Ecopark Site Selection in Central Isfahan Province

Today’s situation in cities requires that planned parks be set up to create ecological equilibrium. The current study was  aimed to identify suitable zones for establishing ecoparks in the central region of Isfahan province; this was done using seven effective criteria including topography, landscape, climate, rock and soil, water resources, environmental sensitivity, and accessibility. The weights of the criteria and the subcriteria were obtained using the  analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with expert opinions. All layers were combined using weighted linear combination (WLC) and the land suitability maps for ecoparks were produced. After evaluating and prioritizing suitable zones, finally, the zone with an area of 85.2 hectares, which was located in the Bag Bahadoran district and adjacent to the Zayanderood River, was selected as the most suitable one  due to its larger area, more access to the welfare facilities, and higher ecological potentials. Also, the results obtained from overlaying the ecopark’s land suitability map and the map of existing parks in the region suggested that Sararud coastal park, in Mobarakeh, and the  coastal park, in Zarrin Shahr, can be  suitable places for establishing ecopark in the region.