The Physical Transformations due to the Rural Sprawl in Rural Settlements of Hamadan Periphery

Purpose: One of such changes is the rural sprawl and its physical-spatial consequences in rural areas and their surrounding lands which has led to land use change in agricultural lands, gardens and less planed physical changes. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted in a descriptive-analytical method using field works, regular interviews and monitoring of satellite images and GIS maps. This study sought to identify and explain the natural consequences of rural sprawl in the physical area of villages and their surroundings during a 20-year period from 1995 to2016. The study area included 24 large rural settlements around Hamadan County with an average rural population of 2,800 people in areas with farmlands and gardens. Finding: The findings showed that rural sprawl has resulted in unplanned proximity and intermingling of rural-urban functions in rural settlements, physical changes in surrounding rural settlements, changes in diversity and composition of rural land uses, changes in physical structure of rural areas, and increased number of single-family residential units and villas. Research limitations/implications: Difficulty in gathering data about the rural areas’ physical changes and access to data and documentation of some organizations and interviews with some groups were among the challenges of the study. Practical implications: Management based on settlement systems of suburban towns and villages in the form of rural-urban ties and metropolitan area of Hamadan (in macro level), integrated management based on legal limits of the villages and their immediate areas, regulatory and more planned intervention through compliance of the uses with the structures and functions of the villages were some of the recommendations in the managerial and planning level. Originality/value: There have been a limited number of studies on emerging concepts and phenomena in the villages surrounding the metropolises and big cities. Therefore, it was necessary to conduct a study and discuss the consequences of rural sprawl as a phenomenon in villages round cities.