Analysis of urban and peripheral green spaces using DEMATEL & COPRAS methods (West of Karaj city)

Considering the important role and beneficial effects of green spaces in maintaining the ecological balance of the cities, determining the best location is one of the fundamental issues, which is the main goal of this study. In this study, ecological and socio-economic criteria were identified based on experts’ opinions and Delphi method and quantified using fuzzy methods. Several multi-criteria evaluation methods, including the analytic network process, DEMATEL technique, weighted linear combination and COPRAS method, were then used to evaluate the development of green space.

The results of the DEMATEL technique showed that the land use indicator has the highest interaction, and the distance from the police station has the least interaction with other indicators. In addition, altitude was the most effective indicator, and land use was the most impressionable indicator. The ANP method also revealed that land use and vegetation density with a final weight equal to 0.572 and 0.312 were the most important indicator in site selection. The results of weighted linear combination and CPORAS methods indicated that zone 6 and its districts, due to lower erosion, higher rainfall, better soil conditions, and wasteland is a more suitable location for green space development.

In general, the results showed that the methods used in this study, due to high flexibility and accuracy in presenting the results, can be a good alternative for other weighting, locating and ranking methods. Hence, the proposed options by these methods can be selected with higher certainty as a proper location for creating green space.