Site Selection of Educational Centers Using Geographic Information System (GIS) And Hierarchical Model (AHP

Objective: The purpose of this study is to optimally locate educational facilities, enhance their efficiency, and take a significant step towards improving the quality of education.
Method: This research is applied-developmental, follows library and descriptive-analytical methods, and uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model. The 11 selected criteria in this study were categorized into three groups: compatible, semi-compatible, and incompatible. The criteria used in this research included cultural centers, religious sites, sports facilities, green spaces, fire stations, medical centers, military sites, pathways, administrative areas, commercial areas, and urban facilities. To carry out this research, a matrix was first created using pairwise comparisons and AHP. Then, raster layers for these criteria were prepared and standardized from 1 (very unsuitable) to 5 (very suitable). Finally, each raster was multiplied by its respective weight, and the suitable layer was produced by overlaying the raster layers.
Findings: The findings indicate that using the AHP model in the ArcMap (GIS) environment can identify optimal and suitable educational locations.
Conclusion and Recommendations: The results of the analysis of effective indicators in evaluating the location of educational centers have shown that most educational centers in this area fall under compatible conditions (with a weight of 0.669) and semi-compatible conditions (with a weight of 0.243), while incompatible educational centers only account for a weight of 0.088. The combined analysis of AHP and GIS regarding the location of educational centers in District 4 of Ahvaz city has demonstrated that this area’s central and northern points are the most suitable locations for establishing new educational centers.
Innovation and Originality: This research aims to correctly locate educational centers to improve the quality of education for the first time in the studied area.