Analysis and evaluation of land use in small rural-towns using GIS Case Study: rural-town of Aslandvz (in Ardebil province)

Fair access to urban land-use and optimal land-use are fundamental components of sustainable development and social justice. Nowadays the concepts of land and urban space in terms of both the natural-physical and socio-economic have been qualitatively changed; as the result, the extent and the purpose of land-use have got vast and rich. Therefore, land and space, as public and vital sources and properties, should be used under substantial planning. In this study, considering the importance of the issue, the use of rural lands in Aslanduz town is quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. In this research, problems and deficiencies of land-use by empirical, descriptive and analytical methods, considering social, economic and physical conditions of the city, are quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed separately and the land-use is analyzed using geographic information system (GIS). Results indicate that physical expansion and population growth of the town in the last decade have caused imbalances in the land-use. So, making it balanced and determining appropriate strategies to prevent the abnormal expansion of the city and preservation of agricultural lands and natural resources around it are necessary. Quantitative assessment of the lands considering norms and their qualitative assessment considering compatibility, capacity, utility and dependent matrix, scientific analysis indicate much of the existing land uses are not qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with scientific standards and criteria and are imbalanced.