Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Housing Conditions in Hamadan Province by using Numerical Taxonomy and Williamson's model

Nowadays, housing sector is considered as one of the most important developmental sectors in a society being taken as an indicator of social status and one of the main urban land uses. The quantity and quality of housing indicates the socio-economic status of cities. Housing is an indicator of the quality of life and social welfare. The activities in the housing sector not only contribute to a vital human need, but they also serve an important role in economic development and creation of jobs for the growing population. The present study investigates housing conditions, accommodation needs, priorities, and the ranking of cities in Hamadan province in terms of qualitative and quantitative housing conditions in order to contribute to housing planning in the province. The research variables include ranking of cities based on housing indices, calculation of residential units destruction, estimation of housing destruction rate, computing inter-regional gap index and determination of critical provincial points in terms of housing indices. The type of the research is applied and scientific. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical method using quantitative models. The results showed that the townships of Bahar, Kabudarahang, famenin and Tuyserkan had the worst housing conditions in the province while Hamadan, Malayer and Asadabad had the best housing conditions. Moreover, the housing destruction rate was 2.6 percent in Hamadan province with 2 percent in urban areas and 3 percent in rural areas.