An Investigation into the Functions of Small Cities in Urban System and Regional Development (The Case of the City of Nain)

Small cities, as a link among big and middle cities and urban villages, can be influential on service giving centers in urban hierarchy and regional development; as a result, they are in many planners, focus of attention. Urban system in Iran, besides, are revealing the fact that small cities do not enjoy a great influence in giving services to their own boundaries. This also holds true in the case of Isfahan. Isfahan province included 101 cities in 2011, 85 cities of which are considered small cities (less than 50 thousand people). The current article aims at making an investigation into the role and function of small cites of Isfahan province in urban system and regional development. The research method is descriptiveanalytic in which quantitative models and statistical methods are applied. According to the surveys made through Rank-Size Model, the gradient of the line increased from 1956 to 2011. The Entropy Index of the cities of Isfahan province stands witness to the spatial imbalance. Via a survey based on L. Q. Index, the industrial and services sections in the city of Nain are economically justified as basic sections and the study of the influence factor of Nain based on developing method of Morris determines different layers of services. What has diminished the function of such cities in urban system and regional development is insufficient number of middle cities (with population of 100 to 250 thousand people) in urban hierarchy and is the intense centralization of facilities in the city of Isfahan. As a result, supporting small cites and encouraging investment in them may pave the way for achieving a balanced spatial structure in the whole province.