Explaining the local Model of the City Cluster Development (CCD) in the West Districts of ‎Tehran Province

City cluster development is an urban-led approach that was proposed for achieving sustainable ‎economic and social development in the regions. This approach utilizes eight key factors for ‎identifying homogeneous urban centers for providing a joint development plan in the regions. The ‎purpose of this research is to review the conceptual model and indicators that affect on and ‎examine it in a part of Tehran province. According to the survey, the emergence of urban clusters ‎is related to the urban field concept, but the effective indicators on this concept differ in periods of ‎time and conditions of the regions, so the urban field analysis done by using content analysis ‎method in 5 patterns and its relation with the above key factors. The results of the analysis show ‎that four cases can be identified in homogeneous clusters and the rest can be presented in the ‎proposed scheme. ‎

‎Today, regions face major challenges in various fields, so planning for them is important and ‎inevitable. CCD is a process of economic and social development which built-up a number of ‎human settlements that linked together. CCD responds to the new patterns of urban growth, which ‎are shifting from mono-centric to polycentric. Experiences show that at least eight key factors need ‎to be assessed to determine whether or not to use CCD as an instrument for urban-led, inclusive ‎economic and social development: ‎‎-‎ institutional and governance mechanisms;‎‎-‎ demographic, resources, and spatial ‎‎-‎ factors; development planning coordination over‎-‎ time and jurisdictions; use of land resources and land tenure;‎‎-‎ economic growth potential and trade functions;‎‎-‎ taxation, intergovernmental transfers, and fiscal discipline;‎‎-‎ infrastructure and information networks; and ‎‎-‎ role of private sector participationMany of the key factors mentioned are closely related. Therefore, efforts to achieve economic and ‎social development through the CCD require a full understanding of various economic, social, ‎institutional and technological resources. Therefore, the present study investigates the history of ‎urban clusters and its relation with regional development.‎In urban and regional planning, the emergence of city clusters is linked to the concept of an “urban ‎field,” which is composed of the economic and social influences emanating from a particular city. ‎The present study, considering the concept of urban field in different period times, investigates the ‎dimensions and effective components of its recognition in five patterns. According to the study, ‎four factors of the main approach will be considered in identifying urban clusters and the rest in ‎planning time.‎

‎An analysis of this approach is carried out at two levels:‎‎1. The regional dimension includes the desired Districts. This section identifies which cities can be located in each ‎cluster in terms of performance and activity.‎‎2. The local dimension that includes the cities located in each cluster and their characteristics in ‎four dimensions (demographic, social, economic and physical).‎To analyze the alternatives of this research, Cluster Analysis approach has been used at the ‎regional level and the PROMETHEE technique in local level.‎‎

‎‎ The analysis result shows that the two main groups are within the scope of the study. The ‎cluster ‎number one consists of Shahriar, Malard and Rabat-Karim Districts. According to the survey, the ‎cities of this area have a good elevation, slope and climate, ‎but only Baghestan and Ferdosiye have ‎a suitable soil for agricultural activities. Although there are ‎some agricultural activities in some of ‎these cluster cities like Shahriar and Malard. Furthermore, substantial industry activity is in of ‎some cluster cities (like Mallard). So the proper ‎activity for this area is agriculture and industryCluster number 2 consist Islamshahr, Qods and Baharestan Districts, which have a geographical ‎distance from each other. This cluster includes Islamshahr, Chahardangeh, and other cities. The ‎cities of this cluster have a good elevation, slope and climate, but they have no fertile soil. ‎Therefore, the proper activity for this area is industry and services.‎The second matrix is based on the cities located in each cluster and their ranked with using ‎Visual ‎PROMHETEE software. This ranking takes into account two other important factors in ‎regional ‎planning, human and space. Human, account by studying demographic factors such as ‎population ‎density, level of literacy and …, space by natural characteristics and the percentage of ‎urban ‎services and infrastructures allocated area‎‎ ‎The results of the ranking indicate that Shahriar has the highest rank among the cluster cities. ‎Mallard and Rabat Karim, which rank 2 and 3, are in competition with the central city. Ranking of ‎the second cluster shows that Chahar-Dange, Ghods and Islamshahr cities ranked one ‎to three. ‎Thus, the central city of this cluster is Chahar-Dange and Quds and Islam Shahr compete with the ‎main city.‎

In this approach (city cluster development), regional development create through interconnected or ‎separate urban areas, and what the link urban centers in the form of urban clusters is Related ‎economic and potential activities (from a natural and artistic perspective). If the areas concerned ‎are similar or homogeneous in terms of dimensions and indicators studied, planning for them will ‎have done in the form of a joint development plan. The city centers in the study areas may already ‎have been linked to by a network of infrastructures or not.‎The present study examined this issue in part of Tehran province. Tehran province, as one of the ‎most densely populated provinces of the country due to the establishment of the capital (Tehran ‎city), has undergone many changes.‎The most important of these changes are, the abstraction of Karaj and its subordinate cities, the ‎emergence of Pardis, Ghods, Baharestan, and …, into independent districts, the formation of new ‎urban centers that create from rural areas and new cities.‎Therefore, by using the city cluster development approach with considering porter diamond model ‎and effective factors in determining urban-fields, the administrative-political divisions in the part of ‎Tehran province were analyzed and evaluated.‎The results of the analysis show that the studied areas have a coordinate activity and divide them ‎in to separate area, cannot lead to coordinated development in them.‎‎