The Impact of the Political Division of Space on the Status of Spatial Justice in the Province of Lorestan

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D student of Political Geography, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 PHD in political geography, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, iran

3 Professor, of Political Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Tarbiat Modares, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Political organization, as the process of dividing territory, is undertaken by the government with limited borders to control and administer the country through divisions. Governments require a political division of space to effectively manage the territory, facilitate service delivery, promote development, and achieve spatial justice within the country. Country divisions in Iran have historical roots. In recent years, driven by political motives and development needs, there has been an increase in demands for new country divisions, taking the form of promotion, annexation, and abstraction. Lorestan province, located in the western part of the country, is recognized as one of the less developed and less affluent provinces due to reasons such as the lack of coordinated distribution of facilities, services, and resources. Country divisions in this province in 1991 included 6 townships, 20 districts, and 80 villages, which increased to 11 townships, 31 districts, and 87 villages in 2016. A trend that indicates that over the past 25 years, the levels of country divisions in the province have shown a greater tendency to improve. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and an applied nature, employing the VIKOR technique within the framework of the Spatial Justice approach, aims to examine how political divisions of space impact spatial justice in Lorestan province. Accordingly, this article seeks to answer questions such as: What effect has country division in Lorestan province had on its spatial justice? Has the situation of townships in health, economic, and physical components improved with the creation of 5 new townships? Results obtained from descriptive data and VIKOR technique analysis show that the spatial justice status in 50% of the townships in the province in 1991 was much lower than the provincial average, and in 2016, this figure encompassed 63% of the townships in the province. Consequently, it can be stated that the increase in country divisions has not had a positive impact on improving the status of the spatial justice index and the equitable distribution of health, economic, and physical-infrastructure components in Lorestan province.

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Main Subjects

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 22 February 2022
  • Revise Date: 02 February 2024
  • Accept Date: 06 February 2024

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