Quality of Life and Vulnerability: An analysis of the Vulnerability of Urban Settlements to Improve the Quality of Life against Earthquakes (Case Study: Islamabad and Karmandan Neighborhoods of Zanjan City)

In the 21st century, not only has scientific and technological advances of societies not reduce existing risks; but have created and extended local and global dangers that never existed before. As a result, social welfare and quality of life in a precarious society are in danger. The main objective of this research is the interrelationship that there is between quality of life and vulnerability in the low and very problematic neighborhoods of Zanjan. The research method is descriptive-analytical and research survey. To obtain descriptive tests such as average indices, SPss software and thematic maps of Geographical Information systems (GIS) have been used. The results show that the average quality of life indices in the Karmandan neighborhood was better compared to the Islamabad neighborhood. In addition, the vulnerability indices in both neighborhoods were different based on the Mercalli intensity scenarios of 5 and 8. The severity of damage based on the Mercalli intensity scenario of 5 in the studied neighborhoods is lower, while this rate was significantly increased based on the Mercalli intensity scenario of 8. It can be said that the increase in the severity of damage indicates that the studied neighborhoods are not venerable and that the quality of life of their residents will be affected by the damage.