Bilingual
En/Fa
Geographical Research is Published in both Persian and English Full-text.
Volume 37, Issue 2 (2022)
GeoRes 2022, 37(2): 163-170 |
Back to browse issues page
Article Type:
Subject:
History
Received: 2022/04/17 | Accepted: 2022/05/12 | Published: 2022/06/8
Received: 2022/04/17 | Accepted: 2022/05/12 | Published: 2022/06/8
How to cite this article
Mojtahedzadeh A, Karkehabadi Z, Kamyabi S. Determining the Spatial Boundaries of Urban-Region for Semnan and its Surrounding Area Using the method of measurement of Inductive flows. GeoRes 2022; 37 (2) :163-170
URL: http://georesearch.ir/article-1-1320-en.html
URL: http://georesearch.ir/article-1-1320-en.html
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Rights and permissions
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
1- Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran
Full-Text (HTML) (102 Views)
Introduction
Throughout history and across all civilizations, urbanization has been one of the most evident manifestations of the evolution of human societies. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent rapid expansion of cities, urban communities have faced numerous challenges [Hahs & McDonnell, 2005]. Iran has likewise experienced rapid urbanization and a significant increase in the number of cities and the urban population over the past half century. Although studies conducted in recent years on Iran’s urban systems indicate that, in terms of concentration indices, primacy, and rank–size distribution, the urban system has shown a slight tendency toward balance, the distribution of population across urban size classes remains unbalanced compared to the situation in 1956 [Taghvaei & Saberi, 2010].
Given that the spatial distribution of cities and the urban population in Iran has not occurred within the framework of a comprehensive national plan based on sectoral and regional coordination, many provinces exhibit inappropriate and imbalanced population distributions. This imbalance results from a combination of natural, economic, social, historical, and political factors. As these factors may neutralize or reinforce one another, it is not possible to determine their individual effects separately [Mohajerani, 2010].
Regionalism at the local scale is deeply intertwined with the history of cities and urban governance. Regionalism emerges with the advent of urbanization and, after passing through a phase of “urban regionalism” based primarily on service functions, evolves toward “metropolitanism” and ultimately “city-regionalism.” A city-region can be identified through the functional–service dominance of a central city over its surrounding areas, which may include multiple urban and rural settlements. The term city-region was first introduced as a distinct concept to describe a spatial phenomenon by Robert Dickinson in 1947 [Parr, 2007].
A city-region consists of two main components: a central core and a surrounding hinterland. The central core typically comprises a metropolis or a set of cooperating cities around which the city-region is formed, while the surrounding area includes rural settlements and smaller urban centers that are more strongly linked to the core than to other neighboring centers. Functional integration between these two components, particularly in social and economic terms, is one of the defining characteristics of a city-region. Institutional–governance relations, supra-regional competitiveness, and mono- or polycentric structures are among its other key features [Sarafi & Nejati, 2014].
The perception of spatial phenomena as areas extending beyond the physical boundaries of cities has a history as old as the city itself. Concepts such as city-states and urban states in Mesopotamia and ancient Greece reflect this perspective [Ziari et al., 2009]. In 1910, in the book Cities in Evolution, various terms, including city-region, town clusters, and conglomerate complexes, were employed in an effort to conceptualize emerging phenomena such as conurbations [Geddes et al., 2021]. Robert Dickinson was the first to explicitly define the city-region as a spatial entity extending beyond the main city. The idea that a city cannot be fully understood solely within its administrative boundaries gained prominence through Dickinson’s conceptual framework. In 1964, he argued that cities cannot be comprehended based only on administrative limits; rather, areas that are functionally connected to the city and geographically contiguous should be regarded as part of the city-region [Dickinson, 1964].
Given the relatively recent emergence of the city-region concept in Iran, limited research has been conducted on this spatial phenomenon. The present study seeks to introduce research aligned with the spatial concept of the city-region and methods for delineating its boundaries. In a study by Sharifzadegan et al., a framework for the spatial development of regional competitiveness in Iran was examined through a case study of all 30 provinces [Sharifzadegan et al., 2012]. Subsequently, Sharifzadegan and Fathi (2016), in their article on defining the spatial extent of the city-region of Tehran and its surrounding areas, demonstrated that Tehran and its hinterland can be explained through a polycentric city-region model consisting of two cores and 41 surrounding cities. This finding highlights the functional footprint of Tehran resulting from daily and weekly flows that transcend physical, political, and administrative boundaries [Sharifzadegan & Fathi, 2016]. Bayat et al. (2017) showed that by adopting measures derived from coordinated regional management and polycentric urban development, greater spatial balance could be achieved in the regional urban system, reducing the intensity of centralization and the direct dependence of settlements on Tehran, and leading to a more balanced and sustainable settlement network at the regional level. Soderbaum et al. (2015) have concluded that progress in the study of regionalism requires a deeper understanding of its intellectual roots and the diverse types of regions that have emerged throughout history. Sezgin et al. (2017) have found that over the past two decades, Turkey’s regional policies have introduced new regional concepts, such as the knowledge economy, networked city specialization, and innovation within the context of a traditionally strong centralized state that controls local and regional development. Reznikova et al. (2018) have examined changes in the spatial structure of the global economy, characterized by complex and heterogeneous hierarchies, emphasizing the prominent role of regional competitiveness and arguing that global regional development is reflected through a new global spatial structure.
Spatial analysts and planners have consistently emphasized the need for a balanced focus on four key components. With the expansion of the concept of neo-regionalism, the city-region has gradually emerged as an acceptable spatial phenomenon for achieving objectives such as efficiency, competitiveness, decentralization, globalization, and sustainability. However, this concept has thus far received little attention within Iran’s planning and management system. The present article seeks not only to optimize the spatial pattern of the city-region within the national spatial structure, but also to delineate the spatial boundaries of the Semnan city-region beyond administrative and political constraints. In recent decades, changes in and implementation of political–administrative divisions in Semnan Province and County, the upgrading of small surrounding towns to county status, the promotion of nearby villages to city status, rapid urban expansion, and accelerated urbanization have led to problems such as lack of coordination among policymaking, decision-making, and executive institutions; excessive consumption of water resources; environmental pollution of water, soil, and air; extensive land conversion and construction resulting in the loss of agricultural lands and orchards; reduction of green spaces; and a decline in standard per capita land-use indicators. These issues have contributed to unsustainable development and indicate that the absence of a clearly defined Semnan city-region has hindered intra-regional resource synergy and led to neglect of competitive advantages at the inter-regional level. It appears that the Semnan city-region can be conceptualized as comprising two main parts: the core (Semnan County) and its surrounding territory (Mahdishahr and Sorkheh counties). Considering the daily commuting flows between the core and the periphery, this urban field can be regarded as a city-region. Accordingly, this study aims to delineate and optimize the spatial extent of the Semnan city-region and its surrounding settlements based on an analysis of functional flow systems.
Methodology
The approach adopted in this study is a bottom-up method based on flow measurement. In this approach, commuting flows and commodity flows are considered the most important and operational indicators for delineating spatial boundaries. Observable indicators (such as distance, population, and employment) and non-observable indicators (such as social dependency) together form a multi-component function, the outcome of which is the number of trips between the core city and surrounding cities [Turok, 2009]. In this research, indicators of travel flows and goods flows between the core city and its surrounding settlements, derived from the theoretical framework, are employed to delineate the Semnan city-region. Data on population movements between cities and the volume of freight transported were obtained from the annual reports of the Semnan Provincial Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, supplemented by field surveys.
Based on the formulas applied in this study, the ratio of the population exchanged between two cities over one year (i1), the ratio of freight transported from each surrounding city to Semnan (i2), and the inverse of the distance from Semnan as the core city (i3) are considered independent parameters, while the final score calculated for each city (iT) represents the dependent parameter of the first method [Davoudi, 2008].
The indicator i1 represents the ratio of the exchanged population between two cities to the population of the surrounding city.
The indicator i2 represents the ratio of freight transported from city i to the core city relative to the total freight transported from that city.
The indicator i3 represents the inverse distance of surrounding cities from the core city.
The indicator i4 represents the ratio of the exchanged population to total population and distance from the core city.
The final indicator (iT) represents the composite score of each city, calculated from the combined effects of population exchange, distance, and freight flow [Sharifzadegan & Fathi, 2016].
Study Area
Semnan County is located on the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountain range. It is bordered by Mahdishahr County to the north, Damghan County to the east, Sorkheh County to the west, and Isfahan Province to the south. The city of Semnan is situated approximately 216 km from Tehran and is connected to the Tehran–Mashhad national railway. The area of Semnan County is approximately 11,017 km². In its southern parts, geographical and historical features such as the Dasht-e Kavir desert, sand dunes, and the Delaiyan and Mirak Delazian hills are among the most prominent characteristics. The easternmost longitude of the county is 52°47′, and its northernmost latitude is 34°14′. The elevation of the main meteorological station is 1,127 m above sea level. Semnan city is the only urban settlement within the county. According to statistical records, the population of the county was 196,521, of which 94.2% resided in urban areas and 5.8% in rural settlements.
Using GIS, buffer zones with radii of 20 km and 50 km were delineated around the center of Semnan city. Based on this process, Semnan was identified as the core city, while Darjazin, Sorkheh, Shahmirzad, and Mahdishahr were selected as surrounding cities for further analysis.
Findings
The final score for each surrounding city was calculated by inserting the values of population exchange and freight flows into the specified formulas. The indicator i1, which reflects the annual ratio of exchanged population between two cities, showed that the lowest level of population exchange occurred between Semnan and Sorkheh. The indicator i2, representing the ratio of freight transported from surrounding cities to Semnan relative to the total freight transported from those cities, was recorded as zero for Darjazin and Shahmirzad based on official freight records. The indicator i3, reflecting the inverse distance of surrounding cities from Semnan, reached its lowest value for Shahmirzad. The indicator i4, representing the ratio of exchanged population to total population combined with inverse distance, showed the lowest value for Sorkheh.
The composite indicator iT represents the final score of each city and is derived from the combined effects of population exchange, distance, and freight flow toward the core city. Results indicated that Sorkheh had the lowest final score among the surrounding cities. Based on these scores, the degree of functional correlation between the core city and surrounding cities was classified into four categories: low, moderate, high, and very high correlation.
Accordingly, Darjazin and Sorkheh were classified as having a moderate level of correlation with Semnan, Mahdishahr exhibited a high level of correlation, and Shahmirzad demonstrated a very high level of correlation. Based on the bottom-up approach and the final composite scores, the spatial extent of the Semnan city-region was delineated, encompassing the cities of Darjazin, Sorkheh, Shahmirzad, and Mahdishahr as integral components of the Semnan city-region.
Discussion
One of the principal benefits of establishing a city-region is the promotion of regional balance and the more proportionate growth in both the number and size of cities within the region. Adopting a city-region policy and emphasizing the development and expansion of existing small and medium-sized surrounding cities can facilitate progress toward spatial balance and improve the spatial organization and urban system. In this study, by applying a flow-measurement (bottom-up) approach between Semnan as the core city and the surrounding cities of Darjazin, Sorkheh, Shahmirzad, and Mahdishahr, and by calculating the degree of functional linkage among them, it was determined that Sorkheh and Darjazin exhibit a moderate level of linkage with Semnan, Mahdishahr shows a high level of linkage, and Shahmirzad demonstrates a very high level of linkage. Together, these cities constitute the Semnan city-region.
The findings indicate a strong degree of consistency with previous studies, particularly the research by Sharifzadegan and Fathi on delineating the spatial extent of the Tehran city-region and the study by Bayat et al. on coordinated regional management as a strategy for achieving spatial balance in the Tehran city-region [Sharifzadegan et al., 2012; Bayat et al., 2017]. Accordingly, the application of methods such as flow measurement and distance from the core can be effective in identifying city-regions for urban centers surrounded by smaller settlements that are functionally connected through daily commuting flows and commodity exchanges. Such an approach enables the formation of a city-region based on spatial logic that transcends physical, political, and administrative boundaries, thereby contributing to the reduction of spatial disparities, inequalities, and heterogeneity, and supporting the implementation of spatial planning policies aimed at achieving appropriate spatial balance and regional equity.
Erdem concluded that modern development theories have not yielded consistently successful outcomes over time, a situation that has driven Turkey toward new development approaches. Contemporary strategies in Turkey have increasingly emphasized local and regional development through bottom-up processes, while still being embedded within a broader top-down regional development framework. This process, commonly referred to as the new regionalism approach, has been analyzed in terms of Turkey’s development trajectory. Similarly, in the present study, the development pattern of the city-region and its surrounding areas was examined based on the applied methods and the collected data [Erdem, 2019].
Sasanpour and Zare conducted a study on the level of development across Iranian provinces using a descriptive–analytical approach and a multi-criteria decision-making method (TOPSIS) to classify provinces according to their development status [Sasanpour & Zare, 2019]. The results of their TOPSIS model indicated that Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Isfahan provinces exhibit the highest levels of development, whereas provinces such as Semnan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, and Ilam are characterized by relatively unfavorable conditions. These findings are consistent with the results of the present study, which indicate an unfavorable level of urban development within the Semnan city-region.
Conclusion
The spatial balance of the urban system of Semnan has gradually shifted from a monocentric pattern in previous decades toward a polycentric form of development, driven by the increasing number of surrounding cities and the regional dispersion of population. Although this transition has proceeded at a moderate pace, the system remains far from achieving full regional interaction. The establishment of the Semnan city-region can accelerate this process and contribute to strengthening regional integration.
Acknowledgments: The authors hereby express their sincere gratitude to all officials of the Faculty of Humanities at Islamic Azad University of Semnan for their support.
Ethical Permission: No ethical issues were reported by the authors.
Conflict of Interest: This article is derived from the PhD dissertation of Mr. Askar Mojtahedzadeh, supervised by Dr. Zeynab Karkehabadi, entitled “An Introduction to Spatial Sustainable Development Planning with a New Regionalism Approach (Case Study: Semnan City-Region).”
Author Contributions: Mojtahedzadeh A (First Author), Principal Researcher/Discussion Writer (50%); Karkehabadi Z (Second Author), Methodologist/Discussion Writer (25%); Kamyabi S (Third Author), Assistant Researcher (25%).
Funding: No funding was reported by the authors.
Throughout history and across all civilizations, urbanization has been one of the most evident manifestations of the evolution of human societies. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent rapid expansion of cities, urban communities have faced numerous challenges [Hahs & McDonnell, 2005]. Iran has likewise experienced rapid urbanization and a significant increase in the number of cities and the urban population over the past half century. Although studies conducted in recent years on Iran’s urban systems indicate that, in terms of concentration indices, primacy, and rank–size distribution, the urban system has shown a slight tendency toward balance, the distribution of population across urban size classes remains unbalanced compared to the situation in 1956 [Taghvaei & Saberi, 2010].
Given that the spatial distribution of cities and the urban population in Iran has not occurred within the framework of a comprehensive national plan based on sectoral and regional coordination, many provinces exhibit inappropriate and imbalanced population distributions. This imbalance results from a combination of natural, economic, social, historical, and political factors. As these factors may neutralize or reinforce one another, it is not possible to determine their individual effects separately [Mohajerani, 2010].
Regionalism at the local scale is deeply intertwined with the history of cities and urban governance. Regionalism emerges with the advent of urbanization and, after passing through a phase of “urban regionalism” based primarily on service functions, evolves toward “metropolitanism” and ultimately “city-regionalism.” A city-region can be identified through the functional–service dominance of a central city over its surrounding areas, which may include multiple urban and rural settlements. The term city-region was first introduced as a distinct concept to describe a spatial phenomenon by Robert Dickinson in 1947 [Parr, 2007].
A city-region consists of two main components: a central core and a surrounding hinterland. The central core typically comprises a metropolis or a set of cooperating cities around which the city-region is formed, while the surrounding area includes rural settlements and smaller urban centers that are more strongly linked to the core than to other neighboring centers. Functional integration between these two components, particularly in social and economic terms, is one of the defining characteristics of a city-region. Institutional–governance relations, supra-regional competitiveness, and mono- or polycentric structures are among its other key features [Sarafi & Nejati, 2014].
The perception of spatial phenomena as areas extending beyond the physical boundaries of cities has a history as old as the city itself. Concepts such as city-states and urban states in Mesopotamia and ancient Greece reflect this perspective [Ziari et al., 2009]. In 1910, in the book Cities in Evolution, various terms, including city-region, town clusters, and conglomerate complexes, were employed in an effort to conceptualize emerging phenomena such as conurbations [Geddes et al., 2021]. Robert Dickinson was the first to explicitly define the city-region as a spatial entity extending beyond the main city. The idea that a city cannot be fully understood solely within its administrative boundaries gained prominence through Dickinson’s conceptual framework. In 1964, he argued that cities cannot be comprehended based only on administrative limits; rather, areas that are functionally connected to the city and geographically contiguous should be regarded as part of the city-region [Dickinson, 1964].
Given the relatively recent emergence of the city-region concept in Iran, limited research has been conducted on this spatial phenomenon. The present study seeks to introduce research aligned with the spatial concept of the city-region and methods for delineating its boundaries. In a study by Sharifzadegan et al., a framework for the spatial development of regional competitiveness in Iran was examined through a case study of all 30 provinces [Sharifzadegan et al., 2012]. Subsequently, Sharifzadegan and Fathi (2016), in their article on defining the spatial extent of the city-region of Tehran and its surrounding areas, demonstrated that Tehran and its hinterland can be explained through a polycentric city-region model consisting of two cores and 41 surrounding cities. This finding highlights the functional footprint of Tehran resulting from daily and weekly flows that transcend physical, political, and administrative boundaries [Sharifzadegan & Fathi, 2016]. Bayat et al. (2017) showed that by adopting measures derived from coordinated regional management and polycentric urban development, greater spatial balance could be achieved in the regional urban system, reducing the intensity of centralization and the direct dependence of settlements on Tehran, and leading to a more balanced and sustainable settlement network at the regional level. Soderbaum et al. (2015) have concluded that progress in the study of regionalism requires a deeper understanding of its intellectual roots and the diverse types of regions that have emerged throughout history. Sezgin et al. (2017) have found that over the past two decades, Turkey’s regional policies have introduced new regional concepts, such as the knowledge economy, networked city specialization, and innovation within the context of a traditionally strong centralized state that controls local and regional development. Reznikova et al. (2018) have examined changes in the spatial structure of the global economy, characterized by complex and heterogeneous hierarchies, emphasizing the prominent role of regional competitiveness and arguing that global regional development is reflected through a new global spatial structure.
Spatial analysts and planners have consistently emphasized the need for a balanced focus on four key components. With the expansion of the concept of neo-regionalism, the city-region has gradually emerged as an acceptable spatial phenomenon for achieving objectives such as efficiency, competitiveness, decentralization, globalization, and sustainability. However, this concept has thus far received little attention within Iran’s planning and management system. The present article seeks not only to optimize the spatial pattern of the city-region within the national spatial structure, but also to delineate the spatial boundaries of the Semnan city-region beyond administrative and political constraints. In recent decades, changes in and implementation of political–administrative divisions in Semnan Province and County, the upgrading of small surrounding towns to county status, the promotion of nearby villages to city status, rapid urban expansion, and accelerated urbanization have led to problems such as lack of coordination among policymaking, decision-making, and executive institutions; excessive consumption of water resources; environmental pollution of water, soil, and air; extensive land conversion and construction resulting in the loss of agricultural lands and orchards; reduction of green spaces; and a decline in standard per capita land-use indicators. These issues have contributed to unsustainable development and indicate that the absence of a clearly defined Semnan city-region has hindered intra-regional resource synergy and led to neglect of competitive advantages at the inter-regional level. It appears that the Semnan city-region can be conceptualized as comprising two main parts: the core (Semnan County) and its surrounding territory (Mahdishahr and Sorkheh counties). Considering the daily commuting flows between the core and the periphery, this urban field can be regarded as a city-region. Accordingly, this study aims to delineate and optimize the spatial extent of the Semnan city-region and its surrounding settlements based on an analysis of functional flow systems.
Methodology
The approach adopted in this study is a bottom-up method based on flow measurement. In this approach, commuting flows and commodity flows are considered the most important and operational indicators for delineating spatial boundaries. Observable indicators (such as distance, population, and employment) and non-observable indicators (such as social dependency) together form a multi-component function, the outcome of which is the number of trips between the core city and surrounding cities [Turok, 2009]. In this research, indicators of travel flows and goods flows between the core city and its surrounding settlements, derived from the theoretical framework, are employed to delineate the Semnan city-region. Data on population movements between cities and the volume of freight transported were obtained from the annual reports of the Semnan Provincial Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, supplemented by field surveys.
Based on the formulas applied in this study, the ratio of the population exchanged between two cities over one year (i1), the ratio of freight transported from each surrounding city to Semnan (i2), and the inverse of the distance from Semnan as the core city (i3) are considered independent parameters, while the final score calculated for each city (iT) represents the dependent parameter of the first method [Davoudi, 2008].
The indicator i1 represents the ratio of the exchanged population between two cities to the population of the surrounding city.
The indicator i2 represents the ratio of freight transported from city i to the core city relative to the total freight transported from that city.
The indicator i3 represents the inverse distance of surrounding cities from the core city.
The indicator i4 represents the ratio of the exchanged population to total population and distance from the core city.
The final indicator (iT) represents the composite score of each city, calculated from the combined effects of population exchange, distance, and freight flow [Sharifzadegan & Fathi, 2016].
Study Area
Semnan County is located on the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountain range. It is bordered by Mahdishahr County to the north, Damghan County to the east, Sorkheh County to the west, and Isfahan Province to the south. The city of Semnan is situated approximately 216 km from Tehran and is connected to the Tehran–Mashhad national railway. The area of Semnan County is approximately 11,017 km². In its southern parts, geographical and historical features such as the Dasht-e Kavir desert, sand dunes, and the Delaiyan and Mirak Delazian hills are among the most prominent characteristics. The easternmost longitude of the county is 52°47′, and its northernmost latitude is 34°14′. The elevation of the main meteorological station is 1,127 m above sea level. Semnan city is the only urban settlement within the county. According to statistical records, the population of the county was 196,521, of which 94.2% resided in urban areas and 5.8% in rural settlements.
Using GIS, buffer zones with radii of 20 km and 50 km were delineated around the center of Semnan city. Based on this process, Semnan was identified as the core city, while Darjazin, Sorkheh, Shahmirzad, and Mahdishahr were selected as surrounding cities for further analysis.
Findings
The final score for each surrounding city was calculated by inserting the values of population exchange and freight flows into the specified formulas. The indicator i1, which reflects the annual ratio of exchanged population between two cities, showed that the lowest level of population exchange occurred between Semnan and Sorkheh. The indicator i2, representing the ratio of freight transported from surrounding cities to Semnan relative to the total freight transported from those cities, was recorded as zero for Darjazin and Shahmirzad based on official freight records. The indicator i3, reflecting the inverse distance of surrounding cities from Semnan, reached its lowest value for Shahmirzad. The indicator i4, representing the ratio of exchanged population to total population combined with inverse distance, showed the lowest value for Sorkheh.
The composite indicator iT represents the final score of each city and is derived from the combined effects of population exchange, distance, and freight flow toward the core city. Results indicated that Sorkheh had the lowest final score among the surrounding cities. Based on these scores, the degree of functional correlation between the core city and surrounding cities was classified into four categories: low, moderate, high, and very high correlation.
Accordingly, Darjazin and Sorkheh were classified as having a moderate level of correlation with Semnan, Mahdishahr exhibited a high level of correlation, and Shahmirzad demonstrated a very high level of correlation. Based on the bottom-up approach and the final composite scores, the spatial extent of the Semnan city-region was delineated, encompassing the cities of Darjazin, Sorkheh, Shahmirzad, and Mahdishahr as integral components of the Semnan city-region.
Discussion
One of the principal benefits of establishing a city-region is the promotion of regional balance and the more proportionate growth in both the number and size of cities within the region. Adopting a city-region policy and emphasizing the development and expansion of existing small and medium-sized surrounding cities can facilitate progress toward spatial balance and improve the spatial organization and urban system. In this study, by applying a flow-measurement (bottom-up) approach between Semnan as the core city and the surrounding cities of Darjazin, Sorkheh, Shahmirzad, and Mahdishahr, and by calculating the degree of functional linkage among them, it was determined that Sorkheh and Darjazin exhibit a moderate level of linkage with Semnan, Mahdishahr shows a high level of linkage, and Shahmirzad demonstrates a very high level of linkage. Together, these cities constitute the Semnan city-region.
The findings indicate a strong degree of consistency with previous studies, particularly the research by Sharifzadegan and Fathi on delineating the spatial extent of the Tehran city-region and the study by Bayat et al. on coordinated regional management as a strategy for achieving spatial balance in the Tehran city-region [Sharifzadegan et al., 2012; Bayat et al., 2017]. Accordingly, the application of methods such as flow measurement and distance from the core can be effective in identifying city-regions for urban centers surrounded by smaller settlements that are functionally connected through daily commuting flows and commodity exchanges. Such an approach enables the formation of a city-region based on spatial logic that transcends physical, political, and administrative boundaries, thereby contributing to the reduction of spatial disparities, inequalities, and heterogeneity, and supporting the implementation of spatial planning policies aimed at achieving appropriate spatial balance and regional equity.
Erdem concluded that modern development theories have not yielded consistently successful outcomes over time, a situation that has driven Turkey toward new development approaches. Contemporary strategies in Turkey have increasingly emphasized local and regional development through bottom-up processes, while still being embedded within a broader top-down regional development framework. This process, commonly referred to as the new regionalism approach, has been analyzed in terms of Turkey’s development trajectory. Similarly, in the present study, the development pattern of the city-region and its surrounding areas was examined based on the applied methods and the collected data [Erdem, 2019].
Sasanpour and Zare conducted a study on the level of development across Iranian provinces using a descriptive–analytical approach and a multi-criteria decision-making method (TOPSIS) to classify provinces according to their development status [Sasanpour & Zare, 2019]. The results of their TOPSIS model indicated that Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Isfahan provinces exhibit the highest levels of development, whereas provinces such as Semnan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, and Ilam are characterized by relatively unfavorable conditions. These findings are consistent with the results of the present study, which indicate an unfavorable level of urban development within the Semnan city-region.
Conclusion
The spatial balance of the urban system of Semnan has gradually shifted from a monocentric pattern in previous decades toward a polycentric form of development, driven by the increasing number of surrounding cities and the regional dispersion of population. Although this transition has proceeded at a moderate pace, the system remains far from achieving full regional interaction. The establishment of the Semnan city-region can accelerate this process and contribute to strengthening regional integration.
Acknowledgments: The authors hereby express their sincere gratitude to all officials of the Faculty of Humanities at Islamic Azad University of Semnan for their support.
Ethical Permission: No ethical issues were reported by the authors.
Conflict of Interest: This article is derived from the PhD dissertation of Mr. Askar Mojtahedzadeh, supervised by Dr. Zeynab Karkehabadi, entitled “An Introduction to Spatial Sustainable Development Planning with a New Regionalism Approach (Case Study: Semnan City-Region).”
Author Contributions: Mojtahedzadeh A (First Author), Principal Researcher/Discussion Writer (50%); Karkehabadi Z (Second Author), Methodologist/Discussion Writer (25%); Kamyabi S (Third Author), Assistant Researcher (25%).
Funding: No funding was reported by the authors.
Keywords:
References
1. 141.ir [Internet] (2022). Tehran: 141 [Cited 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: https://141.ir. [Link]
2. amar.org.ir [Internet] (2018). Tehran: Statistical Yearbook [Cited 2022 Aug 1]. Available from: http://www.amar.org.ir. [Link]
3. Bayat A, Karkehabadi Z, Kamyabi S (2017). Assessment and evaluation of the differentiation status and heterogeneity of spatial available in the urban area of tehran using TOPSIS model. Geography. 15(54):229-246. [Persian] [Link]
4. Davoudi S (2008). Conceptions of the city-region: a critical review. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil. Urban Design and Planning. 161(2):51-60. [Link] [DOI:10.1680/udap.2008.161.2.51]
5. Dickinson RE (1964). City and region: a geographical interpretation. Unknown city: Humanities Press Intl. [Link]
6. Erdem MS (2019). The new regionalism approach at regional development: a case study of Sinop province. BİLTÜRK Journal of Economics and Related Studies. 1(1):57-83. [Link]
7. Geddes P, LeGates R, Stout F (2021). Cities in evolution. Routledge. [Link] [DOI:10.4324/9781003101079]
8. Hahs AK, McDonnell MJ (2005). Selecting independent measures to quantify Melbourne's urban-rural gradient. Landscape and Urban Planning. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2005.12.005]
9. Mohajerani AA (2010). Disharmony in the spatial distribution of the population of Iran. Population Quarterly. 71-72:47-62. [Persian] [Link]
10. Parr JB (2007). Spatial definitions of the city: four perspectives. Urban Studies. 44(2):381-392. [Link] [DOI:10.1080/00420980601075059]
11. Reznikova N, Panchenko V, Bulatova O (2018). The policy of economic nationalism: from origins to new variations of economic patriotism. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies. 4(4):274-281. [Link] [DOI:10.30525/2256-0742/2018-4-4-274-281]
12. rmto.ir [Internet] (2018). Semnan: General Department of Highways and Road Transportation of Semnan Province [Cited 2020 Aug]. Available from: https://www.rmto.ir/en. [Link]
13. Sarafi M, Nejati Alaf N (2014). New regionalism approach for improving the system of spatial development management in Iran. Human Geography Research. 46(4):857-874. [Persian] [Link]
14. Sasanpour F, Zare M (2019). An analysis of the status of development in the provinces of Iran. 14th Congress of the Geographical Association of Iran. Tehran: CIVILICA. [Persian] [Link]
15. Sezgin E, Levental I, Mayor S, Eggeling C (2017). The mystery of membrane organization: composition, regulation and roles of lipid rafts. Nature reviews Molecular cell biology. 18:361-374. [Link] [DOI:10.1038/nrm.2017.16]
16. Sharifzadegan MH, Fathi Farzaneh A (2016). Determining the spatial boundaries of city-region for Tehran metropolis and its surrounding area. Land Management. 8(1):35-55. [Persian] [Link]
17. Sharifzadegan MH, Nedayi Tusi S (2012). Iran's regional competitiveness spatial development framework case study: 30 provinces of Iran. HONAR-HA-YE-ZIBA MEMARI-VA-SHAHRSAZI. 20(3):5-20. [Persian] [Link]
18. Soderbaum F (2015). Early, old, new and comparative regionalism: The scholarly development of the field. KFG Working Paper Series. No: 64. [Link] [DOI:10.2139/ssrn.2687942]
19. Taghvaei M, Saberi H (2010). An analysis of Iran urban systems during the period of 1335 (1956) to 1385 (2006). urban-regional studies and research (University of Isfahan):2(5):55-76. [Persian] [Link]
20. Turok I (2009). Limits to the mega-city region: conflicting local and regional needs. Regional Studies. 43(6):845-862. [Link] [DOI:10.1080/00343400903095261]
21. Ziari K, Rostam Goorani E, Beyranvandzade M (2009). Investigation of populative and residentive changes in qeshm city until 1405. Urban-Regional Studies And Research (University of Isfahan). 1(2):37-50. [Persian] [Link]