Assessing spatial justice in access to urban services using spatial multi-criteria decision analysis (case study: Khorramabad)

Yazdanshenas, Mohammad Hassan; Tahmasbi Boeini, Kimia; Nazari, Sara

doi:10.22034/uep.2026.580146.1877

Assessing spatial justice in access to urban services using spatial multi-criteria decision analysis (case study: Khorramabad)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohammad Hassan Yazdanshenas ¹

Kimia Tahmasbi Boeini ²

Sara Nazari ³

¹ PhD Student in Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

² MSc in Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

³ MSc Student in Urban Design, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/uep.2026.580146.1877

Abstract

In Khorramabad, the spatial distribution of urban services does not align with population distribution or residents’ actual opportunities to access them, resulting in inequalities among neighborhoods. Although previous studies in Iran have examined inequalities in the distribution of urban services, the simultaneous integration of network-based accessibility, population–service coverage mismatch, the spatial structure of deprivation, and the prioritization of interventions at the neighborhood scale has received less attention. This study examines these dimensions and translates the results into spatial intervention priorities for the city’s 24 neighborhoods. First, network-based service areas were delineated using thresholds of 1,000 m for healthcare services and 500 m for educational and cultural services. The spatial population–service mismatch index (SPMI) was then calculated for each neighborhood, and spatial patterns of advantage and deprivation were identified using local indicators of spatial association (LISA). Next, the relative importance of service types was determined through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and the results were integrated into a spatial multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) model. The findings revealed a considerable mismatch between population shares and service coverage across Khorramabad’s neighborhoods. The integrated model placed neighborhoods 10, 12, 4, 13, 22, and 3 among the highest intervention priorities. The findings suggested that jointly assessing the magnitude and spatial structure of mismatch can provide a more precise basis for place-based urban service policymaking in medium-sized Iranian cities.

Keywords

Khorramabad

network-based accessibility analysis

right to the city

spatial multi-criteria decision analysis

spatial justice

urban services

Subjects

Urban planning

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