Background and Objective: Given the widespread and inevitable consequences of environmental challenges and the priority of prevention in the management of urban issues, identifying vulnerable points and examining the consequences of these challenges on urban security is essential in order to prevent environmental issues from turning into crises. In the meantime, the quality of urban governance and the functioning of management institutions can play an important role in preventing, controlling, and reducing the consequences of environmental challenges. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between urban governance components and the state of the environment in the city of Kashan and to identify the most important environmental challenges and consequences resulting from the state of urban governance.
Methodology: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. Data collection was carried out using library studies and field methods. In the field section, data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire based on the Likert scale, the items of which were developed using previous studies and expert opinions. A correlation matrix was used to analyze the data and examine the relationship between the components of urban governance and the state of the environment.
Findings and Results: The research findings showed that all components of urban governance, including participation, transparency, accountability, rule of law, justice, and efficiency, have a positive and significant relationship with the state of the environment. Among the components studied, accountability with a correlation coefficient of 0.621 showed the highest relationship with the state of the environment, followed by transparency with a coefficient of 0.578 and efficiency with a coefficient of 0.567. Justice (0.542), citizen participation (0.512), and rule of law (0.493) also had a positive and significant relationship with the state of the environment. In addition, the water crisis and air pollution were identified as the most important environmental challenges with security dimensions in the city of Kashan.