An Analysis of Infrastructure - Service's Development Level in Rural Settlements of Central District of Koohdasht County

Development inequalities in rural regions, especially in regard to infrastructures and delivery services impose numerous undesired consequences over towns and villages. Hence this research attempted to assess the infrastructure – services development level of villages in central district of Koohdasht county (Lorestan province). The research is an applied and descriptive- analytical study. The sample size consists of 131 inhabited villages of mentioned area. On the basis of literature review 18 indicators were defined. Data gathered via referring to district offices and also completing rural questionnaire by local key informants. After releasing indicators from various scales with dividing by average and weighting to them on the basis of factor analysis the infrastructure - services development level composite indicator (CI) was determined. Results indicate that the most of investigated villages aren’t so much privileged in terms of development level and villages of North Koohdasht in compare with South Koohdasht and GolGol sub districts are in the worst condition. Furthermore, there is a positive and negative correlation between the villages’ development level and their population size and distance from county center respectively. Moreover, villages with mountainous-forestial natural condition and nomadic characteristics have significant differences with other investigated villages. Research limitation: Data was limited at the rural level and there were contradictions between data obtained from different offices. Practical implications: On the basis of results it’s recommended that mountainous- forestial, nomadic villages and also North Koohdasht’s rural settlements put in the priority in regard to local planning programs. Original/value: Research achievements facilitate local development planning and can be used by county’s rural development agents such as district’s officers, ministry of Jihad-e-Keshavarzi and rural services centers.