Comparison and evaluation of the pragmatics of sustainable development in the description of services and content of urban development plans in the Case study of Karaj metropolis

A B S T R A C T
The rapid development of urbanization in developing countries has led to the emergence of a variety of crises that the issue of planning has become one of the most important challenges facing urban planners and managers. The metropolis of Karaj, as a case study in this study, is a suitable example of cities that in developing countries have put the Western planning model in the form of comprehensive plans or strategic structures on their agenda since 1351. Without its goals and methods, both in content and in the description of services, to meet its local needs. Thus, these plans and programs have so far been acceptable success in solving problems have not affected parts of the city such as rapid transformation and unplanned and explosive growth of the city in the form of urbanization model prior to urban planning, threat of development of construction in agricultural and garden lands, anomalies and Social distortions, declining quality of life, and lack of basic living facilities and services. Considering the concepts of sustainability and the efforts that have been made in the last two decades to improve urban planning and more efficient models, in this descriptive-analytical study with systematic analysis technique, a list of sustainability indicators from reliable sources (World Bank, Commission The United Nations Sustainable Development (UNCSD), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), etc.) were included. Then, using the methodology of "Green Book" (part of the strategic and research program of the Office of Research and Development ORD3) in the United States) and according to the law of renaming the Ministry of Housing (1353), classification and localization of evaluation and management indicators Sustainability of development plans took place. The results of the evaluation based on the content analysis technique show; The description of services urban development plans can be seen, with what content plan has been prepared, are considerable. In addition to the mentioned distance, the theoretical literature of sustainable development has not been well processed both in terms of context and content. Therefore, it is necessary to make a fundamental review in the process of preparing and content of urban development plans as one of the tools to achieve development and formulate a comprehensive development plan by establishing a balance between different dimensions of development
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Rapid urbanization in developing countries has led to a variety of crises, so that the issue of planned development has become one of the most critical challenges facing managers and urban planners. A set of influential factors in these countries have led cities to act without any planning, despite having urban development plans. In this regard, the metropolis of Karaj, despite the practice of urban development plans, have always been struggling with issues such as rapid transformation and unplanned and explosive growth of the city, the expansion of construction in agricultural and garden lands, the occurrence of anomalies and social deviations, declining quality of life and lack of the minimum living facilities and services required in some parts of the city. Studies show that implementing the western planning model in this city in the form of comprehensive plans or strategic structure has been on the agenda since 1973, without adapting its goals and methods (both in content and in terms of service description) to local needs and characteristics. Thus, these plans and programs have not had significant success in solving the fundamental problems and issues of the city of Karaj and its orientation towards sustainable development.
 
Methodology
The efforts have been made in the last two decades to reform the urban planning system and more efficient models based on it. So, in this descriptive-analytical study using systematic analysis technique, first, a list of sustainability indicators was extracted from reliable sources (World Bank, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and so on.). Then, classification and localization of evaluation indicators and sustainability management of development projects were done using the "Green Book" methodology (part of the Strategic and Research Program of the Office of Research and Development (ORD3) in the United States) and according to the law of renaming the Ministry of Development and Housing (1975). The statistical population of this study includes experts of road and urban planning departments of Alborz province, Karaj Municipality, Governorate, Islamic City Council, Alborz Province Construction Engineering Organization (with the criterion of selecting related education, the relationship between organizational position and field of study, management experience in urban planning with duration employment time over ten years). The sample selection method is a non-random snowball sampling method. Thus, it continued with selecting the first elite from the statistical community and the transfer of the semi-open interview chain to other individuals, taking into account the limited selection of the elite. In this study, about 576 hours in 48 days from June 2020 to January 2021 were spent with 12 elites to collect and extract content. In this research, filing tools and semi-open interviews were used to collect information, experts' ideas and conformity with previous studies were applied to check the validity of data, and analysis methods such as content analysis and hierarchical analysis were used to analyze data and information.
 
Results and discussion
Based on the obtained findings, Karaj Structural Strategic Plan (2013) and Comprehensive Plan (1973) are the most appropriate plan in terms of the level of sustainability indicators in the plan's content. Also, the structural, strategic plan of Karaj-Shahriyar (2012) has the lowest level of enjoyment compared to the indicators of sustainable development. The detailed plan under preparation shows the highest level of sustainability indicators in the service description, and the lowest level is observed in the detailed review plan. In other words, the gap between sustainability indicators in the description of services and the content of urban development plans is pronounced. In the study of the dimensions of sustainability during the years of preparation of the plan, the most attention has been paid to the institutional-managerial dimension and then the economic dimension, and the physical dimension is in the third place. The elites have achieved this issue due to the strategic features of Karaj and its proximity to the capital. For activists, the inseparable combination of the city of Karaj to the city of Tehran and the conflict with management issues arising from the proximity of the institutional-managerial dimension has always been essential over the years.
 
Conclusion
Finally, as a conclusion of the research, it can be said that what is seen in the description of services of urban development plans is significantly different from what is prepared in the content of the plan. In addition to the mentioned distance, the theoretical literature of sustainable development is not well included and processed in the framework and the content. Therefore, it is necessary to make a fundamental review in preparing and content of urban development plans as one of the tools to achieve development and formulate a comprehensive development plan and establish a balance between different dimensions of development. Also, the indicators and dimensions of sustainable development should be drawn accurately and conceptually and as an agenda and roadmap for planners and consulting engineers. In this regard, it is always recommended to monitor and evaluate the level of achieving sustainable development indicators in the program's implementation process to identify the weaknesses and shortcomings of development. And to prepare the right path based on the causes of non-achievement of goals in the context of development flows, development path regulators (those who define the types of urban development plans), extender of development plans (consulting engineers preparing the plan based on service description), the structure approving and evaluating the plan (Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture of Iran) and the executors of the plan (urban management structure).
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.