Regional development assessment: Reflections of the problem-oriented urban planning

•Studies the evolution of the cities.•Presents the problem oriented method as a suitable tool in underdeveloped cities.•Highlights differences between underdeveloped and advanced regions.•Consider the latest climate and socioeconomic changes.•Suggest a systematic program for sustainable development. This paper reflects the regional/urban planning, design, and building problems. It highlights local differences as important factors in the development process. As demands for new homes and towns increase the proportionality of urban development methods to the local situation must be respected. This in turn requires an increase in the professional regional recognition and practical experiences. This study reviews briefly the past, present and future of the underdevelopment cities. It applies a combination of semi structured interviews, a problem oriented method, POM, a benchmarking method, BM, a linear programming, and techniques of converting qualitative values to quantitative scores to assess the degree of sustainable urban development, SUD. The assessment has been done by introducing of indicators of sustainability, IS. Finally, this paper suggests a systematic program to develop a case study city. The program is useful in the similar cities everywhere.