Assessing Urban Environmental Sustainability, Case Study: Zahedan City

Environmental sustainability assessment represents a set of measures that provide useful information about the effects of the environment on humans and vice versa. Assessing the environmental sustainability of cities is necessary to achieve appropriate urban planning in line with the variables of the natural environment. Considering the role and importance of the environment in the lives of citizens and the existence of environmental problems in Zahedan, the present study aimed to investigate the environmental sustainability of Zahedan city in comparison with its rival cities in the province. The present study was applied and descriptive-analytical in terms of purpose and method. The statistical population of the study was officials, professionals, and related experts in the selected cities of the province. For this purpose, cities with more than 50,000 people (Zabul, Saravan, Iranshahr, Chabahar, and Zahedan) were selected. The Meta-SWOT model was used for data analysis. For many years, the use of the SWOT model has shown that this model, in addition to being based on mental inspirations, lacks predictive power due to avoiding quantification. So, in this study, the Meta-SWOT model was used to eliminate the disadvantages of the SWOT model. The results obtained from environmental sustainability showed that the city of Zahedan had the first rank in the production of waste materials. Also, in terms of macro-environmental factors that need special attention, the development of the use of renewable energy resources and reducing and minimizing the consumption of fossil fuels were the priorities. Factors that rank next included establishing laws for environmental sustainability, increasing funding for environmental clean-up, and optimizing waste management and waste recycling.