Affecting Factors Prioritization on Vulnerability Areas of physical Texture of Gorgan City

Aims & Backgrounds: Physical indicators of urban texture such as the age of buildings, microstructure, number of floors and type of building materials have a determinant role in the intensity and extent of the cities vulnerability in the face of earthquakes. Many Iranian cities are located on areas with moderate and high risk of earthquakes. Hence, Special attention to the elements qualities and physical indicators of urban spaces can dramatically reduce the incidence of environmental disasters in Iranian cities. The Gorgan city has 360,000 inhabitant’s population and 3,600 hectares’ area in 2016 that is located on earthquake areas with a relatively high risk. Accordingly, the present research, seeks to vulnerable zones determination of Gorgan city texture in terms of physical indicators and also prioritization of affecting physical indicators on its vulnerability through the location of the models. Methodology: The research is applied and its method is descriptive-analytical. For this purpose, have been used models such as AHP, ANP and VIKOR. Findings: Based on VIKOR model results, the highest degree of physical vulnerability is belonging to the central and somewhat southern regions of the city of Gorgan. Meanwhile, the eastern, western and north parts of the city have a better condition. Based on ANP model results, material (0/422), building age (0/224), number of classes (0/176) and micro fracture (0/26) indices, have the highest impact on urban vulnerability assessment of Gorgan, respectively. Conclusion: The center of the city of Gorgan is more vulnerable than its surroundings. This is due to worn-out and old materials of city center.