Markazi province in Central Iran is a highly attractive area for the development of industrial centers; however, over the last few decades, unregulated development has led to environmental and socioeconomic issues. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the existing industrial parks and identify potential areas for appropriate development. An industrial land capability assessment utilized 14 main criteria and 10 constraint parameters of socioeconomic, infrastructural, biological, and physical aspects using a geographic information system-based analytical network process model. Results show that Markazi province has 14.27% of highly suitable and 11.32% of extremely suitable area for industrial development; contrariwise, 60.14% of the province has no potential or is classified as an exclusion zone. Moreover, 44.4% (i.e., 8 parks) of the province’s industrial parks are located in unsuitable zones. According to the land capability of Markazi province, the need to organize existing industrial parks and integrate industrial units alongside existing centers and potential areas should be considered in the industrial development policies of the province. The results of the sensitivity analysis also support the research findings.

The production of seafood, particularly in areas far from coastlines, makes aquaculture an optional farming alternative. Case research from the semi-arid Markazi province, Iran, is examined as a viable aquaculture location for Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout). ArcGIS Version 10.6.1 and Super Decision Version 3.2 software are utilized for the zoning and assessment of criteria maps. All criteria, i.e., sub-criteria and limitations, were gathered through the academic literature, qualitative interviews via expert opinion, national data, and guidelines. By imposing constraints on the premier aquatic potential map, the final map of the aquaculture potential of Markazi province was obtained. The results indicated that 40.79% of Markazi province has a high potential for aquaculture development. According to the sensitivity analysis, changes in criterion value (i.e., increase or decrease) in weight corresponded with the rate of change. Aquaculture development would require large-scale investment and make Markazi province a major seafood producer in the region.

Markazi Province has high potential for residential development due to its geopolitical location in the central part of Iran. This study investigated the possibility of residential area development in Markazi Province using a GIS‐based analytic network process. ArcGIS Version 10.6.1 and Super Decision Version 3.2 software were utilized for the zoning and assessment of criteria. All criteria, and their sub‐criteria, and limitations were gathered using national standards, literature review, and experts. According to the final residential area land suitability map, 16.74% of Markazi Province is highly or very highly suitable for urban development, even though 57.55% of the province's area (i.e., 30% of its current cities) are located in the exclusion zone. Results suggested that most parts of the province do not have desirable conditions for residential zoning. Further attention and deepened GIS monitoring over an extended period would be beneficial before future development is considered. In particular, the natural limitations in the region—such as slope—impede development potential. The study provides an alternative quantifiable and verifiable approach for sustainable urban planning from a land use policy perspective.