The Survey and Analysis of Rural Smart Development Indicators (Case Study: Villages in Binaloud County)

Journal of Research and Rural Planning

مقاله 12، دوره 5، شماره 4 - شماره پیاپی 16، اردیبهشت 2017، صفحه 187-212   

نوع مقاله: علمی

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/jrrp.v5i4.61113

نویسندگان

Mahdi Javanshiri؛

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

چکیده

Extended abstract
1. INTRODUCTION
Smart development is not a new concept. Proper implementation of smart growth strategies can have various economic, social and environmental benefits; Smart growth support economic development in two ways; through raising economic productivity, and reducing the costs. One of the important preconditions for the smart development is to take into account the principles of regional planning and the properties of the study area. It means that all areas (whether developed or backward), according to their various potentials (in terms of economic conditions, knowledge and innovation capacity), can move towards smart development. However, in this study, we seek to find the relationship between smart growth policies and the rural areas which are of great variety?
Although sprawl in rural areas is less than that in urban and suburb areas, rural sprawl has imposed heavy costs on rural communities, including degradation of rural lands and gardens (due to changes in land-use), high cost of infrastructure and service development, environmental fragmentation and degradation, degradation of regional biodiversity and so on. Thus, it is essential to employ the smart growth policies in rural areas and apply the principles of sustainable development. Therefore, smart development in rural areas should receive a high priority. Rural areas in Binaloud County, due to their proximity to Mashhad metropolis and enjoying many tourist attractions are highly subject to phenomena such as building more second-homes for tourism purposes, sprawl and change in construction patterns. In this regard, the present study sought to examine rural smart development indicators in rural areas of Binaloud County, and analyze the conceptual aspects, indicators, measures of smart development and their effective indicators in these points, so that we can identify the leading indicators in rural smart development and make use of the capabilities of the policy of smart development in a large collection of rural areas. Therefore, the study seeks to answer the following questions: What are the indicators of smart rural development? Considering the indicators of smart rural development, in what conditions are the rural settlements of the study area?
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
It is only a decade that rural sprawl has entered the world literature. Rural sprawl is also known as rural residential development. There is no comprehensive definition for sprawl, and it is increasingly ambiguous and evolving. However, this kind of spatial expansion is characterized by low-density development with single and large residential areas that lead to the destruction of open spaces, farmlands, and forests. In the mid-1990s, the ‘smart growth’ was introduced to planning science and soon become a modern key word. In fact, smart growth is a regional planning strategy that aims to create a regional balance and prevent the destruction of resources, and these are in line with sustainable development goals. In other words, it is the smart growth of planning, design, development and revitalization of cities, towns, suburbs and rural areas which seek to create and promote social equality, sense of belonging to a place and community while protecting the cultural and natural resources". Accordingly, rural settlements are also part of the spatial-local system which in recent decades, due to development resulting from internal and external factors and forces, have grown in an unorganized manner. This has posed considerable challenges in maintaining the rural features, while supporting the economic development and the opportunities, and requires a set of tools that enable them to take the diversity of rural communities into account, and make progress towards development.
3. METHODOLOGY
This study is an applied one conducted in a descriptive-analytical method. Data were collected using documentary methods and field work. A major part of the data was gathered by expert questionnaires for identifying the smart development indicators and prioritizing the research indicators, which were based on fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and the significance of the indicators of the study in smart development. To answer the second question of the study, four village of Abr-deh Oliya, Jagharq, Hesar Golestan and Virani in Binaloud County were selected as the sample population. A total of 3549 households were in these rural areas, of which 163 households were selected using Cochran formula and stratified random sampling method to complete the questionnaires whose validity and reliability were confirmed (with Cronbach's alpha greater than 0.7). Then, statistical and inferential data were extracted and analyzed.
In the final step, to rate the villages of the study area in terms of achieving rural smart development, we used gray relational analysis and GRA technique. For this purpose, based on the average of the six main indicators of the study, the villages of the study were rated.
4. DISCUSSION
Based on exploratory studies, six indicators of environmental, economic, rural creative economy, physical, socio-cultural and human capital are effective in rural smart development. To determine their importance factor, an expert-based questionnaire was prepared and a paired comparison was conducted by 16 experts (university professors). FAHP showed the indicators of rural creative economy (0.534), human capital (0.148), and the economic indicators (0.138) had the greatest effect in shaping the rural smart development; and the environmental indicators weighing 0.214 had the least importance factor in developing rural smart development.
The results of measuring the effects of rural smart development in life of the villagers in sample villages showed the average of 3.71 for the variable of rural smart development is higher than theoretical mean, and shows a positive background for rural smart development in the villages of the study area from the perspective of villagers. The indicators of human capital with an average of 3.88 and economic indicators with an average of 3.83 from the perspective of villagers, were in better conditions and accordingly would have the greatest effect in rural smart development. In spatial distribution of the average of the research variable, namely rural smart development, the village of Jagharq with the value of 3.81 and the village of Virani with the value of 3.65 respectively had the highest and lowest statistics. These results were confirmed by gray relational analysis and the village of Jagharq had the best performance in rural smart development.
5. CONCLUSION
Among the patterns of sustainability, experts and politicians had more consensus on its compact form and its strategy, i.e., smart development. This study which analyzes the smart rural development indicators in the sample villages of Binaloud County, shows that local-spatial systems are the consequence of external and internal factors and forces. In fact, the phenomenon of rural smart development in the sample villages is the consequence of six indicators: economic, environmental, physical, socio-cultural, human capital and creative economy, which were identified by importance factor of each indicator in smart rural development. It should be noted that these forces and factors operate in a dialectic manner.
Investigation of various indicators of smart development in sample rural areas and one sample t-test results showed the unfavorable conditions of the indicators of ‘family economy’ (12.5), environmental (14.4) and physical conditions (16.1) in these villages. In contrast, the value of t-statistics in indicators of human capital (21.8), economic (19.2) and socio-cultural (19.1) were high, which show the better conditions of these indicators for the realization of smart development in the sample villages. Based on the results of variance analysis, we may conclude that there is no significant difference among the four village of Abr-deh, Jagharq, Hesar Golestan and Virani in terms of rural smart development.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Rural smart development؛ rural creative economy؛ Human Capital؛ Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP)؛ Gray Relational Analysis

مراجع

1. Ahadi, H. R., Mashhadi Abbas, E., & Khoshkrudyan, M. (1391/2012). Applying Group Fuzzy AHP for Selecting Best Fleet. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 4(2), 95-102. [In Persian]

2. Alexander, D., & Tomalty, R. (2002). Smart growth and sustainable development: Challenges, solutions and policy directions. Journal of Local Environment, 7(4), 397-409.

3. Arbury, J. (2005). From Urban Sprawl to Compact City–An analysis of urban growth management in Auckland. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Auckland University, Auckland.

4. Asheim, B. T., Boschma, R., & Cooke, P. (2011). Constructing regional advantage: Platform policies based on related variety and differentiated knowledge bases. Journal of Regional Studies, 45(7), 893-904.

5. Ataei, M. (1389/2010). Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making. Shahrud: Industrial University Shahrud. [In Persian]

6. Azar, A., & Faraji, H. (1389/2010). Fuzzy Management Science. Tehran: Mehraban Publications. [In Persian]

7. Barca, F., McCann, P., & Rodriguez‐Pose, A. (2012). The case for regional development intervention: place‐based versus place‐neutral approaches. Journal of Regional Science, 52(1), 134-152.

8. Bathelt, H. (2003). Geographies of production: growth regimes in spatial perspective 1-innovation, institutions and social systems. Prog. Hum. Geogr, 27 (6), 763-778.

9. Bayat, B., Satari, Z., Mohhamadian Mosamam, H. & Journabiyan, M. R. (1395/2016). From sprawl to smart growth: Analysis of spatial development pattern of rural settlements (Case study: Akhond Mahale and Soleyman Abad Villages, Tonekabon Area). Journal of Research & Rural Planning, 5(1), 49-65. [In Persian]

10. Bell, D., & Jayne, M. (2010). The creative countryside: Policy and practice in the UK rural cultural economy. Journal of Rural Studies, 26(3), 209-218.

11. Bourhill, I. (2005). The Rural Chimera: An investigation of rural sprawl and perspectives on land-use in Metchonsin, British Columbia [Electronic version]. Retrieved 13 February 2014 from http://www.unbc.ca/calendar/undergraduate/planning

12. Bozbura, F. T., Beskese, A., & Kahraman, C. (2007). Prioritization of human capital measurement indicators using fuzzy AHP. Expert Systems with Applications, 32(4), 1100-1112.

13. Chang, D. Y. (1996). Applications of the extent analysis method on fuzzy AHP. European Journal of Operational Research, 95(3), 649-655.

14. Cho, S. H., Poudyal, N. C., & Roberts, R. K. (2008). Spatial analysis of the amenity value of green open space. Journal of Ecological Economics, 66(2), 403-416.

15. Combes, P. P., & Overman, H. G. (2004). The spatial distribution of economic activities in the European Union. Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, 4, 2845-2909.

16. Cooke, P., & De Propris, L. (2011). A policy agenda for EU smart growth: the role of creative and cultural industries. Policy Studies Journal, 32(4), 365-375.

17. Coupal, R., & Seidl, A. (2003). Rural Land Use and Your Taxes: The Fiscal Impact of Rural Residential Development in Colorado. Agricultural and Resource Policy Report 03-03. Colorado State University: Fort Collins, CO.

18. Daniels, T. (1999.a). What to do about rural sprawl? The American Planning Association Conference, Seattle, WA. Retrieved 15 February 2009 from http:// www.mrsc.org/ subjects/ planning/ rural/ daniels.aspx

19. Daniels, T. (1999.b). When city and country collide: managing growth in the metropolitan fringe. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

20. Dissart, J.C., Marcouiller, D. W. (2012). Rural tourism production and the experience-scape. Journal of Tourism Analysis, 17(6), 691-704.

21. Dovlati, H. (1386/2007). Review Smart Growth criteria and adapt it on the growth of the city of Babolsar. Unpublished master thesis, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. [In Persian]

22. Edwards, P. J., & Abivardi, C. (1998). The value of biodiversity: where ecology and economy blend. Biological Conservation, 83(3), 239-246.

23. Engle, Nate (2011). Understanding Rural Sprawl: A Look at Osceola County, Michigan. SPNHA Review, 6(1), 1-14. Retrieved 15 February 2016 from http:// scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ spnhareview/ vol6/iss1/2

24. European Commission, (2010a). Europe 2020: A European Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. European Commission, Brussels.

25. European Commission, (2010b). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council. The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Regional Policy Contributing to Smart Growth in Europe 2020. European Commission, Brussels.

26. Feiock, R. C., Tavares, A. F., & Lubell, M. (2008). Policy instrument choices for growth management and land use regulation. Policy Studies Journal, 36(3), 461-480.

27. Fornoff, R. (2007). Several concerns regarding Osceola County Road Commission in 2005 audit. [Electronic version]. Retrieved 25 February 2016 from http:// www.cadillacnews.com/ story/ ?contId=20394

28. Frenken, K., Van Oort, F., & Verburg, T. (2007). Related variety, unrelated variety and regional economic growth. Journal of Regional Studies, 41(5), 685-697.

29. Ghorbani, R., & Novshad, S. (1387/2008). Smart growth strategy in urban development, principles and practices. Journal of Geography & Development, 6(12)163-180. [In Persian]

30. Hansen, A. J., Rasker, R., Maxwell, B., Rotella, J. J., Johnson, J. D., Parmenter, A. W., ... & Kraska, M. P. (2002). Ecological Causes and Consequences of Demographic Change in the New West as natural amenities attract people and commerce to the rural west, the resulting land-use changes threaten biodiversity, even in protected areas, and challenge efforts to sustain local communities and ecosystems. BioScience, 52(2), 151-162.

31. Haq-shenas, A., Ketabi, S. Dalvi, M. R. (1386/2007). Performance evaluation using the balanced score by FAHP. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(77), 21-46. [In Persian]

32. Heydari, A. (2012). Spatial- physical analysis of future development of Saqqez city with point on smart urban growth indicators by entropy Shannon Model, Journal of Geography & Urban Space Development, 1(2), 67-94. [In Persian]

33. Isserman, A. M., Feser, E., & Warren, D. E. (2009). Why some rural places prosper and others do not? International Regional Science Review, 32(3), 300-342.

34. Johansson, B., Johansson, S., & Wallin, T. (2015). Internal and external knowledge and introduction of export varieties. The World Economy, 38(4), 629-654.

35. Jones, J., D.M. Theobald, and M. Sullins, (2002). The Lay of the Land. in R.L. Knight, W. Gilgert, and E. Marston (eds.), Culture, Economics, and Ecology of Ranching West of the 100th Meridian, pp. 25-34. Island Press: Washington, D.C.

36. Juergensmeyer, J., & Roberts, T. (2013). Land Use Planning and Development Regulation Law 3d (Hornbook Series). West Academic.

37. Khorshid, S. & Qaneh, H. (1388/2009). Ranking the challenges of electronic banking using Fuzzy AHP. Journal of Industrial Management, 4(9), 89-106). [In Persian]

38. Khosrovanjam, D., Anvari Rostami, A. A., Chavshini, R. & Ahmadzadeh, M. (1392/2013). Fuzzy AHP development of models to assess the impact of IT capability and quality of data. Journal of Industrial Management, 8(25), 105-116). [In Persian]

39. Larijani Firooz, M. (1389/2010). Spatial development planning approach to sustainable urban development (Case study: Babolsar City). Unpublished master thesis, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. [In Persian]

40. Lee, A. H., Chen, W. C., & Chang, C. J. (2008). A fuzzy AHP and BSC approach for evaluating performance of IT department in the manufacturing industry in Taiwan. Expert Systems with Applications, 34(1), 96-107.

41. Leith, R. M., & Whitfield, P. H. (2000). Some effects of urbanization on streamflow records in a small watershed in the lower Fraser Valley, BC. Northwest Science, 74(1), 69-75.

42. Levy, J. M. (2015). Contemporary urban planning. Routledge.

43. Litman, T. (2003). Evaluating Criticism of smart growth. Victoria, BC: Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Retrieved 10 February 2016 from www.vtpi.org

44. Litman, T. (2009). Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis: Techniques, Estimates and Implications.

45. Lopez, R. & Hynes, P. (2003). Sprawl in the 1990s [Electronic version]. Urban Affairs Review, 38(3), 325-355. Retrieved 2 February 2014 from http://uar.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/38/3/325

46. Mann, S. (2009). Institutional causes of urban and rural sprawl in Switzerland. Landuse Policy Journal, 26(4), 919-924.

47. McCann, B. (2000). Driven to spend; the impact of sprawl on household transportation expenses. Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chapter Three. See also “The Costs of Sprawl—Revisited, 6-7.

48. McCann, P., & Ortega-Argiles, R. (2015). Smart specialization, regional growth and applications to European Union cohesion policy. Regional Studies, 49(8), 1291-1302. Retrieved 10 February 2015 from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00343404.2013.799769

49. McGranahan, D. A. (2008). Landscape influence on recent rural migration in the US. Landscape and Urban Planning, 85(3), 228-240.

50. McGranahan, D. A., Wojan, T. R., & Lambert, D. M. (2010). The rural growth trifecta: outdoor amenities, creative class and entrepreneurial context. Journal of Economic Geography, lbq007.

51. McGranahan, D., & Wojan, T. (2007). Recasting the creative class to examine growth processes in rural and urban counties. Journal of Regional studies, 41(2), 197-216.

52. McHenry, J. A. (2011). Rural empowerment through the arts: The role of the arts in civic and social participation in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Journal of Rural Studies, 27(3), 245-253.

53. Michaud, W. (2013). Financing Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Smart Growth in Rural Communities. Smart Growth Network: National Conversation on the Future of Our Communities.

54. Mirghafoori, S. H., Shafie Roodposhti, M., & Naddafi, Gh. (1391/2012.a). Financial Performance Evaluating by Grey Relational Analysis (Case Study: Province Telecommunication Companies). Financial Knowledge of Securities Analyze (Financial Studies), 5(16), 61-75. [In Persian]

55. Mirghafoori, S. H., Shafie Roodposhti, M., & Naddafi, Gh. (1391/2012.b). Identifying and ranking of Critical Success Factors (CSF) of Civic Services in New Service Development (NSD) Projects of Municipality by Use of Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) Technique Study. Journal of Management Studies in Development and Evolution, 22(68), 85-108. [In Persian]

56. Mishkovsky, N., Dalbey, M., Bertaina, S., Read, A., & McGalliard, T. (2010). Putting smart growth to work in rural communities. Washington, DC: International City/County Management Association (ICMA).‏

57. Naldi, L., Nilsson, P., Westlund, H., & Wixe, S. (2015). What is smart rural development? Journal of Rural Studies, 40, 90-101.

58. Nelson, A. (2000). Growth management. In The practice of local government planning. 375-400. Edited by Hoch, C. Washington, D.C.: International City/County Management Association.

59. Pakzad, J. (1384/2005). Guide the design of urban spaces. Tehran, Iran: Shahidi Publications. [In Persian]

60. Perçin. S. (2008). Use of fuzzy AHP for evaluating the benefits of information-sharing decisions in supply chain. Journal of Enterprise Information Management 21(3), 263-284.

61. Radeloff, V. C., Hammer, R. B., & Stewart, S. I. (2005). Rural and suburban sprawl in the US Midwest from 1940 to 2000 and its relation to forest fragmentation. Conservation Biology, 19(3), 793-805.

62. Rahnama, M. R. & Hayati, S. (2013). Analysis of smart urban growth in Mashhad. Journal of Urban Planning Studies, 1(4), 71-98. [In Persian]

63. Rahnama, M. R., Shahmoradi, L. & Heydari, A. (1393/2014). Urban Smart Growth principles and strategies in urban areas of Bukan using VICOR. Proceeding of the 6th National Conference of Urban Management & Planning with emphasize of Islamic city factors. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. [In Persian]

64. Saeedi Rezvani, N. & Khastoo, M. (1386/2007). The phenomenon of urban sprawl and smart growth theory. Shams Monthly, 4(38), 9-18. [In Persian]

65. Stillwell, H.D., (1987). Environmental Impacts and Site Constraints of Mountain Resort Development. Papers and Proceedings of Applied Geography, 10(1), 297-305.

66. Theobald, D. M., Miller, J. R., & Hobbs, N. T. (1997). Estimating the cumulative effects of development on wildlife habitat. Landscape & Urban Planning, 39(1), 25-36.

67. Thissen, M., van Oort, F., Diodato, D., Ruijs, A., (2013). Regional Competitiveness and Smart Specialization in Europe: Place-based Development in International Economic Networks. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

68. Torre, A., & Rallet, A. (2005). Proximity and localization. Journal of Regional studies, 39(1), 47-59.

69. Tyford, J. (1388/2009). Foundations suburbs (1st ed., K. Ziyari, & A. Samereh, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Arad books. [In Persian]

70. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Sustainable Communities Smart Growth Program, (2015). Smart Growth Self-Assessment for Rural Communities: Madison County, New York, Retrieved 12 February 2015 from www.epa.gov/smartgrowth

71. Vanthillo, T., Verhetsel, A., (2012). Paradigm change in regional policy: towards smart specialisation? Lessons from Flanders (Belgium). Belgeo 1e2 [online]. Retrieved 12 February 2015 from http:// belgeo.revues.org/7083.

72. Waldie, D.J., (2000). Do the Voters Really Hate Sprawl? New York Times. March 3rd.

73. Weiler, S., & Theobald, D. (2003). Pioneers of rural sprawl in the Rocky Mountain West. The Review of Regional Studies, 33(3), 264-283.

74. Xi, F., He, H. S., Clarke, K. C., Hu, Y., Wu, X., Liu, M. ... & Gao, C. (2012). The potential impacts of sprawl on farmland in Northeast China—evaluating a new strategy for rural development. Landscape & Urban Planning, 104(1), 34-46.

75. Yang, C. C., & Chen, B. S. (2006). Supplier selection using combined analytical hierarchy process and grey relational analysis. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 17(7), 926-941.

76. Yang, F., (2009). If ‘Smart’ is ‘Sustainable’? An Analysis of Smart Growth Policies and Its Successful Practices, Unpublished master thesis, Iowa State University Ames

77. Yang, T., & Hsieh, C. H. (2009). Six-Sigma project selection using national quality award criteria and Delphi fuzzy multiple criteria decision-making method. Expert Systems with Applications, 36(4), 7594-7603.

78. Zarrabi, A., Saberi, H., Mohammadi, J. & Vareshi, H. R. (1391/2012). Spatial analysis of Smart Growth Index (Case study: Isfahan). Journal of Human Geographical Researches, 43(77), 1-17. [In Persian]