Degree of Development and Predicting the Planning andDevelopment Priority in Urban Places of Provinces of Iran

This article aims to rank and determine of development levels and predict planning and development priority in urban places of provinces of Iran in 2006 by using fifty-four indices in health, cultural, economical, infrastructural-housing, sport sectors and combination of these indices. The method of the study is descriptive-analytical. At first, the degree of development was calculated and the rank of regions was specified in studied sections indices by using factor analysis and HDI methods. Then, urban places of provinces of Iran were categorized in three levels of developed, developing and less developed by using of cluster analysis. Finally, a regression relation was proposed in order to predicate effective factors contributed in development and prioritizing of regions for investment and coordination of regional inequalities. The results of factor analysis and HDI methods show that there is an inequality and gap in urban places of provinces of Iran and this regional divergence follows core-periphery model in some extent. So, according to regression model, economical and health indices are proposed in first priority for less developed, developing and developed regions. Infrastructural-housing and sport indices are in second priority for less developed and developed regions respectively in order to reduce regional inequalities.