Analysis of Urban Land Use According to Smart Urban Growth Strategy Indicators (A Case Study of Marand)

The increasing growth of urbanization in terms of number and population in the last two decades without fundamental changes in urbanization patterns has caused many economic, social and environmental problems for its inhabitants. In order to overcome these problems, the idea of ​​sustainable urban development and in line with it, new approaches and strategies such as smart urban growth have been proposed by urban thinkers. Smart urban growth is one of the new models of urban planning to organize the development process of cities and respond to the scattered urban growth. In fact, the smart growth strategy seeks to reshape cities and lead them to a viable community with access to a favorable environment, an integrated urban transportation system, urban congestion, and mixed uses. In the present article, the five urban areas of Marand have been studied in terms of urban land use according to the indicators of smart urban growth strategy. The research method in this article is "applied" and concerning the method is "descriptive-analytical". Using the AHP method, the desired indicators have been weighted and using the TOPSIS multi-criteria decision model have been analyzed and evaluated in the five areas of Marand based on smart urban growth indicators. The results of TOPSIS model show significant differences in terms of smart urban growth index and urban land uses in Marand urban areas. So that District 3 of Marand with a TOPSIS score of 0.1133 is in the first rank and District 5 with a TOPSIS score of 0.0128 is in the last one. Due to the inequality of areas, while paying attention to the strategy of smart urban growth in the whole city, districts 1 and 5, which are less developed, should be considered in the priority of development plans by city planners and authorities.