Analysis of the Relationship between the Spatial Distribution of Disabled Individuals and Environmental Variables (A Case Study of Ahvaz Metropolis)

The issue of disability in Iran and the presence of people with disabilities in cities is one of the main challenges facing city managers and planners. Understanding the needs and limitations of people with disabilities requires appropriate spatial analysis.

The aim of the present study was to analyze the distribution, density, and the spatial pattern distribution of disability and people with disabilities and their relationship with other geographical variables and future planning for the disabled.

GIS spatial statistics techniques were used for data analysis. The required data of the present study included information related to 16,208 disabled people of Ahvaz city until 2017 registered by the Welfare Organization of Khuzestan Province. In this study, spatial statistical methods such as density analysis, standard distance, Global Moran or high and low clusters, hotspot analysis, average nearest neighbor index, mean and square of standard deviation, geographically weighted regression, and spatial autocorrelation index were used.

The findings showed that neighborhoods 27, 16, and 93 had the highest density of disabled individuals. In terms of spatial distribution, the average centers for the disabled coincided with the city center. The spatial pattern distribution of disabled people in Ahvaz city was clustered and the spatial correlation was positive. There was also a significant relationship between population density, development level of neighborhoods, and access to public transport supply with the distribution of the disabled. The results of this study showed that the issue of disability and planning for the disabled in the city has been neglected and needs holistic policies and measures. Innovation: In the present study, the disability has been analyzed from a spatial approach. Also, the spatial relationship between disability and environmental variables has been measured.