Dynamic cluster analysis of urban river ecosystem using water, climate, and economy nexus

Urban rivers are the origin of civilizations, the source of water supply, and the center of recreational and sports activities. The role of rivers can be investigated from various political, cultural, security, drought, economic, and health aspects. This study was conducted in order to identify the influencing components of urban rivers on ecosystem sustainability. The weight coefficients of climatic, social, economic, and ecological components were evaluated through dynamic cluster analysis, and their role in ecosystem sustainability was quantified. In addition, the relationship between water-based factors and environmental components was determined in finding the best components of river ecosystem evaluation for future decisions. The provided analysis can increase the stability of the urban river ecosystem and can rank the priority of the impact factors. Ecological environment statistics, nature measures, economic parameters, and land cover rate substantially affected the visual influence of the urban river ecosystem. Results showed that the proposed evaluation provided a reasonable framework to evaluate the sustainability of the urban river ecosystem and visual perception to improve the design efficiency by decision-makers.