A Study of Industrial Development of Ilam, Kermanshah, Lorestan and Hamedan Provinces through the Spatial Planning Framework

Economic development and the provision of facilities and welfare is considered as one of the most vital objectives of a society. Various methods proposed to achieve the same. Several societies have developed due to industrialization. Alternatively, numerous countries have moved towards this goal by conducting regional planning in the form of spatial planning studies. The crucial point for planning is to have precise data on the current situation and even the terrain and prospect of the regions. In the current study, using the available statistics, the industrial situation of the provinces of the Region 3 has been studied and compared. The provinces include Kermanshah, Hamedan, Lorestan and Ilam. Furthermore, using the AHP method of grading the importance of each of the indicators affecting the industry making use of Expert Choice software, the weight of each criterion has been obtained. Accordingly, the provinces are compared and ranked through the TOPSIS method using the obtained coefficients of importance and using the collected statistics. The results obtained indicate that Kermanshah province is currently in a better situation than other provinces. The results of estimating the prospect of the provinces also indicate that the situation of Hamedan province will be better in the future. Ilam province has the worst position and prospect in both estimates. Therefore, with regards to the existing conditions of the provinces, it is suggested that more attention should be paid to the industrial sector of Ilam province. Eventually, as experts are of opinion that labor productivity as well as the added value of high-tech industries are more significant, the necessary planning should be made to improve these two indicators.