During the last four decades, Iraq, like most other developing countries, faced very rapid urban growth. Due to thr absence of definite
urbanisation policies, the major part of the urban growth went to the
main cities, in particular , the capital Baghdad. Such a pattern of
growth created many socio-economic problems at the national, as well as
the urban level.
This study represents an attempt toward developing a methodology of
dealing with urban growth problems on a regional level in Iraq. It aims
at finding what is thought to be, under the prevailing socio-economic and
physical constraints, the most efficient urban growth pattern in the
Upper Euphrates Region (U.E.R.) up to 1985.
To achieve this aim the study first reviews and critically examines
a wide range of urban growth theories and models. Despite the less or..s
that were learned from this review and the adoptation of many of their
principles in developing this study, they did not provide a ready made
answer to the problem of urban growth in the region Secondly, for the
better understanding of urbanisation on and spatial development policies in
Iraq and the U.E.R. a thorough examination of these and other aspects has
been dealt with in part two. Thirdly, after examining the basic
techniques that could be used in analysing the urban growth problem, such
as the cost-benefit analysis and its refinement the planning balance sheet,
threshold analysis and the goals-achievement analysis, it is found that the
latter, at this stage of development in Iraq could be applied in studying
such a problem. Finally, three alternative urban growth patterns were
considered, i.e., the expansion of the largest urban centre in each urban
node, the expansion of the proposed smaller urban centres and the
establishment of a new town in each urban node and a set of socio-economic,
physical, environmental and structural, factors that were thought to affect
strongly the proposed urban growth patterns were incorporated in the
analysis. From these it was found that the expansion of the largest urban
centre in each urban nod e is the most suitable solution at this stage of
the socio-economic development of the region. The vitality of this
conclusion was tested by applying sensitivity analysis which supported it.