Evaluation of environmental instability indicators with emphasis on water, soil and noise pollutions using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Ahvaz metropolis

Cities are considered as the main factor causing instability in the world. In fact, according to the inherent complexity of cities in terms of environmental issues, identification of the main factors in achieving sustainability is necessary. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the indicators of environmental instability in Ahvaz metropolis with a focus on indicators of water, soil and noise pollutions.
This study is a descriptive-analytical one using an applied method. In this context, after explaining the concept of urban sustainability and urban instability and identifying relevant criteria, according to the study, the conversion of criteria to quantitative indicators was done and the index and sub-index in AHP model were prioritized. To perform spatial analysis of the data, GIS software was used and the most important explanatory factors to assess the environmental indicators of instability in Ahvaz, with emphasis on the index of water, soil and noise pollutions were studied.
Findings: Findings showed that considering the water pollution index, five area with the impact of 0.327 had the the highest weight value among the urban areas while six areas with the impact of 0.033 had the lowest value than other areas with water pollution in Karun river. In terms of soil pollution, four areas with effect coefficient of 0.331 had the the highest rate of soil pollution, and eight regions with effect coefficient of 0.024 had the least pollution. In terms of noise pollution, the region with effect coefficient of 0.336 had the highest weight value among other regions, while eight regions with effect coefficient of 0.02 had the least pollution.
Discussion and Results showed that Ahvaz is in unstable environmental conditions and its current environmental condition is significantly far away from sustainability criteria. With this interpretations of situation, awareness about ecological sustainability of urban areas and understanding of the situation could play an important role in improving the planning and optimal allocation of resources to improve people's welfare Urban sustainability, Environmental instability, Water pollution, Soil pollution, Noise pollution, Ahvaz Metropolis.