Background and Objective: The city of Zanjan, due to its location within an active tectonic zone and its proximity to the Soltaniyeh and North Zanjan faults, together with the accelerated pace of urban development in recent decades, is exposed to a high level of seismic risk. The present study was conducted with the aim of seismic hazard zonation in Zanjan, with emphasis on urban development components and assessment of the degree of physical and spatial vulnerability.



Methodology: In terms of purpose, this research is applied, and in terms of nature, it is descriptive-analytical. To assess vulnerability, 5 main criteria and 21 sub-criteria were identified based on the theoretical foundations and the opinions of 20 experts. The weighting of the criteria was carried out using the Analytic Network Process (ANP), and the limit supermatrix was extracted. Spatial layers were standardized in the ArcGIS environment using fuzzy membership functions and were integrated through the Raster Calculator tool.



Findings: The ANP results showed that the physical-structural criterion, with a weight of 41.839%, and the natural criterion, with a weight of 22.150%, had the greatest influence on the seismic vulnerability of Zanjan. The areal assessment of the overall hazard zonation indicated that 18.4% of the city’s area lies within the very high-risk zone, 32.1% within the high-risk zone, 28.5% within the moderate-risk zone, and 21.0% within the low to very low-risk zones. The southern and western areas of the city, as well as the northeastern areas are the most unsafe parts of the city.



Conclusion: Continuous spatial analysis shows that Zanjan’s vulnerability follows a patchy and heterogeneous pattern. In order to enhance urban resilience, it is essential to formulate strict construction regulations for new developments in the northeast and to undertake physical regeneration of the deteriorated central and southern urban fabrics.