Assessing Spatial Equity Accessibility to Educational Services in the Study Area of District 18 in Tehran

The rapid and unplanned growth of cities in the country in recent decades, alongside the physical development of urban areas, has led to the creation of imbalanced areas within cities. In some areas, we witness high population density, lack of services, traffic congestion, lack of resilience in urban infrastructure, crime-prone areas, and incompatible land uses. In other areas, we see favorable conditions in access to public services and urban infrastructure and compatibility in urban land uses. The concentration of service centers in a specific location leads to unequal access to services and results in a population influx to these areas. This phenomenon increases environmental pressure, traffic congestion, pollution (noise, air, etc.) in certain parts of the city and creates dense, undesirable environments that are incompatible with sustainable development.



Furthermore, in urban development, the location of public services and its connection with the socio-economic characteristics of city neighborhoods has been neglected. The unfair distribution pattern within a city leads to increased class differences and segregation among human groups. The spatial inequalities and unfair distribution of services along with environmental problems at the city level are directly related. With population growth and horizontal and vertical expansion, cities are transformed into uninhabitable environments where many urban issues can be traced back to unfair distribution of urban services.



Achieving spatial equity in a city has long been a focus for urban planners, with the main goal being equitable distribution of space and related land uses for better access to urban amenities. Spatial equity is defined based on equal distribution of resources and services among urban areas. One of the most sensitive and complex land uses in cities is educational facilities which require careful attention to location planning and compatibility with neighboring uses as well as consideration for incompatible uses.



Proper location planning for schools at the city level can reduce household costs, decrease traffic congestion leading to reduced environmental pollution among other benefits. Analyzing the spatial concentration of urban services including educational services and how they are distributed is an important aspect of spatial equity in urban planning.



Access to educational services based on the characteristics and needs of target communities primarily relies on pedestrian access. Considering the young age group targeted by primary and secondary educational facilities, factors such as distance traveled by students from home to school play a crucial role in their comfort levels.



In conclusion, addressing spatial equity issues related to access to educational facilities requires careful consideration based on age groups of students at different levels as well as factors such as population density, service coverage area, educational levels offered by institutions, and gender distribution among learners.

The present study aims to evaluate and determine the fair distribution of educational facilities in district 18 of Tehran. In this research, spatial equity is defined based on two criteria: the quality of establishment of educational centers and the quality of access to these centers. Each of these criteria is defined based on several sub-criteria. Using multi-criteria decision-making methods, particularly Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the criteria and their corresponding weights are determined based on the opinions of experts, and a spatial equity map for the study area is prepared. This study has two innovations; the first innovation is that while previous studies mainly focus on evaluating spatial equity based on administrative boundaries of urban areas and ultimately at the neighborhood level, this study examines spatial equity at a finer scale, focusing on blocks and urban parcels due to the vastness and heterogeneity in land development and population density. The second innovation is that in previous research, access criteria were defined solely based on distance, without considering factors such as road quality, safety for pedestrians, and attractiveness of streets. In this study, these factors will be considered in evaluating spatial equity.