Assessment of delineation and strategic planningfor Khorramabad metropolitan areas

The number of people living in urban areas, especially large cities, has increased rapidlyover the past few decades. As a result, the legal boundaries of such cities are likely tochange to metropolitan areas. In order to lessen the negative consequences of this trend,such as social and economic inequality, recognizing such metropolitan areas in their earlystages of development and proposing suitable plans for them is extremely important. Thisessay aims to assess the suitability of recognizing Khorramabad - a city in Iran - as ametropolitan area based on its vicinity and the potentials of cities like Aleshtar,Bayranshahr, Zaghe, Sarab-e-Dowreh, Firuzabad, and Veysian. This is done byleveraging a suit of descriptive and analytical methods, where the results indicate thatKhorramabad and its periphery meet the criteria to be identified as a metropolitan area. Inorder to define the boundary of this area, it is essential to prepare Khorramabad’smetropolitan area plan, which is done as part of the proposed strategic plan.

Keywords:

Khorramabad , Metropolitan Areas , Strategic Planning , Urban Management