Mitigating development barriers and addressing disparities in border cities of Iran: a comprehensive analysis of border provinces and influential factors.

This study addresses the persistent challenge of development disparities in Iran’s border regions. Despite the nation's commitment to reducing the development gap between its border and central areas, existing planning documents lack a specific and effective model to achieve this goal. To tackle this issue, we employ the Fuzzy TOPSIS and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process methods within the ArcGIS framework and the Geographic Weighted Regression (GWR) Model to assess and rank 54 development indicators across Iran’s 16 border provinces. These indicators cover demographics, economics, social well-being, cultural factors, communication, and transportation infrastructure, as well as health and environmental aspects. Our systematic evaluation of these indicators provides a comprehensive vision for the future development of these border regions, highlighting the disparities among them. The findings underscore the importance of a more focused and equitable approach to regional development. This research offers valuable insights for policymakers and contributes to the growing body of knowledge on regional development, emphasizing the need for balanced and sustainable progress in Iran’s border regions. The lack of comprehensive planning and policies has led investments and expenditures to focus in the same direction, worsening regional disparities in border areas. As a result, development barriers continue due to the implementation of planning and policies within the same decision-making system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]