Urban Planning
mohammadreza pourjafar; faramarz rostami
Abstract
Although the planning system has made plenty of theoretical and practical efforts in regard to the transformation of urbanization, it has failed to officially prevent the increasing trend of urban problems. While almost one-third of the urban population is living in poor conditions, and is stuck in a ...
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Although the planning system has made plenty of theoretical and practical efforts in regard to the transformation of urbanization, it has failed to officially prevent the increasing trend of urban problems. While almost one-third of the urban population is living in poor conditions, and is stuck in a socio-economic vicious circle accompanied by physical distress, the benefits of urban growth are gained by powerful informal roles or formal roles with informal practices. In effect, the planning system interferes with informal practices and roles subconsciously and non-transparently. These informalities have also received less attention in the conducted studies, where powerful, influential informal roles and credible, covert, useful informal practices have been neglected. These are roles that ignore the law and public interest, or cause changes in the law and policies for their own satisfaction and informal practices that allocate the greatest benefits within a short time exclusively to particular groups. Persistence of such conditions will result in irreparable costs for the country under investigation, namely Iran. Hence, the present study aims to investigate how formal and informal practices and roles interact with each other given their current concentration on distressed urban areas. It also seeks to present a conceptual framework for formal planning confronting the informalities in the domain. The study attempts to answer three important questions. 1) How does formal planning address informal practices and roles? 2) How do informal practices and roles utilize formal planning? 3) How can this interference and conflict be resolved? To answer these questions, we investigated the actual power and background of the planning action, interference of formal planning with informalities, informalities’ utilization of planning, and transformation of urbanization in the country. Instances of the four ways in which formal and informal roles and practices confront each other were also identified and analyzed. The study involved documentary and library investigation given the nature of the research questions. The methodology also included content analysis and logical reasoning. We analyzed scholars’ perspectives and experiences in regard to the issue, the planning background, and the effective factors in the confrontation given the country’s urbanization conditions, particularly the experiences and the results of the conducted studies in distressed areas. For explanation of the confrontation atmosphere, it could be suggested that there is an informal sector in the physical, economic, and social domains in the country along with the formal sector. The two sectors intersect in many events, functioning like a whirlpool that leads to endless distress. Inefficient confrontation has been the outcome of the formality-informality whirlpool, employed as a fact in the world of planning in confrontation with distressed areas through interaction with the country’s historical and political conditions and macroeconomic and social policies. In this destructive whirlpool, it is the social circle that initiates the discussed issues, which then enter into the economic circle, and are finally represented in the physical circle. Confrontation from formal planning to resolve the issues, however, conversely begins with the physical dimension. That is why planning ends without actually being started. To overcome these issues, a conceptual framework appropriate to the conditions dominant in the country was proposed, with an emphasis on a more serious consideration of the social aspect and its influence on the others in planning.
Urban Design
Ameneh Nasr abadi; Mohammad Reza Pourjafar; Ali Akbar Taghvaei
Volume 5, Issue 17 , February 2016, , Pages 41-54
Abstract
Geometrical shape of Chaharbagh axis –one of the main historical axes in Isfahan, Iran, belonging to the Safavid era- has seen much evolution and development over time. Furthermore, it has experienced historical changes consistently over the different periods .The basic structure of Chaharbagh ...
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Geometrical shape of Chaharbagh axis –one of the main historical axes in Isfahan, Iran, belonging to the Safavid era- has seen much evolution and development over time. Furthermore, it has experienced historical changes consistently over the different periods .The basic structure of Chaharbagh Street, the masterpiece of urban design in Isfahan, dating back to the Safavid era, is based on patterns and geometric shapes and forms the main subject of this paper. Studies show that the main focus of Iranian architecture and urbanism is based on aesthetic perspective and Iranians have always placed a great deal of importance on beauty and aesthetics of space and have considered science of geometry as a powerful tool to achieve create balance, harmony, beauty and order in space. Architecture of the Islamic period with their hidden geometry inspired the viewer's eyes to be illuminated with the beauty of existence. In fact, numbers, proportions and patterns were used and connected, the to create the beauty. In addition to the geometric patterns and their related numbers, Islamic architecture applied sacred meanings to the system which played a symbolic role which people comprehended. It seems that, in this case, geometry was used as the way to create level, volume and sacred symbols. Thus, in designing the shapes and forms, Iranian architecture communicates between proportions based on abstract and supernatural principles. Forms expressed with symbolic language is named holy geometry and have remained over time. In the traditional world, geometry is inseparable from the rest of the pythagorean sciences such as arithmetic, music and astronomy. Architecture that was closely linked with geometry was often of holy and important places to manifest of truth.Thus, in the Safavid era, people created a heavenly place through architecture for themselves which paid attention to the beauty and holiness of a place.Iranians were trying to apply proportion in the dimensions of the buildings to reflect the cosmic relations which were included in the golden ratio. Indeed, using the geometric in design as an art form to create shapes, patterns and proportions, reminds us of the importance ofarchitecture in the world.Therefore, in this study the use of geometric measures and seeking transfer sizes (modules) are an important basis for creating aesthetic beauty in the Chaharbagh axis. The method used in this research is descriptive analysis based on the historical literature, books, and maps, extracted forms and geometric proportions of Chaharbagh in the Safavid period. Then, formation of the Chaharbagh was elicited by using the aesthetic value of geometric design. The result of the analysis in this paper indicates that Chaharbagh of the Safavid era communicated comprehensively the material and the spiritual and geometric proportions merge forms to comply with a sense of value Proportions had established a coordinated structure, between the components and totality and show the extreme usage of geometric role in the beautiful Persian architecture.
Urban Design
m. r.; m. p.; A. T.; A. S.
Volume 2, Issue 6 , June 2013, , Pages 59-74
