crabtree, 1996).
During research that was conducted in order to analyze intra-sectoral differences for Dehradun region using GIS technique, the results showed that Vikasnagar was the most developed and Chakrata were the most underdeveloped regions in Dehradun (Gupta, Garg et al., 2001).
In research that was conducted in order to rank different regions of Portugal using 33 and using multivariate and cluster statistical analysis methods, the results showed that the level of development of the coastal regions of Portugal was higher than the interior regions of this country (Soares, Marquês et al., 2003).
In research that was conducted to investigate the regional inequalities in Ghana during the period of 1990-2000, Ghana was classified into several rich, semi-deprived and deprived regions. The results showed that the economic growth during this period has reduced the level of general poverty in the country. Also, at the end, they have suggested that since most of the growth is caused by agricultural exports, the government should allocate most of the investments to the less developed areas in order to make the economic activities flourish (Al-Hassan and Diao, 2007).
Singh, Murty et al. (2012) provided an overview of sustainability assessment indicators and methods. Lee (2022) used the FPPSI approach to evaluate sustainable urban development in research in Jining, China. In this research, using 52 urban development indicators including economic, social, environmental, service and infrastructure indicators, the synthetic index for Jining city was estimated as 0.24.
Shen, Ochoa et al. (2011) made a comparative comparison of sustainable development indicators between 9 different cities using the international list of sustainable urban development indicators.
In research that was conducted in Mentogo area located in Beijing regarding the integrated approach of ecological restoration, by adding weight of indicators by AHP method, FPPSI method was modified and introduced as IFPPSI method (Jin, Wang et al., 2011).
During research that was conducted in order to investigate the management of municipalities in three regions of Sri Lanka using the FPPSI method, the results showed that the combined index in none of the municipalities of the three regions did not reach a high or very high level (Ranasinghe, Amarawickrama et al., 2016).
In all the materials presented in the previous articles, only regional differences were expressed and their ranking was done using statistical techniques. But this research examines the points, strengths, weaknesses; It deals with the opportunities and threats facing the sustainable urban development and at the end presents the strategies for the realization of sustainable urban development in the city of Kermanshah.
According to the mentioned contents, the aim of this research is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of sustainable development in Kermanshah city.
Kermanshah province is located between latitudes 33°N and 35°N and longitudes 45°Eand 47°E. Kermanshah province, which covers 1.5 percent of the country, is one of the western provinces of the country. The province is adjacent from north to Kurdistan, to Lorestan and Ilam province in the south, and to Hamedan province in the East and to Iraq in the west. It consists of 14 counties, 31 cities, 31 districts, and 86 villages. Kermanshah city is the center of Kermanshah province, has a population of 818719 and the area of 9564 square km. Also, Kermanshah County includes 4 cities, 5 districts and 13 villages (Malekneyazi, Shirazi et al., 2013). According the reports of national census of the period 1966-2011, the population of Kermanshah city has the positive growth of 3.36% i.e., of 192072 in 1966 increased to 850700 people in 2011. Although, the population has experienced some ups and downs but has always enjoyed positive growth villages (Malekneyazi, Shirazi et al., 2013). This city is located within the vast fertile plains of Mahidasht and the QarehSou River and its geographical location is of particular importance for the agriculture. Also, historically it has been viewed as the entrance of Asia to the famous plains of Mesopotamia (Zinatizadeh, 2013).
MethodologyThe research method is descriptive-analytical and the approach of this study is qualitative and quantitative. SWOT method has been used in this study. The required information was obtained through documentary research, using reports and documents, preparing questionnaires, conducting interviews with experts and referring to the various departments and agencies including the governor office, the Management and Planning Organization, Municipality, Department of Environment, Department of Water and Wastewater, Solid Waste Disposal Authority, Department of Transportation and Urban Traffic, Municipal Services Department, Department of Parks and Green Spaces, the Development and Modernization Organization, the Department of Statistics and Information Technology, Housing and Urban Development. Finally, based on effective quantitative and qualitative indicators in sustainable urban development, a list of weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats of city was formulated (Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4). Then, using the internal and external factors evaluation matrix known as the IFE and EFE, as well as SWOT matrix, the strategies for sustainable development for Kermanshah city were developed. Finally, based on the QSPM matrix, the strategies were prioritized.
In the present study, 44 effective indicators in sustainable urban development from between the indicators raised at the national and international levels and with attention to the conditions of the city of Kermanshah, as well as preparation and editing questionnaires and interviews with experts have been extracted the information required for these indicators, from the censuses General population and housing, various departments and organizations including Governorate, management and planning organization, municipalities Six regions, environmental organization, water and sewage department urban, Waste Recycling Organization, transportation and Traffic Deputy Urban, Vice City Services, Parks and Green Space Organization, Improvement and Modernization Organization, Statistics and Information Technology Department, organization Housing and urban development has been collected. Also edited the questionnaire is part of the information obtained from specialists and experts came. It should be noted that to match the negative indices, their inverse is used. The above sources lead to the tables below.
| Dimension | Content |
|---|---|
| Social |
Increasing tendency to higher education, increased rate of literacy and skilled work force The adequate number of religious, cultural, educational, and recreational centers The adequate number of parks in different areas of city |
| Economic |
The shopping centers and markets The apt ground for investment in different sections in Kermanshah due to its adjacency with Iraq The international airport |
| Environmental |
The suitable micro-climate Gharehsou River in the northern part of the city (distrcits five and six in Kermanshah) Qanbar and Taq-e Bostan mirages in the north and south of the city (districts four, five and six) Good landscape at district six (Mountain Park) The natural scenery such as Laleh and Shirin parks in district four, and the eastern and western parks in districts four and six The acceptability of the per capita green space Full recycling of household waste Almost 100% coverage of the population under the water and sewage network |
| Dimension | Content |
|---|---|
| Social |
Lack of fair distribution of services, facilities and municipal utilities between six different areas of Kermanshah Lack of attention to the location of service centers in the city Lack of health facilities in some areas The absence of a sufficient number of urban and recreational equipment such as fire stations, grade separation, hotel, public parking, etc. Incoherency of ethnicity, culture and religion between the residents of the city of Kermanshah Failure to follow proper pattern of urban development policy Failure to adhere to appropriate urban furniture and interaction with the external constructions of the city detailed plan and retail high density Failure to implement the necessary infrastructure to improve traffic at the core of the city and the lack of attention to traffic issues in urban development plans Social anomalies due to the presence of different cultures Immigration in Kermanshah The rustic texture and presence of livestock in some parts of the city False jobs and nuisance in urban and residential areas |
| Economic |
Lack of adequate recreational and touristic centers and facilities High rate of unemployment among the youth |
| Environmental |
Lack of full treatment of sewage Difficulties in collecting and transporting waste due to the old structure and fabric of the city, especially in districts two, three and four High levels of distressed areas, especially in districts two, three and four The high amount of travel by personal vehicles due to inefficient public transportation and severe traffic problem The stench of the waste in most parts of the city Insidious animals Incompatible activities with the urban environment, including an oil refinery in the district one The vast areas of empty lands in the city Failure to collect adequate surface water The abundance of old cars |
| Dimension | Content |
|---|---|
| Social |
Enjoying a high culture, civilization, and art The capacity to expand ecotourism and tourism industries by exploiting the natural attractions and internationally registered historical sites such as Bisotun |
| Economic |
The possibility of increasing economic prosperity and having points of entry and exit of goods and passengers because of its proximity to Iraq The presence of talents required to create Special Economic Zone |
| Environmental |
The existence of new and renewable energy resources to replace fossil fuels Urban management measures to modernize public transport Implementation and operation of environmental projects including waste source separation scheme |
| Dimension | Content |
|---|---|
| Social |
Increased immigration from rural areas to the city of Kermanshah The large number of cultural differences between the residents of the city of Kermanshah An increase in crime due to immigration |
| Economic | Lack of impressive manufacturing activity that turned the city into a mere consumer |
| Environmental |
Gharehsou river pollution due to the discharge of municipal wastewater of Kermanshah city Increased respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin diseases caused by dust and particles |
In this study, after determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the internal factors and external factors of evaluation matrix were formulated, then by preparing a questionnaire which was completed by a group of academics and urban managers, factors were scored based on a 4 degrees scale.
In scoring of internal criteria, point 1 is indicative of fundamental weakness, 2 indicates weaknesses, 3 indicates strength, and 4 represents a significant strong point. Rating the external criteria, point 1 represents a serious threat, point 2 indicates a threat, 3 indicates an opportunity and 4 represents a great opportunity (Table 5).
Also, using AHP, a weight from 0 to 1 was given to each factor.
| Level | Serious threat, fundamental weakness | Threat, weakness | Opportunity, strength | Great opportunity, significant strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Then, the total weighed score of internal and external factors are determined, where the internal factors sum is less than 2.5, the city is weak in terms of sustainable development and if the sum is greater than 2.5, the city has strength. On external factors, if the sum is less than 2.5, the city is threatened in terms of sustainable development and if the sum is more than 2.5, the city enjoys the opportunities for sustainable development.
So, after determining the weak points, strong points, opportunities, and weaknesses, the matrix of internal and external factors was developed (Table 6 and Table 7). The total scores of the strengths and weaknesses and the total scores of opportunities and threats which are 2.347 and 2.41 respectively, the space matrix is obtained as Figure 2. Based on Figure 2, the most appropriate type of the sustainable development strategy for Kermanshah City is the defensive strategy, namely a strategy would be compiled aimed to reduce weaknesses and eliminate the threats.
Continuingly, forming a SWOT matrix and dual comparison of internal and external factors, the four strategies of SO, WO, ST and WT were determined as follows.
| Dimensions of sustainable development | Weighted score |
|---|---|
| Increased tendency to higher education, increased literacy rate | 0.12 |
| Enough number of religious, cultural, educational | 0.042 |
| Sufficient number of parks in different locations | 0.128 |
| Economic Existence of shopping centers and markets | 0.12 |
| The existence of a suitable context for investment in various sectors | 0.063 |
| The existence of an international airport | 0.116 |
| Suitable micro-climate | 0.051 |
| The existence of Qarasu River in the northern part of the city | 0.124 |
| The existence of SarabQanbar and SarabTaq-e Bostan | 0.124 |
| The existence of a good prospects in Zone Six of the city | 0.12 |
| The existence of natural sceneries such as Park Laleh and the Park Shirin | 0.12 |
| The acceptability of the green space per capita | 0.09 |
| Full recycling of household waste | 0.124 |
| coverage of the population under the water and sewage network | 0.128 |
| Lack of fair distribution of services, facilities and municipal utilities | 0.015 |
| Lack of attention to the location of service centers in the city | 0.028 |
| Lack of health facilities in some zones | 0.026 |
| The absence of a sufficient number of urban and recreational equipment including fire stations, multi-level junctions, hotels | 0.034 |
| Incoherency of ethnicity, culture and religion between the residents | 0.006 |
| Failure to follow a proper pattern of urban planning in the development | 0.034 |
| Failure to adhere to appropriate urban furniture and interaction with constructions occurred outside of the detailed plan area | 0.034 |
| Failure to implement the necessary infrastructure to improve traffic in the city core as well lack of attention to traffic issues | 0.068 |
| Social anomalies due to the presence of different cultures | 0.03 |
| Immigration to Kermanshah | 0.032 |
| Rustic fabrics and keeping livestock in some regions of the city | 0.022 |
| The existence of marginal and disturbing jobs in urban | 0.03 |
| Lack of centers for recreation and tourism | 0.036 |
| High youth unemployment | 0.036 |
| Lack of full treatment of sewage | 0.036 |
| Difficulties in collecting waste due to the old structure and fabric of the city | 0.066 |
| High levels of deteriorated areas | 0.052 |
| The high amount of travel by personal vehicles due to lack of modern public transport vehicles and traffic serious troubles | 0.066 |
| The problem of stench of the waste in most regions | 0.03 |
| The problem of insidious animals | 0.012 |
| There are activities incompatible with the urban environment such as oil refinery in the Zone One | 0.036 |
| There are vast areas of empty land | 0.054 |
| Failure to adequate collect of surface water | 0.064 |
| There are a lot of worn-out cars | 0.03 |
| Dimensions of sustainable development | Weighted score |
|---|---|
| Enjoying the art, culture | 0.225 |
| The capacity for development of ecotourism and tourism industry due to abundant natural attractions | 0.3 |
| The possibility of increasing economic prosperity and exploiting the points of entry and exit of goods and passengers | 0.225 |
| The existence of a sufficient capacity required to create Economic Zone | 0.231 |
| The existence of renewable energy resources to replace fossil fuels | 0.186 |
| Urban management measures to modernize public transport | 0.332 |
| Implementation and operation of environmental projects including the waste-source separation plan | 0.38 |
| Increased immigration from rural areas to the city of Kermanshah | 0.06 |
| There are many cultural differences between the residents | 0.146 |
| An increase in crime due to immigration | 0.078 |
| Lack of salient manufacturing activities and transformation of the city | 0.095 |
| Gharehsu river pollution due to the discharge of wastewater | 0.077 |
| Increased skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases by dust | 0.075 |
The proposed development strategies resulting from the SWOT assessment model includes the following sections.
(1) SO strategies
SO1 (ST1) - Taking advantage of the environmental experts’ potential, especially in the field of urban waste in various stages of waste management from production to disposal
SO2 (ST2) - Development of waste management plans including waste recycling
SO3 (ST3) - Education of the solid waste separation with the participation of residents in each neighborhood, school and face to face training
SO4 (ST4) - Improve the fuel production technology with lower emissions and better quality
SO5 (ST5) - Renewable energy use and reducing consumption of fossil fuels
SO6 (ST6) - Developing ecotourism, recreational and promenade areas around Garesu River, Qanbar, Taq-e Bostan mirages and Mountain Park
(2) WO strategies
WO1 (ST7) - Increasing job opportunities in waste management processes
WO2 (ST8) - Improve waste management especially in the transport sector and garbage collection
WO3 (ST9) - Washing municipal waste tanks
WO4 (ST10) – Creating a variety of recreation and tourism centers in the city with more new ideas
WO5 (ST11) – Forming a new traffic control model including reducing traffic and air pollution
WO6 (ST12) - Developing and providing a sufficient number of public transport vehicles and promoting a culture of non-use of private cars
WO7 (ST13)- Creating one-way (special) streets in sufficient numbers exclusively for transportation vehicles such as buses.
WO8 (ST14) - Embedding puddles in the city and increasing the capacity of channels and ditches in order to transfer and collect surface water
WO9 (ST15) – Using strategies to reduce or removal of old cars in the city including increased costs such as insurance, plates and transfer the document based on the age of the vehicle
(3) ST strategies
ST1 (ST16) - Development of green spaces in different areas to absorb pollutants in the air
ST2 (ST17) - Enhance the relationship with Iraq through the export and import of goods in order to create various employment opportunities, economic prosperity and reduce marginal jobs
ST3 (ST18) - Attention of local, regional and national managers and planners to create a special economic zone in Kermanshah province
(4) WT strategies
WT1 (ST19) - Serious supervision on construction and prevent indiscriminate development of the city as well asmisplaced irrelevant constructions
WT2 (ST20) - Immediate completion of under-construction buildings in compliance with environmental principlesin order to prevent the spread of particles
WT3 (ST21) - Transferring centers and industrial pollutant plants to outside of the city
WT4 (ST22) - Construction of a wastewater treatment plant with sufficient capacity
WT5 (ST23) - Increasing the number of centers, workshops and factories in order to create employment
Opportunities, and reduce unemployment
WT6 (ST24) - Serious encountering of enforcement troops against violations
WT7 (ST25) - Promotion and dissemination of urban indigenous culture by various city agencies
In addition, the QSPM matrix was used to prioritize the selected strategies. The QSPM Matrix is an analytical method which the relative attractiveness of strategies will be determined. For development of the quantitative planning strategic matrix, the outcome of internal and external factors evaluation matrix is used as well as the result of SWOT matrix. Preparation of this matrix contains the following six steps:
1. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are written on the right side of the table.
2. Each of the internal and external factors that have a major role in the success of the organization, will be weighted.
3. Strategies which should be implemented, will be written at the top of the quantitative planning matrix.
4. Attractiveness scores are determined. They are numerical values that show the attractiveness of each strategy in a set of strategies. To determine the attractiveness score, the internal and external factors which play a major role in the success of the organization must be reviewed then about each of them, this question will raise: Does the factor play a major role in the selection process of strategies? If the answer to the questions is yes, then paying attention to this factor, the strategies to be compared. Attractiveness score is in form of Table 8.
| Attractiveness type | Score |
|---|---|
| No Attractiveness | 1 |
| Fairly attractive | 2 |
| Logically attractive | 3 |
| Very attractive | 4 |
5. The total attractiveness score will be calculated. The total attractiveness score reflects the relative attractiveness of each strategy. The higher attractiveness scores the more attractiveness of the discussed strategy.
6. The total attractiveness score of each column of the quantitative planning matrix is calculated. Higher scores indicate more attractive strategies.
According to the above steps, the results of the quantitative strategic planning matrix of sustainable development in Kermanshah City are presented (Table 9 and Table 10).
| Strategy no. | Score |
|---|---|
| ST1 | 1.11 |
| ST2 | 0.923 |
| ST3 | 0.861 |
| ST4 | 1.252 |
| ST5 | 1.205 |
| ST6 | 1.334 |
| ST7 | 0.783 |
| ST8 | 0.267 |
| ST9 | 0.084 |
| ST10 | 1.698 |
| ST11 | 0.9 |
| ST12 | 0.9 |
| ST13 | 0.9 |
| ST14 | 0.205 |
| ST15 | 0.36 |
| Strategy no. | Score |
|---|---|
| ST16 | 0.486 |
| ST17 | 1.238 |
| ST18 | 1.238 |
| ST19 | 0.551 |
| ST20 | 0.3 |
| ST21 | 0.444 |
| ST22 | 0.452 |
| ST23 | 0.861 |
| ST24 | 1.282 |
| ST25 | 1.011 |
Based on the values of Table 9 and Table 10, the relative attractiveness of the proposed strategies of the sustainable development is compared (Figure 2).
Sustainable urban development refers to the city that is considered good for the citizenship present and future. Kermanshah city as one of the most important cities in the western Iran that is faced to many problems in social, economic and environmental dimensions. Therefore, there should be a method that can focus on every aspect. The best way for consideration of all aspects of sustainable development is using SWOT method. In this study, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified (14 strengths, 24 weaknesses, 7opportunities and 6 threats) and using of internal and external factors evaluation matrix, those factors were analyzed. The result of internal and external factors evaluation matrix showed that the total weighted score of internal factors and external factors were 2.347 and 2.41, respectively. Since the resulting number is lower than 2.5, the weaknesses are dominant over strengths and the threats over the opportunities; and the type of strategy is determined as defensive strategy. In such circumstances, solutions must be developed to reduce weaknesses and eliminate threats. Using the SWOT matrix, 25 strategies and solutions for sustainable development in Kermanshah city were presented. Finally, to determine the attractiveness and prioritizing the strategies, QSPM matrix was used. The results show that the following superior strategies can be identified for urban sustainable development in Kermanshah city: (1) building recreation and tourism centers in the city with new and more diverse ideas, (2) developing ecotourism, recreational and promenade areas around Garesu River, Qanbar, Taq-e Bostan Mirages and Mountain Park, (3) serious encountering of enforcement troops against violations, (4) improve the fuel production technology with lower emissions and better quality, (5) enhances the relationship with Iraq through the export and import of goods in order to create various employment opportunities, economic prosperity and reduce marginal jobs, (6) attention of local, regional and national managers and planners to create a special economic zone in Kermanshah Province, (7) renewable energy use and reducing consumption of fossil fuels, (8) taking advantage of the environmental experts’ potential, especially in the field of urban waste in various stages of waste management from production to disposal and promotion and (9) dissemination of urban indigenous culture by various city agencies.
The city of Kermanshah, as one of the important western cities of Iran, has suffered from the problem of centralization and inequality among the indicators of sustainable development among the six urban areas. This inequality has led to a different distribution of the population in different areas of Kermanshah, so that the areas that have a more stable condition are considered to be good urban areas and have a higher capacity to accept the population. Therefore, the classes that are usually attracted to such areas have a higher welfare status, therefore, there is a significant class difference between the six areas of Kermanshah city. The existence of differences and inequalities in the status of sustainable development indicators between different regions of cities has been reported in most studies related to developing countries, especially Iran.
Based on this, the centrality and age of the urban area, distance and proximity to the city center, social class of citizens, poverty, unemployment, migration of villagers to cities, marginalization, informal settlement, dispersion and distribution of services, facilities and infrastructures among different urban areas. The most important factors affecting urban stability and instability and differences between different urban areas have been introduced
On the other hand, the management of Kermanshah city has characteristics such as lack of consideration of real executive facilities, lack of legal system and coherent organizational structure, lack of financial resources, lack of technical skills and knowledge, and lack of citizens' participation. The lack of long-term planning, the lack of comprehensive urban management and the lack of budget have also been pointed out as the main factors in the underdevelopment of cities, and the concept of urban management goes beyond the mere concept of running city affairs and is related to social, economic and environmental structures. Biologically related and plays an active role in the sustainable development of the city.
Meanwhile, the main problem facing developed countries is environmental pollution, especially air pollution. Therefore, the priority of developed countries is to pay attention to environmental protection policies. Therefore, there is a big difference between developing countries and developed countries in the selection of sustainable urban development indicators in order to check the level of development.
Conceptualization, A.A.; methodology, A.A.; field investigation, data analysis, A.A.; writing—original draft preparation, A.A.; writing—review and editing, A.A.; supervision, A.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of the paper.
The author declares that there is no funding for this paper.
