Natural Resources Governance

Natural Resources Governance

Future Research on Factors affecting Urban Environmental Governance (Case Study: Masouleh City)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Abstract
Objective: Urban environmental governance is a transition from centralized government management to a networked and multi-layered approach in which, in addition to government institutions, the private sector, NGOs, experts and citizens participate in decision-making. The goal of this paradigm is to promote ecological resilience and achieve justice through inter-sectoral coordination and data-driven monitoring. This research was conducted with the aim of future research on the factors affecting "urban environmental governance" in the historical city of Masouleh.
Method: This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of methodology, which has collected the necessary data by using library and field studies (observation, interview and document review). In the analysis section, key variables were identified and analyzed by using the opinions of experts in the field of urban planning and using the interaction analysis model and MICMAC software.
Results: The findings indicate the identification of 40 factors affecting environmental governance in Masouleh, which are classified into 5 main components (management, social-participatory, physical-infrastructural, ecological, and resilience and crisis).
Conclusions: These factors were placed in five categories of influential, bimodal, regulatory, affected, and independent variables based on the type of influence. Identifying these driving factors and key uncertainties will pave the way for developing effective strategies to improve environmental management and preserve the unique natural and historical features of Masouleh city on the path to long-term sustainability.
Keywords

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