Distinct trajectories of city growth, city shrinkage and development in the Iranian province of Khuzestan

ABSTRACT In Iran, as in other developing countries, the existence of shrinking cities has been observed. In the case of 13 medium-sized cities in Khuzestan province in 1977–2011, demographic growth trends differ widely, but there was no significant overall relationship between urban population growth and employment, activity development or indeed with indicators of social environmental and ecological development in these cities. Demographic growth is principally a result of natural increase and intra-regional rural–urban migration in a geopolitically important but relatively disadvantaged border province that suffers from net outmigration and the devastating effects of the Iran–Iraq War on the distribution of the population, infrastructure and important economic centres, and ports such as Abadan.