Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Motahhareh Moghiseh
• Esfandyar Zebardast

University of Tehran

Abstract

In regional planning, it is very important to adopt a spatial approach that takes into account all the settlements in the area.
In Iran, there is often a one-dimensional look to urban and rural settlements so that the mutual influence between urban and rural settlements is disregarded while, in reality, both of them have a direct and tangible effect on each other and generally on the regional development.
Taking this point into account, the following outcomes could be expected: 
More realistic planning, reduction of the problems of large urban centers, strengthening peripheral settlements and paying more attention to villages as food production centers and as future cities.
Mashhad metropolitan area is a place of pilgrimage in Iran. As a result, this region has accepted a considerable number of immigrants from other urban and rural settlements. It thus well demonstrates the rural-urban linkage and the effect of rural and urban regions on each other.
This paper employs two types of theories: size-based and network-based hierarchical theories. Regional indexes are first defined using the first type of theories. Then, using the factor and cluster analysis method, the villages and cities will be ranked using more indexes.
The second theory provides us with a different type of information that plays a role in rural-urban relationship. These indexes involve:
1-      Financial flows (essential and non-essential goods, income, labor and manufacturing relations)
2-       Services (educational, health care, technology and banking relations, infrastructure, transport and communication network)
3-      Physical flow (distance from the city(
4-      Organizational and population indexes.
The data was collected by interviewing the residents of rural regions. Members of the village council generally had more complete information.
Afterwards, the different layers of the flows were put together and analyzed by the GIS software. The final score of each flow was calculated.
Three results were obtained in this research by analyzing the collected data:
1-      The development type in Mashhad metropolitan area was determined. Consequently, the relationship between this kind of development and rural-urban linkage, present in this region, was explained.
The result shows that there is often a unilateral relationship between Mashhad and other settlements, which represents the polar and central spatial structure of the area.
2-      Moreover, the features of different villages were determined according to their position towards Mashhad metropolis. These positions involve:
A-    Located near the city of Mashhad
B-    Located on the main road leading to the metropolis or a small town.
C-    None of the above conditions
This division shows that the first type of villages have the highest people, goods, services, capital, and information flows. These flows are less in the second type of villages. Immigration becomes permanent in the third type of villages.
3-       Finally, this research determines the cause of efficient urban-rural relationships. These contain:
A-    Capacity and accepted capital
B-    How capacity and capital is distributed
C-    The amount of effort and ability settlements centers to benefit from others
These factors can be useful in formulating the principles to achieve balanced regional development strategies.

Keywords

• Rural-urban linkage
• balanced development
• regional network
• Mashhad metropolitan area

Main Subjects

• Regional Planning