A framework of index system for gauging the sustainability of iranian provinces by fusing analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and rough set theory (RST)

Abstract

Urban sustainability is essential to address the challenges posed by population explosion, excessive consumption, and environmental disasters. Controversial discussions between governments and academics in countries like Iran challenge sustainable development. This paper provides an integrated Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Rough Set Theory (RST) for determining attribute weights, and presents a new application of variance maximization in a mathematical model to determine more realistic integrated weights. An empirical study was conducted in 31 provinces of Iran using data from 2012 to 2019 to evaluate overall sustainability; sustainability in three pillars of social equity (SE), economic dynamism (ED), and environmental protection (EP); as well as to understand the importance of criteria in a localized system consisting of 27 sub-criteria. In terms of overall sustainability, Semnan and Tehran had the highest score with around 50 % and Sistan scoring the lowest at around 18 %. In terms of SE and ED, the regions were generally balanced. However, the eastern border provinces performed poorly in terms of EP. Zanjan had the greatest percentage of sustainable growth (29.25 %), while Sistan obtained the lowest (−19.75 %). The most important factors in strengthening SE, ED, and EP were healthcare, workforce, and environmental quality, respectively. This approach may assess sustainability from many national, provincial, and local dimensions, and its flexibility as well as the compatibility of the estimated findings with sensitivity analysis was proved. Then, strategies to improve urban sustainability, including increasing cooperation between provinces and regions and balanced growth in the pillars of sustainability, are presented.