Measuring social sustainable development in Iranian metropolises using EDAS and Mairca technique

IntroductionIn many developing countries, cities have emerged as engines of economic growth by providing a variety of opportunities. However, high population growth in urban areas has put a lot of pressure on natural resources (Dambeebo and Jalloh, 2018: 235). Governments in developed and developing countries also use policies to counter the effects of urbanization. One of these policies is the issue of sustainable development (Abu Bakar and Cheen, 2013: 484). The social dimension is an important component of sustainable development. While the discourse of sustainable development is largely limited to environmental and economic concerns (Hemani et al, 2012: 783-784). The overall goal of social sustainability seems to be social justice (Koglin, 2009: 13). In the present study, an attempt has been made to measure the indicators of sustainable social development in Iranian metropolises by using Edas and Mairca technique. Data and MethodIn the present study, by using the Edas and Mairca techniques, the indicators of sustainable social development in Iranian metropolises have been investigated. The metropolises studied in this study were Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz and Qom. The most important indicators used in the Edas and Mairca are: number of public indoor sports facilities covered by the municipality, area of ​​public indoor sports facilities covered by the municipality, number of public outdoor sports facilities covered by the municipality, area of ​​the premises Public sports covered by the municipality, number of libraries and study halls, area of ​​libraries and study halls, number of cultural centers covered by the municipality, area of ​​cultural centers covered by the municipality, number of urban parks, number of forest parks, number of cinemas, Number of cinemas, number of cinema seats, center for social injuries, number of medical centers contracted by the Social Security Organization and number of hospitals contracted by the Social Security Organization. Results and DiscussionIn most of the studied indicators on social development, Tehran metropolis has the most positive distance from the average. The results of using the Edas technique show that Tehran metropolis had the highest score with a score of (0.998), Isfahan metropolis with a score of (0.201) and Mashhad metropolis with a score of (0.189) had the highest score, respectively. The final score was Tabriz metropolis (0.143), Shiraz metropolis (0.100) and Qom metropolis (0.008). The results of Mairca technique show that Tehran metropolis with a score of (0.0049) has the highest scores of sustainable social development indicators. Isfahan metropolis with the highest score (0.1410) after Tehran had the highest score. The metropolis of Mashhad has gained the most points after gaining points (0.1462) after the metropolises of Tehran and Isfahan. The score of Tabriz (0.1520), Shiraz (0.1540) and Qom (0.1612) was gained. ConclusionComparative comparison of the results of Edas and Mairca techniques shows similar results and in these two techniques, Tehran metropolis has had the highest score. In the studied indices in the model of Edas and Mairca, Isfahan metropolis had the highest score after Tehran metropolis. The metropolis of Mashhad has had the highest score after the metropolis of Isfahan. In this regard, after Mashhad metropolis, Tabriz, Shiraz and Qom metropolises have obtained the most points, respectively. The results obtained in both techniques indicate inequality due to the difference in points between the studied metropolises.