Urban Sprawl in Iranian Medium-sized Cities; Investigating the Role of Masterplans

Abstract

Urban sprawl is one of the main important phenomena threatening the spatial structure of cities and affecting the overall quality of them. This paper studied the urban growth pattern and sprawling of Kazerun, a medium-sized city in the south of Iran. Using the population and land use data available from secondary formal sources, the growth pattern was compared to national statistics. Furthermore, two well-known landscape metrics included Holdern and Shannon indices were applied to measure the extent of urban sprawl. As a qualitative research methodology, some experts (n = 30) working in governmental agencies were asked to explain the causes and effects of urban sprawl in the case study area. The results confirmed that several factors including the former masterplans affected the urban development pattern of the area. Moreover, a number of physical, environmental, economic and social impacts were discovered as the consequence of current fragmented growth pattern. Finally, a set of applicable policies are recommended to overcome sprawl and to achieve a more balanced development.