Journal of Urban Environmental Management

Optimal Landfill Site Selection Based on National Guidelines and Local Conditions: Lessons from the City of Chatroud

Articles in Press

Authors

Majid Ramezani Mehrian 1
Sayedeh Alemohammad 2
Hossein Vahidi 3
Hossein Khosravi 4

1 Department of Environmental Studies, the Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities (SAMT), Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Innovation and Sustainability, Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Environment, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

4 Department of Architucture and Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Art University, Tehran, Iran.

10.48306/juem.2026.571320.1141
Abstract
Landfill management in arid Iran requires precise site selection due to environmental fragility and agricultural dependence. Chatroud's current landfill has become a pollution hub, provoking social conflicts by neglecting environmental criteria. This study provides an operational framework differentiating and integrating constraint and suitability criteria from national guidelines, tailored to local conditions. Using MCDM, weighted overlaying, and viewshed analysis, unsuitable areas were first excluded based on ecological-social constraints (e.g., buffers for water resources and settlements). Remaining lands were then weighted and evaluated by the suitability degree of other key criteria. Among five candidate sites, Site 2 is optimal due to safe aquifer distance, appropriate city distance, reduced future social conflicts (from wind alignment dispersing pollutants away from settlements, and highly limited viewshed from topographic confinement). The key lesson is implementing "closure and rehabilitation" of the current site while establishing the new site with comprehensive monitoring and sustainable social participation to manage future conflicts. Differentiating constraints from suitability ensures technical compliance with national guidelines and enables project implementation success and local acceptance—generalizable to other arid regions of Iran.

Keywords

Waste
Constraints
Suitability
Site Selection
Environmental Criteria
Social Conflicts
Journal of Urban Environmental Management

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 06 August 2026

  • Receive Date 07 January 2026
  • Revise Date 04 June 2026
  • Accept Date 05 August 2026
  • First Publish Date 06 August 2026
  • Publish Date 06 August 2026

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