Future Research on the Role of Smart Transportation on the Resilience of Sustainable Urban Development (Case Study: Ahvaz City)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Scientific-Research

Authors

fereshteh Tahmasebi ¹

Vahid Sarafraz ²

¹ M.Sc. Student, Department of Urban Planning, Jundi-Shapur University of Technology, Dezful, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Jundishapur Dezful University of Technology, Dezful, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/jgusd.2026.98721.1596

Abstract

Given the environmental challenges, gridlocked traffic, and infrastructure decay in the Ahvaz metropolis, the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is not merely a technological choice but an unavoidable necessity for enhancing urban resilience. By optimizing traffic flow and reducing transportation-related pollutants, this approach provides a systematic framework for achieving sustainable development indicators under the city’s unique climatic and social conditions. Accordingly, this study aims to identify and analyze the cross-impacts of key driving forces affecting the future role of smart transportation in strengthening the resilience of sustainable urban development in Ahvaz through the 2041 horizon. This research is futures studies by nature and employs a descriptive-analytical methodology. In the first step, the final analysis—integrating documentary studies and the Delphi technique (with the participation of urban and transportation experts) using the Micmac cross-impact analysis model—led to the extraction of 29 key drivers that delineate the resilience roadmap for Ahvaz towards 2041. The research findings indicate that the stability of Ahvaz against climatic challenges and infrastructural wear is inextricably linked to digital and institutional drivers such as "Smart Environmental Monitoring" and "Cyber Resilience." The structural stability of the model, along with the overlap of direct and indirect impacts, emphasizes the necessity of shifting from traditional physical development toward data-driven governance; essentially, the functional survival of the city in the face of crises like extreme heat and dust storms can only be guaranteed through a smart and flexible transportation system. Ultimately, sustainable development resilience by 2041 has evolved from a "structure-oriented" concept to a "data-driven" necessity, where smartification is not just an option but the backbone of sustainability for transitioning to a proactive system

Keywords

Intelligent Transportation

Resilience

Sustainable Urban Development

Futures Studies

Ahvaz City

Subjects

• urban planinnin

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