Realizing the Sustainable Development of Urban Economy in Identifying the Potential Range of City by Using SWOT Technique

Abstract

As there is a direct and positive correlation among the potentials, opportunities and expectations and the population living in each place, these factors can have an impact on the characteristics of the people living in that area as well. Therefore, this article was developed as an assessment of urban economic development indicators to identify the potential range of Birjand city and after reviewing the existing situation, the descriptive-analytic method was used to explain the research topic and library and questionnaire methods were used to gather information. The obtained results indicate this fact that human's emanation is in response to growth needs and spaces development. Sustainability of this space and achieving to urban sustainable development require a kind of planning that could establish and select location of economic and social activities in two-dimensional space. However, the type and quality of the city's location changes the importance rang of this attitude to the town. Birjand city as a functional and economic center has relatively wide expanse of its surrounding settlements in terms of the functional radius. This area was generally based on political boundaries of Birjand city that their dependence range will vary based on the distance of areas from Birjand city. Urbanization process guiding in most areas due to the lack of participation of the private sector, because of economic weakness was done out of the region and the role of government and its policies in growth and development or stagnation of social and economic activities have great influence. Also, rural migration has a significant impact on the construction and function of city. The main reason for rural-urban migration was economic factors  such as poverty and unemployment, which is caused by unfavorable natural environment and the weakness of technique and capital and lack of proper planning of the state. This area is faced to the expanse level of road communication, commodity exchanges, existing economic and social interaction between Birjand city and surrounding centers of its sphere of influence which during the recent years the dependence rate of these centers to Birjand has been increasing. This paper attempts to assess the economic status of Birjand based on SWOT model which was conducted by using the Delphi method.