Necessity Determination of Relocating the Capital City with a Defensive Planning Approach

This study evaluates the necessity of moving the capital city of Iran within a defensive planning approach and its impact on the national economic, social, and environmental aspects. Data consist of statistical documents and questionnaires, supplemented with 26 demographic, economic, environmental, infrastructure, health, and security-defence indices. To analyse the data, the statistical methods of spatial autocorrelation of Moran and Ripley's K function are used. The results show that centralization in the demographic, economic, and political dimensions of Tehran as capital city, along with natural threats, has led to under-development and environmental issues. In addition, the unequal distribution of services in Iran's provinces and the centralization of services and facilities in Tehran has raised the need to move the capital as a development strategy. In this strategy, the government should pay more attention to the country's macroeconomics, especially the per capita GDP, including long-term forecasts and development plans for the provinces because only macroeconomic stability can lead to more stable economics in all parts of the country. Under such circumstances, any future policy regarding the relocation of the capital will be easier, and the economic and political stability of the country will not be disrupted.