Assessment of quality of life based on the urban development index in counties of Zanjan province

In the twenty-first century, cities are facing many challenges. The urban flourishing model introduced by the United Nations Human Settlement Program in 2012 offers a fresh approach to urban development and sustainability, seeking fundamental solutions to improve quality of life. The aim of the current research is to evaluate and measure urban flourishing in Zanjan province based on the component of quality of life. This research is goal-oriented, practical, and involves descriptive-analytical data collection, drawing on documentary and field studies related to the research topic and objectives, utilizing 22 sub-criteria. For analysis, the data has been standardized, and Shannon's entropy method has been used for weighting each indicator. Subsequently, using the ELECTRE model, urban flourishing has been ranked for each city in Zanjan province. The results of this research indicate that Abhar, Khorramdarreh, and Mahneshan are the most prosperous counties, while Tarom, Sultanieh, and Khodabandeh are considered the least prosperous. Counties like Zanjan and Ijroud, in comparison to the prosperous counties, consistently fall below the threshold of development in terms of the urban flourishing index based on the quality of life component, placing them among the less prosperous counties. Zanjan county has been identified as one of the least prosperous counties due to its high population growth and the mismatch between the growth of quality of life indicators and population growth. Given the central role of this county in Zanjan province, it is necessary to implement necessary planning in this regard.