Ahmad Beiranvand, Amir Eslam Bonyad and Javad Soosani
A city usually changes and develops due to various factors throughout its life. Urban green space is one of the most important assets and effective factors for every city. Environmental effects are the most significant function of urban green space, which may increase the biological quality of cities. The present research intends to study Khorramabad’s physical changes and its urban green space. It applies the empirical research method where aerial photos taken in 1956, 1974, and 1994 as well as the image captured by Quick Bird Satellite in 2006 were used and analyzed. First, geometric corrections of the photos were made and their orthophotos were provided. The physical changes of the city were specified by means of the aerial photos and satellite images taken in different years. Moreover, dot grid was used to calculate the urban green space during these years. Results show that city area has become 2.09 times larger in the 18-year period (1956-1974), 3.34 times larger within the 20-year period (1974- 1994), and 1.86 times larger in the 12-year period (1994- 2006). The ratios of the green space area to the whole urban area in these years are 10.42, 9.67, 15 and 9.1, respectively. Statistical test results show that there is a significant difference between green space percentage in 1994 and those of other years. However, there is not a significant difference between green space percentages of 1956, 1974 and 2006. In general, Khorramabad green space is not proportional to universal standards, and the city’s green space growth is slow if compared to its physical development process.
