Future Evolution of Environmental Justice in Tabriz City: Structural Analysis Through Identification and Presentation of Key Driving FactorsIdentification Factors

Haghlesan, Masoud

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.2087608.1365

Future Evolution of Environmental Justice in Tabriz City: Structural Analysis Through Identification and Presentation of Key Driving FactorsIdentification Factors

Document Type : Case Study

Author

Masoud Haghlesan

Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Ilk.C., Islamic Azad University, Ilkhchi, Iran.

10.22034/ijumes.2026.2087608.1365

Abstract

Due to rapid urban expansion, environmental justice has become a major challenge in urban planning. Tabriz city in Iran, as a regional economic hub, faces unequal distribution of green space, noise and air pollution, and unequal access to environmental services. This research adopts a forward-looking approach to analyze the current situation and explore possible future pathways of environmental justice. The main objective is to identify and analyze the key driving factors affecting the evolution of environmental justice in Tabriz City. This applied, descriptive-analytical study involved urban management and local environment experts. Data were collected through library research and expert interviews. MAXQDA was used for qualitative coding, and MICMAC structural analysis was applied to determine the influence and dependence of factors and identify key drivers. The findings of the structural analysis showed that four axial codes were identified: challenges, strategies, key factors, and futures studies. The most important challenges included weak supervision, marginalization, and pollution. The most important strategy was culturalization. National policies, with an influence of 696, were identified as the most important external factor. Culturalization was the most comprehensive strategy (17 points), and pollution was the most critical challenge (13 points). The results shows that weak supervision and enforcement is the main challenge of environmental justice in Tabriz city. Culturalization is the key tool for transformation. Success requires simultaneous attention to national policies and local actions. The future of the city fluctuates between optimistic and pessimistic scenarios.

Graphical Abstract

Future Evolution of Environmental Justice in Tabriz City: Structural Analysis Through Identification and Presentation of Key Driving FactorsIdentification Factors

Highlights

· Weak supervision and marginalization are the primary barriers to environmental justice in Tabriz City.

· Culturalization and energy management are the most effective strategic actions.

· National policies strongly determine the environmental justice situation in Tabriz City.

· The future is highly uncertain, requiring simultaneous local and national actions.

Keywords

Environmental justice

MAXQDA

structural analysis

sustainable urban development

Tabriz city

· Agyeman,J.Schlosberg,D.Craven,L.&Matthews,C.(2016).Trends and directions in environmental justice: from inequity to everyday life, community, and just sustainabilities. Annual review of environment and resources, 41(1), 321-340.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-090052

· Alves, M. R. & Daitx, M. C. (2021). Observations on Inclusiveness, Equality and Equity in the Urban Space in the city of São Paulo. ReciprociUdad, Design Diplomacy in Seville, 95-112.‏ https://highriseproject.net/webroot/uploaded_files/files/0422SiteArtigoAlves-e-DaitxObservations-on-Inclusiveness-Equality-and-Equity-in-the-Urban-Space-in-the-city-of-So-Paulo-.pdf

· Besse, H., & Rojas-Rueda, D. (2025). Environmental justice mapping tools in the United States: A review of national and state tools. Science of The Total Environment, 962, 178449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178449

· Bullard, R. D. (2000). Dumping in Dixie: Race, class, and environmental quality (3rd ed.). Westview Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429495274

· Byrne, J. A. (2010). Environmental justice. In B. Warf (Ed.), Encyclopedia of geography (pp. 960–966). SAGE Publications. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229090772_Environmental_justice

· Caselli, B. Pedilarco, G. Pellicelli, G. Rossetti, S. & Zazzi, M. (2024). Enhancing Public Space Accessibility and Inclusivity in Residential Neighbourhoods: A Methodological Framework and Pilot Application. Sustainability, 16(4), 1435 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041435

· Dwivedi, Y. K., Sharma, A., Rana, N. P., Giannakis, M., Goel, P., & Dutot, V. (2023). Evolution of artificial intelligence research in Technological Forecasting and Social Change: Research topics, trends, and future directions. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 192, 122579. Doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122579

· ElMaraghy, H., Monostori, L., Schuh, G., & ElMaraghy, W. (2021). Evolution and future of manufacturing systems. CIRP Annals, 70(2), 635-658. DOI:10.1016/j.cirp.2021.05.008

· Emanuel, G. (2017). Combatting social exclusion through public space design (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford).‏ https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:130810ca-c739-41bc-88f3-b52fbaa5002e

· Ghaderi Hajat, M. and Hafeznia, M. R. (2018). Strategies for Achieving Spatial/Geographic Justice in Iran. Research Political Geography Quarterly, 3(3), 25-57. Doi: 10.22067/pg.v4i9.75411

· Geropanta, V. & Cornelio-Marí, E. M. (2022). Inclusiveness and Participation in the Design of Public Spaces: Her City and the Challenge of the Post-Pandemic Scenario. International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), 11(1), 1-15.‏ https://ideas.repec.org/a/igg/jepr00/v11y2022i1p1-15.html

· Gupta, S., Ranjan, R., & Singh, S. N. (2024). A comprehensive survey of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): Evolution, current landscape and future directions. arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.12837. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.12837

· Juskus, R. (2023). Sacrifice zones: A genealogy and analysis of an environmental justice concept. Environmental Humanities, 15(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-10216129

· Kadree, S. (2009). It's Getting Harder To Breathe: Addressing the Disproportionate Impact of Asthma Among Minority Children Through Environmental Justice Litigation. Regional Black Law Students Association Law Journal, 3, 38-39. https://access.heinonline.com/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/srebwsude3&div=7&id=&page=

· khorasani, M. and Niazi, M. (2025). Environmental justice scenarios and sustainable development goals (case study: Kashan city). Sociology of Culture and Art, 7(2), 106-125.

· doi: 10.22034/scart.2025.139900.1383

· Locke, J. (2025). Two treatises of civil government. https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1378&context=hapl_marginalia_all

· Lynch, K. (1984). Good city form. MIT press.‏ https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262620468/good-city-form/

· Malekmohammadi, F., Mohajeri, A., & Navabakhsh, M. (2024). Participatory urban management and urban justice (An integrative, interdisciplinary and comparative view of participatory urban management and its impact on the quality of urban life as a comprehensive index of urban justice in Tehran). Society Culture Media, 13(50), 75-107.‏ Doi: 10.22034/scm.2024.201952

· McWhirter, E. H. & McWha-Hermann, I. (2021). Social justice and career development: Progress, problems, and possibilities. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 126, 103492.‏ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879120301172

· Mitchell, G., & Norman, P. (2012). Longitudinal environmental justice analysis: Co-evolution of environmental quality and deprivation in England, 1960–2007. Geoforum, 43(1), 44-57.‏ Doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2011.08.005

· Nygren, A. & Quesada, F. (2020). Imagining cities of inclusion-Formulating spaces of justice. Urban Planning, 5(3), 200-205. DOI:10.17645/up.v5i3.3465

· Pourahmad, A. , Zanganeh sgahraki, S. and Saberi, A. (2023). Analysis of Spatial Justice in Access to Urban Services Case study: Yasouj city. Geography and Development, 21(71), 1-32. Doi: 10.22111/gdij.2023.7588

· Schlosberg, D. (2004). Reconceiving environmental justice: global movements and political theories. Environmental politics, 13(3), 517-540.‏ https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/schlosberg_reconceiving_ej_global_mvmts.pdf

· Walker, G. (2010). Environmental justice, impact assessment and the politics of knowledge: The implications of assessing the social distribution of environmental outcomes. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 30(4), 312–318 DOI:10.1016/j.eiar.2010.04.005