Modeling Factors Affecting Land Use Change in Ahvaz Metropolis

Today, land use change has become a very important challenge in many countries and land use has changed along with the rapid urban growth and under the influence of the urbanization process and need of citizens for diverse uses, and process of these changes is a process that leads to create a proper understanding of the interaction between humans and the natural environment, and this issue is more important in sensitive urban areas. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors affecting urban land use changes in Ahvaz metropolis. The current research is a descriptive-analytical investigation. The sample size is estimated to be 200 people based on Sample Power software. In order to break down and analyze the questionnaires, different statistical softwares such as SPSS 27, Amos 24, statistical methods of structural equation modeling, and one-sample T-test have been used. The results along with the conceptual model of the test show that a strong and significant relationship has been observed between four political-legal, physical, socio-demographic, and economic factors with land use change (p<0.05) and the fit indices. The model also shows the appropriateness of the data with the conceptual model and as a result the model is approved. Also, the T-Tech test of a sample checking the averages show that the highest average and as a result the greatest impact on land use change was related to the economic factor, the physical factor, the social-demographic factor, and the political-legal factor respectively. Based on the results, the influence of economic and physical factors can be considered high, and socio-demographic and political-legal factors have a moderate effect on the change of urban land use.