An Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of Security Feeling in Yazd Province using VIKOR Model

Introduction Security is an unavoidable need, and a security-deprived society will have a population lacking in mental peace. The security of a society is as important as the sense of security and psychological security in that community. So, planning is easier in a secure society. Planning is caused by scarcity of resources and determining how resources are distributed among the interests of the owners and among different locations. The spatial distribution of resource types means that everyone in an area level is given equal access to resources and facilities. Security and sense of security is also one of the sources that have a significant impact on the distribution and density of populations across different regions. Accordingly, identifying security and safety factors as well as identifying the level of security in the regions are essential preconditions for planning to enhance security and achieve development. Yazd province is one of the central provinces of Iran, which is a kind of communication highway of the country. The immigration on the one hand and relocation of people from neighboring provinces to the province to work in the industrial cities on the other hand, as well as the created ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, have caused challenges such as social damages to Yazd province. Regarding the importance of this issue, the main purpose of this study is to estimate and classify the level of human security and its spatial distribution in 10 cities of Yazd province. Finally, solutions can be provided to greater security and secure justice in different parts of the province. Material & Methods The present study is descriptive-analytical in terms of its applied nature and research method. Since the statistical population of this study is comprised of 10 cities of Yazd province, the required information was collected from the latest statistical yearbooks of Yazd province in 2014, 2015 and 2016, along with Yazd province police station. In this study, we collected the theoretical bases by the deductive method and generalized the results inductively. In this study, 16 indicators were used to measure the level of security feeling from various aspects of human security, including life, economic, moral, and judicial aspects. In the next step, these indices were evaluated using the Delphi technique. In this regard, a questionnaire on the importance and weight of research indices was compiled and sent to 11 experts whose average weights were used to perform the research model. Finally, Vikor decision making technique was used to classify cities. Vikor is a collaborative decision-making method. The main difference between this model and other hierarchical or network decision-making models is that, the model does not make pairwise comparisons between criteria and options, and each option is independently measured and evaluated. This model consists of 7 stages, which the first stage is the presentation of the indicators in the research. Discussion of Results & Conclusions Based on the results of the research, it was found that, firstly, Yazd province has a relatively favorable human security situation with a mean score of 0.443 on the VIKOR index, which means that among 10 cities, 60% have between 0 and 0.5, which is almost desirable. Another result is that the spatial distribution of human security in Yazd province does not follow variables such as population size, bureaucratic congestion and extent, because Yazd city as the center of province with the highest population and bureaucratic density ranked 8th. Therefore, there is no significant relationship between breadth, centrality, distance to province center, population density, and security in Yazd province. The following suggestions are offered to improve the level of security in Yazd cities: - Holding citizenship education meetings in Yazd city center to increase sense of belonging and responsibility towards public safety, - Considering migration and monitoring of non-indigenous people and creating homogeneity between immigrants and indigenous people, - Identifying threatening and risky situations in Yazd province - Fostering strategies regarding public participation in increased surveillance and security, - Improving physical security in cities by removing passages, providing adequate lighting, removing lonely and cozy areas, opening parks and exposing public spaces