Explaining the Key Factors Affecting Urban Drinking Water Security in Tabriz Metropolis with a Future Research Approach

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research Articles

Authors

1 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

2 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

10.30466/grfs.2026.57468.1266

Abstract

The security of urban drinking water, as one of the fundamental pillars of sustainable development and public health, faces serious challenges in the country's metropolises due to resource limitations, population growth, climate change, and management complexities. Tabriz metropolis, as one of the most important population and economic centers of the country, experiences a critical situation in the field of drinking water security due to high per capita water consumption and decreasing supply resources, which further emphasizes the necessity of identifying key factors affecting this system. The present study was conducted with the aim of explaining the key factors affecting urban drinking water security in Tabriz metropolis with a future research approach, so that by identifying the main drivers, the groundwork for formulating long-term policies and strategies for sustainable urban water resource management can be provided. This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in nature with a future research approach. The identification of factors was carried out through a review of theoretical foundations and previous studies, and then by using the Delphi method and the participation of 32 experts in the fields of water resource management, urban planning, environment, and executive management. Finally, 54 factors were classified into seven main dimensions and analyzed structurally using MICMAC software and direct and indirect cross-impact matrix analysis. The results showed that the drinking water security system of Tabriz metropolis is unstable and the distribution of variables in the scatter plot does not follow a stable L-shaped pattern.

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Main Subjects

Geography and Regional Future Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 August 2026

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