دانشگاه محقق اردبیلی جغرافیا و توسعه فضایی 3060-7523 3 2 2026 08 03 Exploring the Capacities of Geographical Space for Achieving Sustainable Urban Development: A case study of Makhmour City, Iraq واکاوی ظرفیت‌های فضای جغرافیایی در تحقق توسعه پایدار شهری مطالعه موردی: شهر مخمور عراق 73 89 4828 10.22098/gsd.2026.19995.1138 FA محسن پورخسروانی گروه جغرافیا، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه شهید باهنر کرمان، کرمان، ایران علی مهرابی گروه جغرافیا، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه شهید باهنر کرمان، کرمان، ایران محمد سبعاوی ثامر گروه جغرافیا، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه شهید باهنر کرمان، کرمان، ایران Journal Article 2027 03 14 A B S T R A C T The sustainable development of Makhmur city - as a disputed city between the Kurdistan Region and the central government of Iraq - is directly influenced by geographical characteristics such as plain topography, restricted groundwater resources, and sensitive ecosystems. Therefore, this study aims to assess and analyze the role of geographical space in the sustainable development of this city. Accordingly, the natural characteristics of Makhmur city were examined. The role of geographical space in sustainable development was then assessed using Chang's fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). The results of the study indicate that the role of geographical space in the sustainable development of Makhmur is multidimensional, and among these dimensions, certain sub-criteria exert a more decisive influence in explaining the city's development status. Across the five dimensions examined, the most influential sub-criteria were identified as follows: in the economic dimension, land productivity (weight: 0.398); in the social dimension, ethnic diversity (weight: 0.338); in the physical and spatial dimension, roads and street networks (weight: 0.292); in the natural-ecological dimension, water and soil quality (weight: 0.338); and in the resilience and sustainability dimension, land-use diversity (weight: 0.233). These factors collectively represent the primary drivers of development in Makhmur city. Makhmur's sustainable development thus hinges on spatial organization, land-use efficiency, infrastructure quality, social cohesion, and natural resource protection. However, weak weightings for economic diversity, quality of life, public transport, waste management, and climate adaptation reveal imbalanced sustainability - demanding integrated policy across urban economy, spatial justice, public services, and climate resilience. Extended Abstract Introduction Geographical spaces influence sustainable development through mechanisms such as access to urban services, land-use structure, the quality of green spaces, and environmental hazards. Today, the reduction of resources on the one hand and the increase in human needs on the other hand compel human societies to adopt optimal policy-making, management, and planning of geographical spaces. Therefore, optimal management and planning for such a complex space requires an ever deeper understanding of its complexities. Makhmur city, with its growing population and strategic location near the borders of Iran and Turkey, is a salient example of Middle Eastern cities whose sustainable development is directly influenced by geographical characteristics such as plain topography, inadequate groundwater resources, and sensitive ecosystems. For this reason, this study seeks to evaluate and analyze the geographical space of Makhmur city and examine the role of this space in its sustainable development. Methodology The required data for the theoretical foundations and research background were collected using library and documentary sources. In the next stage, the role of geographical space in sustainable development was evaluated and analyzed through content analysis methods - including in-depth interviews, focus group sessions, and data analysis. Accordingly, economic, socio-cultural, physical-spatial, natural-ecological, and resilience and sustainability were identified as the most important indicators influencing sustainable development. After determining the indicators, the sub-indicators corresponding to each were specified. In the second stage, weighting of the extracted indicators and sub-indicators was carried out using the Delphi technique, involving 30 experts and specialists in the field of geography and spatial planning. Subsequently, the evaluation and analysis of the indicators and sub-indicators were conducted utilizing Chang's fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP-Chang). Results and discussion The results of the study indicate that the role of geographical space in the sustainable development of Makhmur city is multidimensional, and among these dimensions, certain sub-criteria exert a more decisive influence in explaining the city's development status. Within the economic dimension, the sub-criteria were ranked as follows: land productivity (0.398) ranked highest, followed by employment rate (0.184), per capita income (0.162), access to job opportunities (0.134), and diversity of economic activities (0.129), which ranked lowest. This pattern indicates that in Makhmur, land-use efficiency and employment status are more influential than other components in economic sustainability; however, the weakness in economic activity diversity may pose a constraint on the city's long-term sustainability. In the social dimension, ethnic diversity ranked first with a weight of 0.338, followed by social participation (0.262) in second place, access to education and health (0.239) in third, spatial justice in service distribution (0.129) in fourth, and quality of life (0.031) in the last place. This indicates that although Makhmur city possesses suitable foundations in terms of social diversity and collective participation, these capacities have not yet fully translated into improved quality of life or equitable distribution of services. In the physical and spatial dimension, the road network ranked first with a weight of 0.292, followed by energy resources (0.253) in second place, water and wastewater infrastructure (0.186) in third, population density (0.157) in fourth, and public transportation (0.112) in last place. These results indicate that in Makhmur city, communication infrastructure and spatial accessibility constitute the most important supports of physical sustainability, while the weakness of public transportation represents one of the main deficiencies in the urban structure. In the natural-ecological dimension, the quality of water and soil resources, with a weight of 0.338, came first; diversity of the natural environment, with a weight of 0.197, ranked second; per capita green space, with a weight of 0.191, toom third place; per capita water and energy consumption, with a weight of 0.142, ranked fourth; and waste and refuse management, with a weight of 0.132, recorded the last rank. This indicates that the sustainability of Makhmur city is significantly dependent on the quality of basic natural resources, while waste management remains one of its environmental challenges. In the resilience and sustainability dimension, land-use diversity ranked first with a weight of 0.233, followed by ecological connectivity (0.219) in second place, crisis preparedness (0.209) in third, security (0.207) in fourth, and climate change adaptation (0.132) in last place. Conclusion The results indicated that the role of geographical space in the sustainable development of Makhmur city is multidimensional, and among these dimensions, certain sub-criteria exert a more decisive influence in explaining the city's development status. In the economic dimension, the sub-criterion of land productivity, with a weight of 0.398, has the greatest impact. In the social dimension, ethnic diversity, with a weight of 0.338, is most influential. In the physical and spatial dimension, roads and street networks, with a weight of 0.292, play the most significant role. In the natural-ecological dimension, the quality of water and soil resources, with a weight of 0.338, has the highest impact. Finally, in the resilience and sustainability dimension, land-use diversity, with a weight of 0.233, exerts the greatest influence on the development of Makhmur city. Accordingly, the sustainable development of Makhmur city is most strongly dependent on the spatial organization of geographical space, land-use efficiency, the quality of basic infrastructure, social cohesion, and the protection of natural resources. Nevertheless, the low weight assigned to economic activity diversity, quality of life, public transportation, waste management, and climate change adaptation indicated that the city's sustainability remains unbalanced and requires integrated policy-making in the areas of urban economy, spatial justice, public services, and climate resilience. Funding There is no funding support. Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none. Conflict of Interest Authors declared no conflict of interest. Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper. توسعه پایدار شهر مخمور به‌عنوان یک شهر مورد مناقشه بین اقلیم کردستان و حکومت مرکزی عراق، تحت تأثیر مستقیم ویژگی‌های جغرافیایی مانند توپوگرافی دشتی، منابع آب زیرزمینی محدود و اکوسیستم‌های حساس قرار دارد. به همین علت این پژوهش سعی دارد نقش فضای جغرافیایی را در توسعه پایدار این شهر ارزیابی و تحلیل نماید. بدین منظور ویژگی‌های طبیعی شهر مخمور ارزیابی و تحلیل شد سپس با استفاده از روش تحلیل سلسله مراتبی فازی چانگ نقش فضای جغرافیایی در توسعه پایدار مورد ارزیابی و تحلیل قرار گرفت. نتایج تحقیق نشان می‌دهد که، نقش فضای جغرافیایی در توسعه پایدار شهر مخمور چندبعدی است و در این میان، برخی زیرمعیارها اثر تعیین‌کننده‌تری در تبیین وضعیت توسعه شهر دارند. در بعد اقتصادی، زیرمعیار بهره‌وری زمین با وزن 398/0، در بعد اجتماعی، تنوع قومیتی با وزن 338/0، در بعد فیزیکی و کالبدی، راه‌ها و شبکه معابر با وزن 292/0، در بعد طبیعی-اکولوژیک، کیفیت منابع آب‌وخاک با وزن 338/0 و در بعد تاب‌آوری و پایداری، تنوع کاربری با وزن 233/0 بیشترین تأثیر را در توسعه شهر مخمور دارند. بر این اساس توسعه پایدار شهر مخمور بیش از همه به نحوه سازمان‌یابی فضای جغرافیایی، کارایی بهره‌برداری از زمین، کیفیت زیرساخت‌های پایه، انسجام اجتماعی و حفاظت از منابع طبیعی وابسته است. باوجوداین، پایین بودن وزن تنوع فعالیت‌های اقتصادی، کیفیت زندگی، حمل‌ونقل عمومی، مدیریت پسماند و سازگاری با تغییر اقلیم نشان می‌دهد که پایداری شهر هنوز نامتوازن است و نیاز به سیاست‌گذاری یکپارچه در حوزه اقتصاد شهری، عدالت فضایی، خدمات عمومی و تاب‌آوری اقلیمی دارد.

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