Study and Defining the Process for Selecting Sustainability Evaluation and Appraisal Indicators for Rual Habitats of Metropolitan Areas

Today، sustainable development approach has a great value and importance as a framework for sustainability analysis of human settlements as general and rural settlements، as particular. But due to relative concept of sustainability in different location and time situations،the researchers are faced with considerable complexities. Hence، analysis of sustainability in different situations needs the availibility of certain indices which are fully compatible with the facts of the considered subject and also provides the full recognition of the characteristics of the under study society، in a way to determine the proper methods for sustainabaility. Metropolitan areas are among the areas that due to different systems of various relationships of habitats and the presence of socio- economical and political forces originating from metropolitan area، has given a different characteristics to its adjacenct rural settlements، hence due to these forces and processes، rural areas have a different socio- cultural، economical and environmental characteristics comparing with the other rural areas. Therefore، the current and public indexes are not eligible to evaluate all the facts and unique effective forces and trends in metropolitian areas. So the evaluation and assessment in such a situation requires the development of a particular methodology and special indicator package. This study، with such an approach، seeks the development and localization of a set of evaluation and assessment indices in different dimensions for rural habitats residing at rural settlements of Tehran metropolis area. Methodology of this study is based on descriptive- analysis and surveying methods. This study، while providing a new methodological framework، by using the view point of scientific experts introduced 64 indices (among 206 indices) including 15 ecological environmental indices، 21 socio-cultural، 15 economical، and finally 13 physical- infrastructural indicators for evaluating and assessment of sustainablility of rural settlements at metropolitian areas، which using them provides a real study and analysis of sustainability conditions in rural settlements of metropolitian areas. The results of this study shows that regarding the average analysis of the value of selected indices، the socio-cultural indices with 7. 92 scores in comparing with the other indices has more validity in analysis of sustainability، economical indices with 7. 8 scores، natural with 7. 34 and physical –infrastructural ones with 7. 32 scores are placed at the next levels.