Land suitability assessment for industry's establishment with AHP-Fuzzy logic method (Case study: Malard county)

Unplanned development of industries can be harmful to sustainable development. Some of the harms include destruction of farmlands and natural ecosystems and emission of environmental pollutants. Furthermore, establishment of industries in unsuitable and risky sites can cause heavy damages. Thus, unplanned development of industrial plants should be stopped and suitable lands for industrial purposes should be studied and identified. The aim of this research is land suitability assessment for industry's establishment in Malard county using AHP-Fuzzy Logic method. Various qualitative and quantitative criteria effective in land suitability assessment were identified and selected. Then, using AHP method, qualitative criteria were quantified and weighed. In modeling process, fuzzy logic was used to convert discrete variables to continuous variables and change data layers to raster format and combines them in Arc®GIS software. Finally, the land suitability map for industrial development was developed.