An Analysis of Urban Smart Growth Indexes with an Emphasis on Compactness, Accessibility and Environment. Case Study: Piranshahr City, Iran

Smart growth has become a popular concept in territorial planning in the last twenty years. The main emphasis of smart growth is on mixed land use and the design of compact buildings, which produce high densities together with lower environmental effects. The current research aims at investigating urban smart growth indexes based on the three indexes of compactness, environment and access to districts and neighborhoods of Piranshahr City, Uremia. The main research method is descriptive-analytical and it is done through Analytic Network Process, GIS and Holderness and Shannon Entropy Models. Research findings reveal that Piranshahr has registered sprawl growth in the recent years. Furthermore, in terms of access index, public transportation does not cover the city, entirely. Also, in terms of green space index, there are many shortcomings and relative standards have not been observed.