Developing a framework for measuring social capacity of urban infill development, Case Study: Rudaki district of Arak

A number of theoretical and practical solutions were presented in response to the problems of urban sprawl and its negative results. Urban Smart growth theory provided infill development with the aim to guide a part of regional growth in urban centers and reduce the pressure of physical growth on the rural and undeveloped urban areas trying to emphasize on the development of cities and utilization of the existing infrastructure. Lack of accurate and efficient method for calculating capacity development and relying on development planning based on potential rather than capacity were intensified the need to develop the operational process to assess the development capacity. Because of the extent of this issue and the importance of the social dimension in the development process, in this paper has been paid to developing a framework for measuring the social capacity of infill development. Since there is no consensus on the index measured, primary index were collected after studying international sources and Delphi method were used to achieve consensus among experts (In partnership with 21 experts). In order to quantify the measurement of capacity development, AHP scoring method was used. The questionnaires (Statistical population consisted of 375 residents) were distributed. Information collected was analyzed through GIS geographic information system.