Evaluation of Ecological Capability of Ahar, Kalibar and Varzeghan Cities for Urban Development

Evaluation of ecological capability is a process which attempts to establish an appropriate and balanced development between human and nature through adjusting their relationship. The aim of this study is to evaluate ecological capability of urban development landuse in Ahar, Kalibar and Varzeghan cities.

Evaluation process of ecological capability of current study involves three main parts: the ecological capability of the underlying studied area was determined after identification of ecological resources, data analysis and conclusion. Information layers used in this study involved: soil, climate, plant cover and land shape.

Ahar, Kalibar and Varzaghan cities are located in the northwest of East Azarbaijan province with a total of 930214 hectares. The surveys show that about 300,000 are in the first floor, about 293,000 are in the second floor and about 141,000 are in the third category of urban development.

The findings indicate that the integration of information layer using GIS has the high ability to evaluate the urban development landuse. According to the result and findings and the three mentioned cities have good potential for urban development.