Journal of Spatial Analysis

Although environmental hazards occur because of natural factors, however, political economy, controlling the sociospatial relations and conditions, also affect centrally the increase or decrease of physical and social vulnerability caused by hazards. In this regard, present paper has put the spotlight on “explaining the role of spatial distribution of social stratification in vulnerability to environmental hazards in the city of Tehran”. This is based on Political Ecology Approach which emphasizes the domination of prosperous social strata on the urban natural-ecological endowments and utilities and marginalizes low-income and inferior social strata. So, the recognition of social strata inhabitation across the city is significant for the analysis of social inequalities and their effects on the vulnerability of environmental and human hazards. The concentration of middle to high class and working and inferior classes has also caused the range of social inequality to increase in the metropolitan of Tehran and this trend per se has transformed Tehran to the spatial reflection of the contrast between poverty and wealth to the greatest extent in the country. Hence, regarding the fundamental role of social stratification and class structure and its evolution in explaining the dynamics of socio-economical relations in the dominant society and the process of urban space production and reproduction, explaining the role of spatial distribution of social stratification in vulnerability to environmental hazards in the city of Tehran is significant and necessary. Vulnerability to environmental hazards has been studied from the physical, biological perspectives, social construction perspective and contingency perspective. The present paper emphasizes the effects of social construction on the production of vulnerability. Scientists think radical and critical geography of space is a kind of social production. They believe that not only urban space, but also the entire space has a social structure and nobody can analyze it thoroughly regardless to the society’s work on the space. Thus in a world under the Capitalist System, urban space represents a reflection of the control and domination of superior social strata (owners of power, wealth and high status, or the owners of political, economic and socio-cultural assets) in its functional zones.  This has been appeared in the recent decades, within the literature of hazards and catastrophes and based on “an approach of vulnerability” which has been rested on Political Ecology. The mentioned approach has been concentrated on a series of socio-spatial conditions and political economy which shapes the hazards and catastrophes. Some of the effective social conditions in shaping the hazards and catastrophes and their amounts of vulnerability depend on the racial, ethnic and class characteristics. Racial, class, ethnic and political economy analyses, which dominate their social ties, are considered as part of understanding knowledge system of hazards and catastrophes. Since this causes detecting the role of political economy of inequalities and racial, class and ethical processes and the marginalization caused by it, in the emergence of hazards and exacerbation of catastrophes and crises impacts. To use job structure means to emphasize concrete class structures, according to which an image of social inequality can be offered. Thus in present study, for structure determination and main composition of social stratification in Iran and Tehran “Structure Determination and Composition of Social Strata Model” was used. According to this model and with the use of data from matrix tables, major occupational groups and occupational situation have been classified in 5 classes superior strata, traditional middle strata, new middle strata, working and inferior strata and farmers. The data were prepared and analyzed by ArcGIS and Ms Excel softwaares.   During the last century, uneven development process of the country was in favor of the Tehran and superior strata and powerful institutions located in this city. Regarding the processes and relations emerged from political economy of space and political ecology of Tehran, social strata inhabitation of Tehran has been in compliance with environmental capacities raised from topographic and microclimatic distinctions and ecological endowments. The findings of present paper also indicate physical and social vulnerability changes caused by probable hazards related to the general pattern of social strata inhabitation in north-south geographical direction. Spatial distribution of populated blocks in 1996, for which more than 30% of their inhabitants were “senior managers and experts” and “manufacturing jobs employees and laborers”, indicates the above mentioned issue and clearly show the poverty (old poor neighborhoods) and wealth (expensive and rich neighborhoods) spatial centers. In addition, according to the supporting studies on Tehran Comprehensive Plan, most of old urban tissues are in central and southern regions. Also according to the International Seismological Research Agency (JICA), the mentioned regions would be the most vulnerable in the Tehran probable earthquakes. Therefore, it can be said that findings and results of the present study indicate the determining place of political economy of space and urban political ecology and also the fundamental role of social stratification and class structure for recognition, analysis, explanation and understanding of the urban development challenges and problems. Hence, this is impossible to reduce social and physical vulnerabilities caused by natural and human hazards, particularly in the poor neighborhoods, regardless of political economy of space mechanisms and reduction of the gap and even urban development. 

Resilience are concepts that are finding increasing currency in several fields of research as well as in various policy and practitioner communities engaged in global environmental change science, climate change, sustainability science, disaster risk-reduction and famine interventions (Vogel, et.al, 2007). Where the risk is a probability of damage, injury, liability, loss, or any other negative occurrence that is caused by external or internal vulnerabilities, and that may be avoided through preemptive action (Benson, et.al, 2004). Among natural disasters, earthquakes, due to the unpredictable nature of these events, are one of the most destructive. Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world that its cities most affected by this phenomenon. Among the cities of Iran, Tehran, as the country's first metropolis, due to dense population, poor physical development, structural density, and lack of standards, is potentially facing a serious threat. The purpose of this study is to investigate the spatial flexibility of Tehran over the region 12 after the earthquake incidence.

The present study is dealt with the data preparing and analysis using geospatial methods. The several geospatial data such as Peak Ground Acceleration (AGA) map, urban structure, infrastructure and population collected from Tehran Disaster Management Center were provided and analysis based some GIS known algorithms. In other to urban spatial resilience zonation the AHP (analytical Hierarchy Process) was implemented to generation risk map. Finally OWA (Ordered Weighted Average) method was implemented in order to Production spatial flexibility map of earthquake incidence over the District 12 of Tehran. AHP model uses of priorities straight experts, but OWA provides of control the level of compensation and risk-taking in a decision. Using the conceptual of fuzzy quantifier with OWA makes the qualitative data analysis enter to decision.

    According to flexibility of the final map with fuzzy operator (All) equivalent to the operator MIN, the worst result Was obtained and resulting the highest risk and lowest flexibility respectively (Districts Nos. 2,12,7,8 and 11).By taking all the criteria of a criterion without compensation by other criteria as "non-risk" is obtained .

Map obtained with fuzzy operator (Half) has the high potential to provide suitable options,  because in addition to integration criteria the importance of each parameter based on the weight given to the criteria are considered. In this map Districts Nos.2.6 and 8 (Baharestan, Emamzadeyahya and Sanglajedarkhangah) respectively were most Risk to earthquakes and therefore less flexibility to the earthquake. The map obtained with the fuzzy operator "Atleast one" is equivalent to MAX operator districts Nos. 2,12,7 and 8 (Baharestan ,DarvazehGhar of Shush,Abshardardar and Sanglajedarkhangah)  respectively were most Risk to earthquakes and therefore less flexibility to the earthquake.

The fuzzy conceptual map quantifier showed that districts Nos. 2 and 12 (Baharestan and DarvazehGhar of Shush) were most vulnerable and therefore less flexibility to the earthquake as final results.

Risk is an inevitable part of life, every day people are somehow at risk. Different risks in various forms and perspectives have different functions. Kurdistan province, with various heights and relatively good rainfall, It results the country's cold spots. Since most of seasonal rainfall occurs in winter, Snow cover is often the domain and passes it hillsides. One of the concerns of people in the mountainous area is a snow avalanche phenomenon. Sudden loss of massive snow is avalanche snow that may include rocks, soil, plants or ice. It seems that the name of the snow avalanche adopted from the eleventh month of the solar year. The possibility of snow in mountainous areas during this month of year is more than other months. Snow avalanches every year around the world, especially in alpine impose huge human and financial losses. Statistics and local evidence also show that the province of Kurdistan expect or accept to soil erosion and destruction of infrastructure and natural resources had a casualty. Actually, this is the most vital reason why zoning area danger avalanche was conducted in this study.

 First, avalanche pathways was recognised and selected as a field visit by department of urban development The purpose of the visit was to extract the geography’s coordinates of the avalanche. The Background of the study shows some of the land criteria are more important than others. For this purpose we performed a literature survey to explore indicators that had a significant impact on avalanche snow like such as; slope, aspect, elevation, convexity and concavity, distance to roads and land. To facilitate greater accuracy, all criteria were used in geographic information system (GIS) for mapping. Thereafter, produced map can be categorised into four classes of low, moderate, high and very high. In the next step. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) model were used for weighting and ranking all criteria (slope, aspect, elevation, convexity and concavity, distance to roads and land use) by using pairwise comparisons with judgments that represent the dominance of one element over another with respect to a property that they share. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a method for decision making which includes qualitative factors. In this method, ratio scales are obtained from ordinal scales which are derived from individual judgments for qualitative factors using the pairwise comparison matrix. The Analytic Network Process (ANP) is a more general form and extension of Analytical Hierarchy Process also uses a pairwise comparison matrix to obtain ratio scales. The difference between these two methods appears in modelling the problem and computing the final priorities for the criteria from ratio scales previously obtained. The ANP feedback approach replaces hierarchies with networks, and emphasizes interdependent relationships among all decision criteria were used in this study).

 Based on the resultant Maps, AHP and ANP had a good overlap with visited points and with high accuracy lay in areas of high risk and very high risk. According to the map provided by Analytic Hierarchy Process from the total number of 30 hillsides, thirteen of them lay in very high risk and seventeen of them in the area of high risk. Thereafter, resultant maps of Analytic network Process shows from the total number of 30 hillsides twelve of them lay in very high risk area and eighteen of them in the high risk area.

The results of (AHP) indicates that from the total area of Kurdistan province, about 1049.7 square kilometres is classified in the low risk area, 11.392 square kilometres in moderate, 14.341 in the high risk area and 2009.1 square kilometres in very high risk area, respectively . In view of the process of the network as map about 978 square kilometres is in low risk area, 10245 square kilometres in moderate risk area, 15410 square kilometres in the high danger area and 2158 square kilometres is located in very high danger area. Therefore, we can use ground data for snow avalanche zoning areas along with Analytic Hierarchy Process and Analytic Network in zoning areas avalanche risk which is applicable. Weather parameters like snow, wind and temperature have an important role in terms of snow avalanche. Decreasing rainfall from west to east of study area. The number of freezing and snowing days indicates the critical situation for snow avalanche in the highlands and the pathways. More prevailing wind direction in the cities are in the Southern west, Southern and in area with high elevation blowing from western direction. Looking at the range of high and very high can be seen, mostly in the North and South and North East which show the impact of prevailing wind upon snow and putting snow in hillsides that can produce snow avalanches

. The hillsides show most of avalanche dangers are at west, northwest and south of Kurdistan thus they are compatible with rainy areas. To build any recreation centred including, winter sports, road construction and expansion, snow avalanche risk areas should be considered. Now pathways don’t have any risk signs warning about avalanches. The warning signs of avalanche at the pathways are essential.In the hierarchical model 198 villages lay at low-risk areas and 20 villages in the area were extremely dangerous. Also in the network model 184 villages in low-risk areas and 23 villages in the area were very dangerous.

One of the geomorphologic issues that many human activities affect is the landslides. Natural factors and human activities on the other hand, these events are triggered. Landslide one of the most active hazards are natural processes that lead to erosion and changes in the landscape. Iran is a predominantly mountainous topography, seismic activity and high landslide, diverse climatic and geological conditions of natural conditions for a wide range of slip is important. Located in second place in the sector of industry, population of 1695094 people, proximity to major faults of Tabriz and occurrence Landslides of different city of Tabriz, the city has become one of the most dangerous cities in the environmental hazards, especially landslide. In these circumstances and completed a comprehensive review and a detailed zoning of land for landslide susceptibility seems absolutely necessary. The purpose of the present paper, the occurrence of landslide susceptibility assessment and mapping potential occurrence of landslides in the city of Tabriz in this range.

     This research of the type applied- development research and of the research method is descriptive - analytic. In this study, using a variety of sources including satellite imagery, aerial photography, global positioning system (GPS) and field studies landslide occurred in the study area were identified and these data were analyzed using the software ILWIS and use of library studies and expert opinions should identify the criteria and sub-criteria and range were classified. Then, using fuzzy TOPSIS model, the importance of the criteria and sub-criteria specified in pixel units and finally combining fuzzy-TOPSIS model and overlapping functions in ARC / GIS final map was extracted.

Geomorphologic and lithology conditions of the city with its mountainous location where the trigger landslides. The final results indicate that over 30% of the areas of the city of Tabriz are medium to high risk that this areas of land in the north and northeast is sparse. The accuracy of the final map and the map of the distribution of faults and the accuracy of the study proved to be that hazardous zones roughly corresponding to the final map lapses occurred. So we can conclude that the method and the model presented in this paper is an effective method for landslide hazard zonation within the cities.