Pathological Sprawl and Horizontal Expansion of Ahvaz Metropolis Based on COCOSO Model

The rapid growth of urban populations worldwide, especially in developing countries, poses a significant challenge for governments and planning organizations. In recent decades, among various urban growth patterns, the pattern of sprawling growth has become the dominant spatial development trend in many countries. This study aims to diagnose the pathological sprawl and horizontal expansion of the Ahvaz metropolis. This research is applied and uses an analytical-descriptive method. The data collection method in this research is library-documentary and survey-based. The COCOSO multi-criteria decision-making technique was used to analyze the data. The results obtained from the COCOSO method showed that districts 1 and 8 of Ahvaz city, with the abbreviation B and a final weight of 0.942 in the COCOSO test, have the most favorable conditions. Districts 2 and 6 of Ahvaz city, with the abbreviation D and a final weight of 0.491, have the least favorable conditions and the least impact among other areas compared to the study components. In conclusion, considering the negative consequences of sprawl and to achieve sustainable development and a sustainable urban form, a compact growth pattern is proposed as the future development pattern of the city.