Future research on the formation and growth of informal settlements with the approach of land planning (Case study: Mashhad metropolis)

Nowadays, informal settlements in cities have brought about enormous problems before urban management. Mashhad as a metropolis is no exception to this phenomenon. The increasing urban living costs, migrants’ intake and high population concentration at the outskirts have encountered Mashhad with danger which could further led to complex challenges in the future. The main purpose of this study is to identify the key drivers and formulate future scenarios of informal settlements in Khorasan Razavi province and its capital city Mashhad. Identifying the future situation and compiling the settlement expansion scenarios under the futuristic framework is one of the comprehensive approaches in regional planning. Addressing the factors affecting the future of informal settlements by determining the role of other settlements in the province is an issue that has received less attention in researches. The method is descriptive-analytical where data is collected through questionnaire and analyzed by Mic Mac software. The target research population is 30 people including municipal experts and faculty members of universities. The findings indicate 5 factors: " laws, programs and policies at the national level", "Integrated management of local institutions", "drought and agricultural activities", "unemployment" and "inflation" which are important for the future of informal settlements. The results show that in different scenarios, economic and management factors have the greatest impact on the future of informal settlements in Mashhad and the development of other settlements in the province.