Identifying and analyzing the factors affecting on urban sprawl (Case Study: Ahvaz City)

Identifying effective mechanisms and urban expansion forces is an important step for better understanding of the spatial pattern, process and consequences of urban expansion   that it is essential for planning and urban growth policies and sustainable urban development. The purpose of the research is to identify and analyze the factors affecting on sprawl of the city of Ahvaz. This research is descriptive-analytic and in terms of objective, applied analytic. The method of data collection is library-documentary and survey. Fuzzy Delphi technique was used in two stages for reaching a group consensus among experts (20 expert). Based on the results of the research, the factors affecting the urban sprawl of Ahvaz include are Lack of integrated urban management, Government policies in the housing sector, urban development plans, natural population growth, migration, construction laws, lifestyle changes, integration of peripheral villages, decline and deterioration central textures, natural environment of the city, the abundance of land, the price difference of land, personal ownership of the car, access to roads, cheap fuel, public transportation, Land speculation, personal preferences of individuals, zoning regulations, inefficient planning and management, economic justification of urban residences, increasing poverty, Steel industry, universities and higher education institutions, the existence of military lands within the city, the conflict between the interests of the public sector and the municipality, the issue of land ownership in the city, land exchange, railways, Karoon River, settlements and institutional homes, Expensive and shortages of housing for low-income groups administrative corruption, informal settlements, taxes, municipal income, Separation of uses, ambiguity in laws and regulations, change in the use of agricultural land, ethnicity, oil facilities, underground water , climate, conflict between the interests of the municipality and the private sector and the bridges.