Regional Planning
Hamid Mohammadi; Vahid Moshfeghi
Abstract
It is necessary to consider external interactions of cities, their importance and the role of each type of communication to analyze urban systems. Thus, an accurate understanding of the nature of space and the forces shaping it as well as identification of the form of space organization in the regional ...
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It is necessary to consider external interactions of cities, their importance and the role of each type of communication to analyze urban systems. Thus, an accurate understanding of the nature of space and the forces shaping it as well as identification of the form of space organization in the regional level requires identification of several types of interactions among cities. Besides, the importance of nodes at the regional level, such as an urban network, presents forms of space organization in correspondence with the levels of the urban hierarchy.On the one hand, cities are categorized in proportion to their connectivity and power based on different flows of people, goods, capital and information. On the other hand, practical projects focus mostly on ranking settlements based on population, capacity and level of services.The authors believe there are two main reasons why researchers have paid less attention to the urban network analysis in Iran. First, lack of inter-city and intra-city flow data and, second, absence of a comprehensive model to consider different types of linkages among cities.This article aims to present an optimum pattern of urban network analysis according to available data in Iran including economic, political and physical data, as well as the data related to services including tourism and recreation, transportation, health, education, etc.This paper examined the hierarchy of functional communications among cities in Fars province located in south of Iran. It aims to answer the following questions:1. How is the hierarchical pattern of functional communications in Fars province?2. Which centers and what types of communications are more important to achieve a balanced regional development model?In terms of methodology, this study is a positivist research. The research method is applied and developmental and the quantitative methods are used to assess the hierarchy of urban communications in Fars province. The data is collected through documentary and library studies.Assessment of the urban communication pattern of Fars province shows a partially mono-central clustered structure in the province. Shiraz is the dominant central place of the examined network. This is due to the concentration of population, economic, social and cultural potentials and powerful physical relationships with other cities. Marvdasht, Firoozabad, Fasa, Jahrom and Lar are the most powerful and multi-functional cities to modify the spatial structure of the province. These cities were ranked as secondary centers in the system of the city to play their roles. It should be noted that Marvdasht is the second most populated city in Fras province. In the light of its vacinity to Shiraz, Marvdasht has less superior services. Thus, Marvdasht is described as a low potential city to become a secondary center. Jahrom and Lar are located in the southern half of the province. These cities are considered to be at the second level of the hierarchy of cities in Fars. On the other hand, results show that lack of important functional centers is the most important problem in Fars spatial organization, especially in western and eastern areas of the province. Finally, in an overall view, the results show that distribution of services plays an important role in the hierarchy of urban system and that the demographic dependence is mainly affected by communication and service structures.
Urban Planning
Volume 4, Issue 15 , August 2015, , Pages 93-105
Abstract
Redeveloping a brownfield land as an urban project, needs some qualitative considerations due to their complex and multidimensional identity. Hitherto, experts of brownfield redevelopment sector have introduced many quantitative and qualitative considerations in their research and actions. The ...
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Redeveloping a brownfield land as an urban project, needs some qualitative considerations due to their complex and multidimensional identity. Hitherto, experts of brownfield redevelopment sector have introduced many quantitative and qualitative considerations in their research and actions. The subject of this study considers the qualitative aspects that have been introduced by different experts. Some important considerations that have been appointed include integrated planning, innovation, selection and composition of appropriate final land use, survey of socio-economic and service conditions of adjacent regions, attention to historical and environmental conditions of land, maintenance and expansion of existing infrastructure and buildings, establishment of conditional, temporary and short-time land uses. The problem that this study investigated was how to organize and prioritize these considerations for assessing the quality of brownfield redevelopment projects in Iran. Based on this question, providing a framework for introducing a series of qualitative considerations in brownfield redevelopment projects for internal experts was determined as a study goal. This framework can facilitate the assessment of Iran brownfield redevelopment projects. This research was an applicable research and used descriptive-analytical method and AHP technique. The required data for the first part of constructing a “quality assessment framework” was gathered through library survey of identified research related to brownfield redevelopment (52 cases were considered). In addition, the data for the second part of the research (namely the application of the proposed framework on Dooshan Tappeh airbase as a case study) was extracted from the Tehran Master Plan and detailed map of region 13. Organization and prioritization of identified considerations was identified in three sectors (substantive, procedural and executive) and on three scales (land, surrounding area and city) and ultimately a framework was created. This framework includes 25 types of qualitative considerations that can be used in assessment of Iran brownfield redevelopment projects. These considerations were introduced from 14 different sources. It is understood from this qualitative assessment framework that the quality of a redevelopment plan requires at least three separate actions. First, preparing a redevelopment plan that leads to sustainable development of brownfield land and its surrounding regions. This consideration should be based on the preparation and implementation of redevelopment project processes. This consideration can prevent the failure of a project and decrease the risk of reproducing of brownfield land or accelerate the deterioration cycle. Second, the integration of the redevelopment plan with other related plans of brownfield land and its peripheral boundary. This consideration can reduce the risk of future conflicts and waste of human, financial or time capital. Thirdly, the preparation of a redevelopment plan according to the condition and development priority of brownfield land amongst other brownfield lands in on a regional and urban scale. This consideration should be taken into consideration by urban authorities or project designers in particular. Advantages of this consideration are the prevention of capabilities waste and debarment of excessive pressure on a site. Applying the proposed framework in redevelopment programs in Dooshan Tapped airbase revealed that although there has been sufficient attention paid tosubstantive considerations in enacted programs, qualitative considerations regarding procedural and executive sectors have been weak because of ignorance or lack of relevance.
Urban Planning
Esmaeill Shieh; Mohammad Anampour
Volume 1, Issue 1 , March 2012, , Pages 109-127
Urban Design
shima abedi; Sanaz saeedi
Abstract
Highlights
- The characteristics mentioned by 8-year-old children as used in the wayfinding process include green space and the forms of buildings.
- The directional factors considered in the selection of signs in children’s wayfinding process include the colors and shapes of buildings, building ...
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Highlights
- The characteristics mentioned by 8-year-old children as used in the wayfinding process include green space and the forms of buildings.
- The directional factors considered in the selection of signs in children’s wayfinding process include the colors and shapes of buildings, building forms, and shapes and architectures of buildings, and the performance of buildings has a direct impact on the choice of signs in wayfinding.
- The uniqueness of the sign, color, form, shape, and distinction have great impacts in the consideration of the signs and further completion of the wayfinding process.
- The guiding elements used in children’s wayfinding are different at different ages.
Introduction
Spatial navigation is influenced by landmarks, which are prominent visual features of the environment. These cues are stored in memory as structures based on places in space, and help advance path knowledge. Spatial representation of landmarks is preferably coded according to their capability of navigation. Signs affect our ability to navigate a familiar or unfamiliar environment successfully. Sights are messages from the urban space. This is especially important for children, who do not usually have the independence and experience required to move in an urban environment. This research was conducted to investigate the effect of urban signs on children navigating the urban space in the Sajjad neighborhood of the city of Mashhad, Iran.
Theoretical Framework
Humans create images of cities in their minds according to their physiological and social characteristics, such as age, gender, social class, ethnicity, nationality, skills, and information received from the environment. These images turn into the basis for a person’s behavior toward the environment. Moving through space and navigating are essential aspects of space exploration. As part of the understanding and experience of the environment, routing involves spatial decision-making for arrival at the destination. Sights are a kind of message from urban spaces. People choose landmarks in the city for their routing. Humans navigate with information support by quickly observing and understanding signs, maps, and signals. Route knowledge includes the important sights in the environment. This study sought to investigate the effect of signs on children navigating urban spaces.
Methodology
This applied research was a quantitative-qualitative survey with a sequential strategy. Data collection was based on a review of authoritative sources concerning the research topic, the indicators were extracted based on experts’ views, and the test was performed in a case study. Initially, twenty questionnaires were completed as a preliminary, randomized test and distributed among children. The population included 245 children aged 8-12 years, selected in the Sajjad neighborhood, given an accuracy of 95% and a confidence level of 0.05. Sample size was set to 150 children and then reduced to 106 due to the lack of cooperation of some children. Thus, 106 girls and boys in the age range of 8-12 years were randomly interviewed. The questionnaire was divided into two parts based on a five-point Likert scale. The variables in the theoretical framework of the research were tested in the questionnaire. Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha, obtained as 0.761 for the questionnaire, was used to assess validity and reliability, which indicates the desired coefficient of reliability and content validity of the questionnaire.
Upon completion of the questionnaire, the children were interviewed, and the meanings of the questions were fully explained to them. The data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in Amos using confirmatory factor analysis methods. A qualitative analysis was made of the children’s paintings, and overlay and graphic methods were used to summarize it. The main variables of the research included routing and signage, which were evaluated according to the theoretical framework of the research.
Results and Discussion
The results indicate that differences in children’s age groups cause differences in the effectiveness of signals in their wayfinding. Moreover, physical elements and signs in urban spaces are highly effective in their guidance through the study area. Among the features used by 8-year-old children in the wayfinding process, we can mention green spaces and the forms of buildings. Children aged 9-10 years pay attention to the physical forms and distinctions of buildings in the routing process. Children with 10-12 years of age refer to buildings with greater color variety and ones with more distinctive architectural forms than others. The results demonstrate that the uniqueness of the sign, color, form, shape, and distinction has a great effect in the process of considering the sign and the persistence of the wayfinding process. Therefore, given the priority of following the signs in children’s process of wayfinding in urban spaces, it can be pointed out that the physical, functional, and semantic manifestation of the signs also has a great impact in the process.
The role of signals in children of the examined age range was investigated according to the theoretical model of the research, along with the characteristics of signals in the environment. Initially, signs were paid greater attention by children, as extracted from the questionnaires and drawings. Among the signs mentioned by children in the Sajjad neighborhood were those of Laleh Street, Melli Bank, Jami Park, Pomegranate Juice Store, and Mina Park..
Conclusion
Children in the 10-12 age range use prominent commercial and residential buildings in wayfinding. Studies indicate the effect of a distinct body on children’s wayfinding behavior, given that signs are one of children’s navigation tools. It was found through the examination of the routing process as the main variable of the researchthat wayfinding is facilitated for children in the Sajjad neighborhood by the available signs and indicators. The analysis results of the effect of cues in children’s wayfinding process indicate that different guiding elements are used in the process at different ages. At the age of 8, children use paths and buildings to navigate. In the age groups of 11-12 and 9-10 years, they pay attention to the forms of roads and the shapes and functions of buildings, and turn in different directions at decision points during the wayfinding process. In the drawings, attention is paid to the ways and to the forms, shapes, functions, and colors of buildings. Therefore, children’s familiarity with the neighborhood has been observed in their wayfinding. The results indicate that there are relationships between wayfinding and environmental characteristics (physical and communication components of signals).
Urban Transport
shahrzad moghadam; zohre fani; mohamad taghi razaviyan
Abstract
Nowadays, the cities are rapidly transforming due to such reasons as the spatial structure, economic and social relations. Therefore, they need new approaches in urban management. Urban spaces are physical manifestation of citizens’ social needs and provide the necessary groundwork for access and ...
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Nowadays, the cities are rapidly transforming due to such reasons as the spatial structure, economic and social relations. Therefore, they need new approaches in urban management. Urban spaces are physical manifestation of citizens’ social needs and provide the necessary groundwork for access and provision of services required by users. They make the conditions for all users (men and women) to fairly use and enjoy the urban space. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the factors influencing women’s travel behavior in Zanjan. The study is an applied research and the methodology is descriptive-analytical. The statistical population includes 15-50 year old women in Zanjan. The sample size was determined using Cochran’s C test (384 questionnaires) and the samples were selected through random sampling method. In the present study, we first aimed at investigating and identifying urban traffic patterns based on theoretical foundations and 9 components. Questions are quantified on the Likert scale and Gutmann spectrum. Then, the patterns of women’s traffic in the city and its significant difference from the various forms of urban transport system are analyzed using these indicators. Data was analyzed in SPSS, using Kruskal-Wallis test, analysis of variance and correlation tests. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to test the reliability of questions. Information obtained from the questionnaires indicated a relationship between car ownership, occupation, family structure and travel behavior. Results show that owning a personal car leads to more mobility among employed women. In addition, women who have children are more dependent on personal cars than men, because they are not satisfied with the performance of urban public transportation. The results of this research indicate that women’s needs are not considered in urban transport planning. With the differentiation of functions in cities, transportation has affected the social and economic dimensions of women’s lives in the city.In addition, couples with children mostly use personal cars for transportation. This is apparent from the great difference in the average personal car usage in the group of women with children owning personal cars (54.56) and women without children with personal car ownership (20.6). Employed women drive more than housewives; they tend to use personal cars. Higher comfort, speed and safety are the reasons for driving personal cars rather than using other urban transportation forms. Women’s dissatisfaction with the public transport system (0.033) can be one of the several factors in increased traffic congestion and dependence on personal cars in the urban transport system of Zanjan. Housewives who own personal cars do not advise the use of public transport system. They will use alternative methods if the condition of public transportation improves.
Urban Planning
Manouchehr Tabibian; negin mozafari
Abstract
Geographical location and seismic records of many Iranian cities, including Tehran, draw attention to the vulnerability to earthquake hazards in various fields and specialties. Due to its nature, urban planning examines this issue in the urban fabrics. In line with this, the present study investigates ...
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Geographical location and seismic records of many Iranian cities, including Tehran, draw attention to the vulnerability to earthquake hazards in various fields and specialties. Due to its nature, urban planning examines this issue in the urban fabrics. In line with this, the present study investigates the texts and documents related to the earthquake and the role of urban planning in reducing its effects in terms of safety issues of settlements as well as crisis management. The residential fabric planning and its dimensions and features (including land use, plotting, texture formation, density, communication network, open space, service centers), as interfaces between the residential fabric and vulnerability, and thus the linkage between crisis management in these contexts and urban planning provides an operational model for earthquake vulnerability assessment of the residential areas in the 6th District of Tehran. This model is based on two important issues related to earthquake: the destruction rate and the number of human casualties, divided accordingly into two categories of factors and sub-factors. Based on this model, indicators were determined to study the vulnerability level. The physical resistance index of the fabric was extracted from the first category of the model sub-factors and the post-crisis fabric accountability index was extracted from the second one. Based on these 15 indicators, the vulnerability of the 6th District of Tehran was investigated separately for the residential neighborhoods. The vulnerability of residential neighborhoods was evaluated based on the values of evaluation factors extracted using the AHP method. Finally, the goals, strategies and policies needed to reduce the vulnerability according to the coefficient of significance were obtained separately for 7 neighborhoods using the same method. Based on the results, the following measures can be effective in promoting the safety of neighborhoods in the 6th district against earthquakes: setting objectives for increasing the physical strength of the fabric in order to reduce the destruction rate and increase the fabric efficiency in post-crisis response and relief efforts to reduce human mortality, and adopting strategies for increasing resistance in residential buildings and to strengthen the role and efficiency of open spaces, creating and strengthening an effective access network appropriate for the population, and controlling and guiding demographic indicators. In general, the proposed solutions are developed in five categories: the general form of residential fabric (segmentation, distribution, neighborhood...), green spaces and public open spaces, access networks, population density, and construction monitoring and supervision. Finally, the spatial priority of the implementation of proposed policies for neighborhoods, as well as the priority of policy implementation in each neighborhood is determined to look at the developed goals and strategies more efficiently.
Urban Planning
esmaiil zarghami; abdolhamid ghanbaran; pooria saadati vaghar
Abstract
Lean construction has attracted plenty of attention during the past decade for provision of housing to the lower class. An important issue that has always appealed to large numbers of architecture and urban construction and planning researchers as post-planning assessments is to what extent and in what ...
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Lean construction has attracted plenty of attention during the past decade for provision of housing to the lower class. An important issue that has always appealed to large numbers of architecture and urban construction and planning researchers as post-planning assessments is to what extent and in what aspects the constructed condominiums satisfy their inhabitants once completed and utilized. Thus, useful suggestions can be made to decision-makers and planners of such projects for enhancement of the quality of life in the condominiums through identification of their strengths and weaknesses. An example of these lean construction projects is Mehr Housing, designed and implemented to meet the need for housing among the middle and lower classes of the Iranian society. It needs to be investigated, however, how successful the project has been, and to what extent it has satisfied the residents. Given the great diversity in the design of these condominiums in the city of Hamadan (in that some are enclosed, and others are connected to urban areas), Iran, little research has been focused on Mehr Housing. Therefore, the present research investigated three enclosed and unenclosed Mehr condominiums in Hamadan by focusing on the physical and spatial components governing such condominiums. These included the Ghadir, Farhangiyan, and Andishe (Kuy Reza) condominiums. Most global experiences suggest that the more favorable housing conditions that are expected in enclosed condominiums are not observed. This formed the basis of the research, a descriptive-analytical study in terms of the methodology adopted in the literature review and theoretical framework. ANOVA (with the Bonferroni method), independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis, and linear regression were used for data analysis. The results demonstrated that there were significant differences in average satisfaction between the three neighborhoods, with the Madani neighborhood exhibiting the highest average satisfaction, followed by the Beheshti and Andishe neighborhoods, in that order. A prioritization of the physical and spatial components effective on residential satisfaction in the three condominiums also suggested that environmental health was highly effective in enclosed condominiums, accompanied by amenities, additional facilities, and flexibility. Furthermore, the results obtained from the investigation of the relationships between satisfaction with architectural components and individual, demographic, and residential components demonstrated that there were no significant relationships in any of the three neighborhoods between satisfaction on the one hand and age, gender, or academic degree on the other. However, the neighborhood factor (which distinguished enclosed and unenclosed neighborhoods) exhibited significance, where total satisfaction was generally higher in enclosed condominium residents, confirming the main hypothesis of the research.
Urban Design
Shahab Abbaszadeh; Sevda Tamry
Volume 1, Issue 4 , March 2012, , Pages 95-104
Abstract
With the onset of industry revolution, automobile invention and development of cities, the pedestrian and pedestrian-oriented spaces and urban spaces role priority gradually faded and the quality of urban public spaces, urban open spaces, and the pedestrian walkways decreased. Lack of pedestrian-oriented ...
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With the onset of industry revolution, automobile invention and development of cities, the pedestrian and pedestrian-oriented spaces and urban spaces role priority gradually faded and the quality of urban public spaces, urban open spaces, and the pedestrian walkways decreased. Lack of pedestrian-oriented spaces and current low quality pedestrian spaces affect citizens' social interactions in contemporary metropolitans. Pedestrianism is a part of daily journey and activity of citizens in metropolitans, however, pedestrians' need and security is ignored in current cities. In doing so, majority of current urban spaces in our cities are defined as road way, where the presence of automobile is preferred on designs of high-quality and appropriate pedestrian-oriented spaces. Nevertheless, these spaces play an essential role in increasing contacts and citizens’ social interaction level. In this regard, ignoring human scale and the pedestrians' needs are the problems ahead. Lack of quality in pedestrian-oriented open spaces has led to poor citizens’ presence and social interactions. Hence, identifying factors affecting the quality of mentioned spaces for meeting citizens’ needs and increasing the presence and social interaction level is more important than before. Tabriz metropolitan is not an exception either. Having more roadway spaces compared with pedestrian-oriented way has made the life difficult for the citizens. By conducting rigorous literature review, the study derived influential factors forming theoretical framework of the research (including factors affecting urban pedestrian-oriented spatial quality: vitality, legibility, security, and permeability factors). Research utilized mixed-method approach, where aforementioned influential factors extracted from literature review, formed the qualitative part of the study. In the quantitative part used as the validity of the research, Tarbiat & Valiasr axes in Tabriz metropolitan were studied and evaluated. In other words, the study examined the verification of extracted theoretical framework from literature review, through conducting a survey in quantitative part. In this regard, a questionnaire was used to gather the data about pedestrian-oriented spatial quality and citizens’ satisfaction of the mentioned spaces. G*POWER software and Cochran sampling technique were used to calculate the sample size of the study. Ultimately, using SPSS software the data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. This study indicated that vitality, legibility, and permeability factors, the main factors of urban spaces qualities, play an important role in Tabrizian citizens’ satisfaction of pedestrian-oriented spaces. The finding of this research can be utilized for designing more sociable and friendly atmosphere pedestrian-oriented spaces, where citizens' social interactions are concentrated.
Regional Planning
amirhosein abdollahzadeh; esfandiar zebardast
Abstract
There are two main approaches to housing planning on national or regional scales: first, comprehensive housing plans and, second, subject-specific housing plans. Comprehensive housing plans bear a significant flaw: their lack of economic evaluation, which only comes at the end of the planning process. ...
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There are two main approaches to housing planning on national or regional scales: first, comprehensive housing plans and, second, subject-specific housing plans. Comprehensive housing plans bear a significant flaw: their lack of economic evaluation, which only comes at the end of the planning process. This makes them quite distant from economic realities of the province or region. However, in subject-specific housing plans, the emphasis is on the most consequential and primal issues and therefore the economic and financial factors are very well reflected. Therefore, these two approaches to planning take opposite directions as the first step in one is the final step in another. One is planning-oriented and the other is implementation-oriented.In the analysis of housing in national or regional planning sectors, the main method is to calculate an appropriate coefficient in different economic sectors for input-output charts. The calculated coefficient for housing sector can be used in housing planning for estimating investment, economic efficiency, job creation, export and import demand and supply.After data collection, 30 provinces were selected using input-output charts of 2001 fiscal year to be observed in a period of 10 years. The coefficients for different economic sectors show that water supply, electricity and natural gas are the frontline sectors followed by leisure services (e.g. hotels and restaurants), public services and the construction sector with a coefficient of 1.25. The annual inflation rate was applied in each sector and then the input-output chart of 2011 was produced in which the water, electricity and gas supply were again identified as the leading sectors. Finally, the housing sector with a coefficient of 1.167 was identified as the third on the national level.The charts were recalculated for each province using the RAS method by applying the sector estimates for each province and calculating the medium consumption, production and added value of each province. The results show that housing and construction sector remains the leading sector in most provinces. The coefficient is in the range of 1.56 to 2.24. In most provinces, this sector has the second to fourth rank. In Kohkilouyeh & Boyer Ahmad and Sistan & Balouchestan though, housing ranks first. Also, in Semnan, Qazvin, Zanjan, and Markazi its rank varies from 6 to 9. In analyzing the role of housing in economy using input-output tables and quanti-connectivity method, construction and housing sectors ranked first in the economy sector within the 10-year period. Construction sector was identified as the leading one in provinces. In this sector, three basic indexes in the input-output analysis include intermediate consumption, output and added value. Output rate is 6-8%, intermediate consumption is 4-6% and added value is 3-5% in provinces. These values are very low as compared with their consumption levels. Moreover, in the provinces, housing sector has the highest output to other sectors and the lowest input from other sectors.
Urban Design
sajjad zolfigol; mehrdad Karimi moshaver
Abstract
A quick view of the public spaces in each city would reveal the role of the square as a built environment. Assessment of “city life” involves a qualitative evaluation of different activities and the way different people perform them (group or individual activities, state of activities, the ...
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A quick view of the public spaces in each city would reveal the role of the square as a built environment. Assessment of “city life” involves a qualitative evaluation of different activities and the way different people perform them (group or individual activities, state of activities, the time of each activity). An environment that plays the role of an urban node in cities is recognized as the place of presence of different social groups and the physical realm of sustainable social interaction. The latest urban developments, expansion of cities and increased number of vehicles make squares act as a node to solve the traffic problem of cities while the first-made squares were intended for the presence of humans and social relationships in urban realms. In fact, prior to addressing the effect of humans and environment (separately without considering their relationship) on urban design and urban space, it is essential to understand their relations, the ways they are related, and the causes and effects of such relationships. Indeed, human, environment and their relationship should be considered in the urban design process. The relation between humans and environment is a process that connects them and provides the possibility of social interactions. Urban space is full of actions and reactions of people with specific behaviors and behavior settings. People’s presence in public spaces and social communities, the dynamic behavior of users, increased people’s spirit and appropriate use of public space are helpful in having a prosperous and dynamic society. Therefore, human activity, as a determining factor in improving the form and meaning attributes of a place, can result in vitalizing and diversifying the place. The behavior setting theory announces that it can be considered as a basic unit for an environment that simultaneously includes physical and social factors in the whole frame and affects user behavior. Behavior settings are real units of environment that naturally occur and are identifiable for people inside those settings because they have relationships with their daily life. The significance of the relationship between humans and urban environment, especially squares that have a vital role in urban spaces, reveals the importance of this research. The primary goal of this research is reviewing the relationship between users and environmental quality in order to improve intelligent designs for people. This practical research applies such techniques as documentary review, non-participant observation and survey. Field notes were obtained through observation and perception of users’ behaviors. The obtained data was analyzed in SPSS22 software. The analyses, conducted for several distinct purposes, overlap to some extent, while, at the same time, leaving many other possible applications behind. While a design framework is often cited as the reason for conducting these analyses, a still more systematic way to approach behavior analyses in urban design is required with the potential to supplement and extend the traditional methods with new layers referring to temporary and spatial behavior. The result points out that people are equally involved with social and physical aspects of Bu Ali Sina square. The users prefer behavior settings that provide the grounds for gathering, creating social behaviors, visiting friends and strangers, and doing different activities with a unifying meaning.
Alireza Karimi; hossein daneshmehr
Abstract
Parks are regarded as constituting one of the most important spaces in Tehran, Iran. One of the oldest, largest parks in the city, Sorkhe-Hesar Forest Park, located at busy urban nodes, has unique functions. Optimal use of the space is possible when users feel secure therein. Although known as an extra-regional ...
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Parks are regarded as constituting one of the most important spaces in Tehran, Iran. One of the oldest, largest parks in the city, Sorkhe-Hesar Forest Park, located at busy urban nodes, has unique functions. Optimal use of the space is possible when users feel secure therein. Although known as an extra-regional park,it is visited mainly by residents of Municipal District 13 of Tehran. This can be accounted for by several factors, a major one being perception of security in the park among citizens. Due to the large area of the park and its partitioning, there cannot be a discussion of a single perception of security in the park. Furthermore, security is a multi-dimensional notion, where each of the dimensions may be perceived differently in different partitions of the park. Accordingly, the main purpose of the research is to investigate the perceptions of different aspects of security by visitors to different partitions of Sorkhe-Hesar Forest Park and to examine if there are significant differences between them. The park has been divided by the municipality into six partitions, including Khorgasht (‘picnic’), Eghamat-Entezar-Tafrih (‘stay-wait-fun’), Piyaderavi-Honarhaye Mohiti (‘walk-environmental arts’), Aramesh (‘peace’), Tafrihate Fa'al (‘amusement), and Tabiatgardi-Hefazat (‘ecotourism-conservation’). Due to the presence of wildlife and passage of animal species, the ecotourism-conservation partition has turned into a protected area in which tourists are not allowed. Therefore, the partition is excluded from the spatial domain of the study. This is a quantitative survey with a researcher-made questionnaire used as tool. The research population includes all the women and men aged 18 years or more visiting the five included partitions of Sorkhe-Hesar Park during the survey. Given the spatial domain under investigation, there was space and time sampling in addition to visitor sampling. The findings obtained from the 504 visitors in the sample were analyzed using SPSS and GIS. The six aspects of security perception in the above five partitions of Sorkhe-Hesar Park were found reliable, and there were significant differences between perceptions of financial, dignity, public property, and public order security in the partitions. The overall perception of security of the visitors was obtained through addition of their scores in the six aspects. The findings from the overall perceptions of security in the different partitions of the park demonstrated that the highest and lowest means concerned the stay-wait-fun and walk-environmental arts partitions, respectively. The differences between the overall perceptions of security in the different partitions were statistically significant. That is, citizens’ perception of security in the different partitions of Sorkhe-Hesar Park can explain their decisions to visit or not visit them to a great extent. The perception of security in the different partitions of the park can be enhanced through use of citizens as a contributing factor, establishment of more security posts and police and municipality patrols, use of CCTV, establishment of weekend markets, construction and development of educational and cultural centers such as mosques and libraries and presentation of courses in various fields, enhancement of cellular coverage, equipment of less crowded passages with proper lighting, installation of cluster lights in clusters, etc.
Slum Settlements
Zahra Eskandari Dorbati; Mehrdad Javaheripour; Farah Torkaman
Abstract
Highlights - Creation of fields of social participation requires an understanding of the capabilities of these communities.- The theoretical approach of phenomenological research and its experimental planning is qualitative.- From the point of view of the lived experience of the studied social group, ...
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Highlights - Creation of fields of social participation requires an understanding of the capabilities of these communities.- The theoretical approach of phenomenological research and its experimental planning is qualitative.- From the point of view of the lived experience of the studied social group, the space expands until it provides livelihood.- Construction of flexible spaces is required to meet daily needs. IntroductionAccording to official documents, the population of informal settlements in the country has increased to more than twice as much in the ten years between 2003 and 2013, from 4.5 million to 12 million. There have been many studies on this urban phenomenon in the country that have influenced government policies and plans, ranging from destruction of the settlements to their reorganization. These studies have investigated the causes and factors concerning the formation of these settlements mainly with quantitative and sometimes with qualitative research methods, indicating social harms and assessing the needs for services. However, many of these studies have relied on outdated existing theories and inherent pre-judgements. This research attempts to understand the dynamics of resident social groups with respect to the informal urban spaces of these settlements. This aim is pursued through attempts to learn about the residents’ ability to overcome urban poverty and the ways they organize their daily lives, given the shortcomings of the research methodology. The purpose of this study is to understand the phenomenon of space from the perspective of the lived experience of the inhabitants of informal settlements and to answer the central question of how this has shaped the lives of those who live there. Theoretical FrameworkThe theoretical approach of this phenomenological research and its empirical planning are qualitative. This approach has made it possible to understand the phenomenon under investigation from the perspective of the lived experience of the residents and has helped develop the methods of observation, enquiry, narrative analysis, and theme extraction. Theories are considered as a tool for analysis of the findings of this research and support the narratives for understanding and reflecting the dynamics of social-livelihood groups with respect to the informal urban space of Akbar Abad, Iran. In line with this approach, beyond the physical geography of the place, this research investigates the lived fabric considering the symbolic meanings and importance of places, as reflected in the theoretical writings of human geographers and urbanists such as Massey (1994). Accordingly, the reciprocal interaction between the built environment, social space, and actors’ agency, with imagined, lived, and perceived spaces, results in the construction of new lived and perceived spaces.MethodologyMost of the previous studies have been conducted through survey questionnaires and are not profound enough to identify the relationship between residents and where they live. Therefore, based on the phenomenological theoretical framework on informal settlements, the research design involved qualitative methods of data collection, including in-depth semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, and purposeful sampling. The subject of the case study was Nasimshahr (Akbarabad), 15 km southeast of Tehran. The researcher lived in this city for a while and came to a general understanding of the relationship between space and the inhabitants’ lives. The observations, interviews, and sampling were carried out at three spatial levels. These included Nasimshahr as the first level, the area within this city named Akbarabad as the middle level, and the urban space of Imam Hassan Mojtaba Bazaar (known as kooche tolidi (‘manufacturers’ alley’)) as the micro level. The socio-economic group of clothing producers was chosen as the unit of analysis. The data obtained on the residents’ lived experience were combined with available census data. A one-year intermittent residency within the scope of the study area provided the researcher with an opportunity to get closer to the social group of interest, and a different understanding of the presuppositions concerning the subject was formed through participatory observation. Results and Discussion In this research, it was found that understanding the phenomenon of space in Nasimshahr is not possible without an understanding of the interaction between socio-livelihood groups with socio- physical space. At the beginning of the formation of these settlements in the 1980s, individual agency along with the support of family and kinship networks played a key role in the generation of a private space (home) incorporating any means of livelihood. After that, until the late 1990s, the collective movement that is crystallized in the livelihood group–which is the focus of this study–took shape through labor, skills, and employment networks. Imam Hassan Mojtaba Bazaar resulted from the events in this period. For twenty years, capital has become more important than availability of labor, skills, and social networks, and physical space is dominating, and limiting, residents’ agency in the organization of the space they can afford to interact with livelihoods. The space of Imam Hassan Bazaar is the pinnacle of residents’ understanding and shaping of space. In this informal market space, clothing manufacturers try to establish a dynamic connection between Tehran and their livelihood and social group and hope that this city will turn into and be recognized as the clothing hub of the country using the opportunities in Nasimshahr. This study contributed to the phenomenological method of understanding space, and the findings are limited to the researcher’s understanding of the participants’ lived experience and life in Nasimshahr.ConclusionThe preliminary results showed that although economic activities grow in Nasimshahr, as in any other urban region within a metropolitan area, some activities to earn income such as those of brokers, recyclers, street vendors, and producers and sellers of garments assume a particular position. The socio-livelihood group of clothing manufacturers was selected as a research unit for this study due to characteristics such as inclusivity, entrepreneurship, and the ability to move the activity between the living environment (home) and the general environment of the market place. Therefore, Imam Hassan Mojtaba Bazaar, which was formed over time in the interaction with this income and employment generation activity, was studied as the subject of a case study on informal urban spaces.
Urban Planning
h k; m j
Abstract
Statement of the problemIn the present age, health describes a comprehensive concept of quality of life. One of the important health issues is healthy housing. As an area where people spend a significant part of their lives, housing plays an important role in providing people with peace and well-being. ...
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Statement of the problemIn the present age, health describes a comprehensive concept of quality of life. One of the important health issues is healthy housing. As an area where people spend a significant part of their lives, housing plays an important role in providing people with peace and well-being. Therefore, healthier homes can prevent many physical and mental illnesses and affect the health of the individual and the community. On the contrary, unhealthy housing affects multiple dimensions of health and causes many problems for the individual on the micro and macro levels. Today, due to the sharp decline in the quality of housing and residential areas and the increase of environmental pollution, including air and noise pollution, inappropriate management of waste and the harmful effects of chemicals, etc. in cities, it is necessary to pay more attention to healthy housing and the provision of safe housing for citizens; this is especially important in the developing countries. Therefore, research on healthy housing can make the ground for residents to live in healthy housing and prevent contaminated diseases and accidents due to incomplete and non-standardized residential units. In this regard, it is important to study the cities the wide variety of their dwelling places. This research uses descriptive-analytical method in the form of documents and field studies to collect information. It investigates the level of utilization of urban areas of Ardabil in terms of having healthy housing indices. Accordingly, the statistical population of this study was all residential units in urban areas of Ardabil. Using Morgan table, 420 residential units were selected as the sample population. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, F test, Duncan test and Spearman correlation coefficient were used to test the research hypotheses.FindingsThe findings show that about 81.2%, 83.6%, 74.8%, 79%, 80.2%, and 65.2% of the residential units of Ardabil are suitable in terms of comfort, convenience, safety, health, sustainability, and vitality indices, respectively. Finally, in terms of the total index of healthy housing, about 83.3% of residential units of the city are in a favorable condition and about 16.7% are not.ResultsThe results indicate that Ardabil has a relatively favorable status in terms of having healthy housing indices, but there is a significant difference between its urban areas. The difference is such that District 3 is the best district in terms of indicators of healthy housing and District 4 has the most unfavorable condition in terms of these indices. Districts 1 and 2 are respectively in the second and third places. The results also show that there is a direct correlation between the desirability of socioeconomic characteristics of residents of urban areas and having healthy housing indices and that there is a reverse relationship between building age and healthy housing indices.
Urban Design
F R; B Z
Abstract
Nowadays people’s health (physical, mental and social) is one of the main dilemmas of societies living in metropolitan areas. In this regard, urban design, as one of the influential disciplines among many others, seeks to find solutions to help solving these dilemmas by focusing on the physical ...
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Nowadays people’s health (physical, mental and social) is one of the main dilemmas of societies living in metropolitan areas. In this regard, urban design, as one of the influential disciplines among many others, seeks to find solutions to help solving these dilemmas by focusing on the physical and functional dimensions of the urban environment. The main questions of this paper are: what are the effective physical-environmental attributes on the social health of citizens and which of them are more effective? Accordingly, the main objective of this paper is to study and compare the effects of physical- environmental attributes on people’s social health. To achieve this aim, multiple regression method was applied to study, analyze and test the assumptions in order to (1) measure correlation among the mentioned indicators and social health and (2) to identify more effective indicators to predict social health. The study results demonstrate a few common indicators in both neighborhoods; some indicators in distinct neighborhoods have mutual correlation with social health. However, some of the indicators have no significant correlation with social health, these include age, job activities, suitable lighting of public spaces and car ownership. Some indicators have the most correlation in both neighborhoods; they have more certain correlation with social public life of people .These indicators include security and low crime rate in neighborhood, inclusiveness of public spaces, cohesion among neighborhood residents, safety and security of children in public spaces, sense of attachment to the neighborhood, education and townscape quality. In particular, security and low crime rates, sense of attachment to the neighborhood and inclusiveness of public spaces have a high correlation with resident’s social health. Results of the third assumption indicated that there were some differences among correlations between independent variables and social health in the two neighborhoods, one with a historical and traditional social and physical construction and another being a completely new grid neighborhood. Investigating the fourth assumption in the last stage, a limited number of indicators was extracted from the indicators with mutual correlation with social health to predict social health and form the regression equation. Regression results for Dardasht neighborhood indicate that only four indicators (among the indicators with a significant correlation with social health) are obtained as significant indicators in the regression results. Only the following indicators have enough significant predictive role for the dependent variable (social health): availability of gathering spaces, inclusiveness of public space, suitable security and low crime rate, social cohesion among neighborhood residents. However, there is not much difference between coefficients. The highest predicted effect is related to inclusiveness with 1.921 unstandardized coefficient B and the least predictive effect is related to social cohesion among community groups with 1.571 unstandardized coefficient B. The significant indicators in the regression equation for Mulla-Sadra neighborhood are more than those for Dardasht neighborhood, i.e. there are enough significant effect to predict the dependent variable. These indicators include security and crime rate, sense of attachment to the neighborhood, education level, inclusiveness of urban spaces, safety and security of children in public spaces, and suitable townscape of public spaces. Security and inclusiveness have the most coefficient value (2.345 and 1.939, respectively) and suitable townscape has the least coefficient value (1/374). The results indicate that only two indicators, security and inclusiveness, are common among regression results for the two neighborhoods, indicating the highest generalizability of these two indicators regarding different social and physical attributes of these two neighborhoods.
Urban Planning
Seyed Reza Azadeh; Jamal Mohammadi; Hamid Taher Neshat Doost
Abstract
Highlights Today cities serve as powerful forces in shaping the mental health of citizens. Treatment of mental disorders such as perceived stress requires an interdisciplinary approach. The relation between urban Planner and psychologists must be augmented in order to improve the variables of resident ...
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Highlights Today cities serve as powerful forces in shaping the mental health of citizens. Treatment of mental disorders such as perceived stress requires an interdisciplinary approach. The relation between urban Planner and psychologists must be augmented in order to improve the variables of resident mental health. Introduction There are growing concerns worldwide about the interdependencies between city life and mental well-being. Perceived stress is a mental disorder induced by urbanization. Today, the quality of the environment that is built and the neighborhood in which residents live is recognized as the main source of stress. In addition, recent research in the context of psychology suggests that urban life is stressful.The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the relationship between neighborhood quality and perceived stress. For that purpose, two neighborhoods in the city of Isfahan, Iran are selected. Theoretical Framework Perceived stress is affected by numerous factors such as individual characteristics, lifestyles, life events, and job variables. The physical quality of the built environment is a factor which is generally underestimated (Beil & Hanes, 2013). Green space is a physical quality of the built environment which affects mental health, and decreases residents’ stress (Roe et al., 2013; Wolch et al., 2014). Another environmental variable which affects the mental health of residents is the transportation pattern. The walkability and bikeability of a neighborhood is strongly correlated with the residents’ mental health (Nieuwenhuijsen et al., 2016). There is a great deal of evidence that the accessibility of a walking or bicycling route is significantly effective on the general health of residents (Frank & Engelke, 2001). In addition, availability of public spaces is another variable of physical quality which affects residents’ mental health (Knöll et al., 2018). Public spaces provide opportunities for residents to interact with each other. On the other hand, the increase in interaction among residents leads to a rise in their confidence, and, eventually, improves the physiological capability of residents when confronted with changes. Finally, appropriate physiological reactions decrease stress. A variable which can be considered here is environmental security. Studies have demonstrated that the violence present in urban communities and residential neighborhoods threatens mental health, and deeply affects psychological behavior (Clark et al., 2008). Moreover, another variable of environment quality is environmental comfort. For instance, living in neighborhoods which are highly polluted, whether with noise or light pollution, influences the sleep quality of residents, and eventually increases stress. In addition, non-standard houses with improper cooling or heating systems can influence the variables of mental health (Hale et al., 2013). The conceptual model of this paper expresses the relationship between the built environment variable and the mental health variable. In this model, environment beauty, functional attraction, physical form, and environmental comfort indicate the quality of the built environment as independent variables. Moreover, perceived stress is evaluated as a dependent variable from the viewpoint of mental health. Methodology In this study, two questionnaires were used. One is the researcher-made questionnaire of built environment quality, and the other is the perceived stress scale (PSS-14). Two neighborhoods were selected for the study. The survey was conducted via face-to-face structured interviews, and yielded a total of 434 valid samples. Then, 203 individuals in the Moftabad neighborhood and 231 in the Mardavij neighborhood filled out the questionnaires as participants. The data has been analysed using normal and partial correlation coefficients and linear regression. Result and Discussion The descriptive statistics on the dependent and independent variables in the examined neighborhoods were compared. Moftabad and Mardavij scored 0.78 and 2.98 in average on environmental beauty. The functional attraction in Moftabad and Mardavij was 0.77 and 2.81, respectively. The median scores on the variables of physical form and environmental comfort were 0.71 and 1.58 in Moftabad and 2.94 and 2.92 in Mardavij. In fact, all the environmental variables were scored on significantly lower by the Moftabad neighborhood than by Mardavij. The total scores on built environment quality were 0.96 in Moftabad and 2.91 in Mardavij. According to the results, it is concluded that the dependent variable, i.e. the level of perceived stress, is higher in the Moftabad neighborhood than in the Mardavij neighborhood. The median scores of stress are 2.07 in Moftabad and 1.04 in Mardavij. The findings indicate significant inverse relationships between the independent and dependent variables of the research. When the control variables are considered, however, the relationship is preserved, but its intensity decreases. Based on the results, the significance level of F-statistic is 0.000 in all the three models. This finding, which is obtained through regression analysis and analysis of variance, indicates that the conceptual model of the research is well-fitted. In Moftabad, two variables (environmental beauty and environmental comfort) are capable of predicting the changes in the dependent variable. In this case, the standard coefficients of the above variables are -0.537 and -0.181, respectively. These statistics mean that environmental beauty predicts 53.7%, and environmental comfort predicts 18.1% of the changes in perceived stress in Moftabad. In the Mardavij neighborhood, environmental beauty, functional attraction, and environmental comfort exhibit the highest capability of predicting the dependent variable. They predict 22.6%, 28.9%, and 14.3% of the changes in perceived stress, respectively. Moreover, in the proposed model for the full sample, environmental beauty, functional attraction, and environmental comfort predict 45.9%, 26.8%, and 24.4% of the changes in perceived stress, respectively. In the second phase of modeling the changes in the dependent variable, the relationship between the built environment quality, i.e. the independent variable, and perceived stress, i.e. the dependent variable, was evaluated. Moreover, three models were proposed in this phase. According to the obtained results, ANOVA provides one significant F-statistic for each of the three models. The adjusted R-squared of the proposed model is greater in Moftabad than in the Mardavij neighborhood. On that basis, it can be stated that the effect of the built environment on stress is more in Moftabad residents than those of the Mardavij neighborhood. Based on the standard coefficient (Beta), the built environment quality of Moftabad predicts 67% of the changes in perceived stress, while the value of this variable in Mardavij is 46.4%. Finally, the built environment quality determines 78.3% of the changes in perceived stress in the full sample. Conclusion The results of the present study introduced new aspects of the environmental factors effective on perceived stress. The main finding is that cities serve as powerful forces today in shaping the mental health of citizens. Therefore, treatment of mental disorders requires an interdisciplinary approach. In other words, the living environments of individuals, along with many personal, social, economic, personality, and family issues, are the major sources of mental disorders. To treat mental disorders, therefore, psychologists should interact with urban planners. Lastly, we conducted this research in one Iranian city, i.e. Isfahan. Researchers studying other cities and countries may report different results. The conclusion agreed on by all researchers, however, is that the relationship between urban planning and psychologists should be enhanced more than ever before to reduce the negative impacts of urban neighborhoods on mental disorders.
Urban Planning
Soroush Khalili; Jamileh Tavakolinia; Naghmeh Mobarghei Dinan; Hamid Soltaninejad
Abstract
HighlightsThis paper evaluates Arg commercial center with EIA method;After the studies, the present research prepares a procedure on reducing the environmental impact of commercial centers with the help of EMP;The growing interest in building commercial centers in large cities is a significant issue ...
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HighlightsThis paper evaluates Arg commercial center with EIA method;After the studies, the present research prepares a procedure on reducing the environmental impact of commercial centers with the help of EMP;The growing interest in building commercial centers in large cities is a significant issue that is shown in this research. IntroductionNowadays, large areas of urban land are dedicated to commercial uses, and the trend towards shopping center construction has intensified. As a type of public space, commercial spaces, have conquered cities and snatched the lead from other land uses in the city. Commercial centers have turned into part of people’s lifestyles in this era, and have played an important role in the retail industry. Besides the positive economic effects of the savings, these centers have also caused damage to the environment. Theoretical FrameworkIn today’s intellectual world, a proper urban environment is an influential factor in human social life. Like all environments in which life takes place, the urban environment affects and is affected by human activities, and this interaction can lead to environmental catastrophes if destructive, due to the large populations that are involved. Today, the problems that have arisen in the environmental input conditions are troubling many cities in the country, and the preservation of the urban environment in urban development and management plans has been subject to plenty of inconsistency and negligence. Numerous approaches and theories have been proposed on the subject of the urban environment and healthy city, such as garden city movement, eco-city (ecological city), compact city, smart city, sustainable development, etc.According to the above theories and following a detailed study of each, the sustainability approach can be considered as the most common, practical approach in the present century. Sustainable development can be defined as the management of the relationships between human systems and natural ecosystems with the aim of sustainable use of resources to ensure the well-being of present and future generations. Therefore, the theoretical approach of this paper involves sustainable development. MethodologyThe study area includes the Arg commercial center, located in the Tajrish area, Tehran. The availability of the old bazaar, malls, and shopping places has turned the Tajrish neighborhood and its surroundings into a major commercial center in the north of Tehran. The economic prosperity thus brought to the neighborhood has caused many problems due to the multiplication of the population during the day. The main square in the area in the past was the current Tajrish Square, next to which commercial centers and houses were built.Using the method of systematic study in this descriptive research, quantitative statistical methods were adopted at the descriptive level. Moreover, the research technique was selected based on the application of the EIA model, with the help of RIAM. Among the various methods of environmental impact assessment, the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix, also known as the Pastakia Matrix, could objectively and conceptually assess and compare options in plans and projects and display the results clearly and concisely as tables and graphs.The Environmental Management Plan could help reduce the adverse effects of a project and ensure that the current quality of the environment is maintained. This plan provides solutions in all the stages of planning, construction, operation, and post-operation of a development project concerning the environment. The development of an environmental management plan is aimed mainly at projects for which EIA studies have not been carried out before construction, as in the case study of the Arg commercial center. Whereas environmental impact assessment studies begin at the same time as the cognition phase and before its approval, with executive operations in some cases, the environmental management plan section of these reports would never be implemented in practice due to the non-location of the provided solutions and suggestions, and would be removed from the agenda. Thus, no control or auditing was performed on the impacts of the project on the environment. Results and DiscussionIn order to demonstrate the significance of whether the construction of the Arg commercial center at the current location was appropriate, a rapid impact assessment matrix was developed in the present study in four physical-chemical, bio-ecological, socio-cultural, and economic-technical environments. After a detailed study of each of the four affected environments, we obtained the sum of all the ranges of change, where range -D, with environmental scores ranging from -36 to -71, clearly exhibited the largest number of adverse effects, and the physical-chemical environment had the largest number of negative components. The results indicated the severity of the negative impacts caused by the construction of Arg.The possible consequences of the project once implemented on the environment were identified, given the nature of various activities after the project and the current conditions of the environment in the area. In addition, the legal regulations were reviewed. ConclusionAn acceptable method of achieving the purposes of sustainable development is to make environmental assessments for projects, which can be made available to managers, planners, and decision-makers as a planning tool. These days, the high dignity of human beings and efforts to increase their comfort are often ignored in the design, construction, and location of commercial spaces, and only economic benefits are considered, dominating other dimensions of sustainability, such as the environmental dimension.Finally, it is suggested that the environmental impact assessment for large commercial complexes be made early upon the project proposal, i.e. in the recognition phase, and a construction permit be issued for the center in question after all the above evaluation reports are compiled and defended.
Urban Design
Amir Shakibamanesh; Yasaman Hakimi
Abstract
One of the main issues in visual analysis of urban spaces is their visibility. It is one of the main research interests in recent urban studies due to the development of technology and digital software. The results of most recent studies suggest that the physical visibility of urban spaces is closely ...
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One of the main issues in visual analysis of urban spaces is their visibility. It is one of the main research interests in recent urban studies due to the development of technology and digital software. The results of most recent studies suggest that the physical visibility of urban spaces is closely connected to the possible behaviors occurring in them. Due to the fact that there are many different issues affecting different conditions of visibility and subsequently the perception of people, this article focuses specifically on urban squares to obtain more scientific and accurate results. In particular, having all the features of an actual urban square, the Sabzeh Meydan square which is located in the central area of Tehran is chosen as the case study. This square is visually analyzed by applying 3-dimensional isovist concept and studying its relation to other variables of population behaviors such as “pause and movement”, “individual and social behaviors” and “flow’s pace” considering the sex variable. For this purpose, the visibility map of the area was produced in GIS software and the relationship between the main variables of the study was examined by statistical analysis and correlation coefficients in SPSS.This study clearly showed that visibility was associated with behavioral patterns and affected the groups using spaces. The results indicated that women preferred to pause in places with moderate visibility. In fact, what they prefer is that the place where they pause should not have a weak or a high visibility. On the other hand, the findings showed that men were more likely to pause in places where visibility was more than other parts. The findings also showed a significant relationship between pause and motion behavior patterns and visibility, but the significance was not strong. Based on the statistics, pause behaviors are most likely to occur in places with more visibility and movement behaviors occur more in places where there is less visibility. People prefer to stay and pause in places which provide more functionality for viewing the surroundings. Other results of this study showed a significant relationship between individual and social behaviors and visibility level. This relationship was stronger than that in other cases. Statistics indicated that social behaviors were performed in places with a better visibility than other places. Field observations also showed that when the level of visibility decreased, individual behaviors outweighed social ones. In this research, the relationship between social and individual behaviors in sitting places and visibility level was also studied. The findings showed that the sitting places where most individual behaviors occurred were often located in areas with relatively good visibility levels. The results of studying the relationship between velocity and visibility level showed a significant relationship between the two variables. This means that as the visibility of a space increases, the speed of movement decreases. Based on field observations, it can also be said that people travel faster in environments with less visibility. Therefore, in urban spaces where people’s speed should decrease, visibility should increase compared to other urban elements.
Urban Sustainability
Farshad Noorian; reza ghazi; seyed sajad abdullahpur
Abstract
Concern for happiness and its strategic dimensions plays a key role in provision of desirable environment quality in urban neighborhoods, ignorance of which is an issue with which cities, metropolises such as Mashhad, Iran in particular, are faced as a requirement for man to achieve sustainable urban ...
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Concern for happiness and its strategic dimensions plays a key role in provision of desirable environment quality in urban neighborhoods, ignorance of which is an issue with which cities, metropolises such as Mashhad, Iran in particular, are faced as a requirement for man to achieve sustainable urban life. In recent decades, new and old developments have been made in Mashhad, and neighborhoods have been created that do not meet the desired level of quality, and suffer many problems such as lack of public areas, insecurity, lack of visual beauty, lack of local facilities, poor sense of belonging, environmental pollution, and inappropriate conditions for neighborhood relations. This has actually lowered the level of happiness and vitality as a missing, neglected factor in the citizens’ lives, highlighting the need for proper, happy environmental design. Among the newly-developed neighborhoods is the Fareghottahsilan neighborhood, and Tabarsi is one that has been developed long ago. The purpose of this study was to assess the dimensions and indicators of happiness in old and new areas of Mashhad with different characteristics, to identify the dimensions and indicators of a happy city to solve the problems in urban neighborhoods fundamentally and efficiently towards achievement of greater sustainability in local communities. The present applied-developmental, quantitative, descriptive-analytical research was based on library studies. 320 citizens were randomly selected from among the residents of the Tabarsi and Fareghottahsilan neighborhoods to fill out the questionnaires. Data analysis was made in SPSS using statistical tests including Friedman, Mann-Whitney, Spearman, Chi-square and Cramér’s coefficient. According to the results of the analysis, it was only the physical dimension among those of happiness that exhibited relatively favorable conditions only in the Fareghottahsilan neighborhood (3.22), and both neighborhoods had unfavorable conditions in the other dimensions. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the indicators of happiness in the old and new neighborhoods. Another finding was that the average rate of happiness in the Fareghottahsilan neighborhood (167.90) was higher than that in Tabarsi (135.45), which demonstrated that the residents of the new neighborhood were happier than those of the old neighborhood, but the difference between the two in terms of happiness was not big. Happiness was positively related to income, residence ownership, ethnicity, employment, marital status, and family size, and it was negatively related to age. Finally, the greatest correlations with happiness and vitality were observed for job security in both neighborhoods from an economic perspective, level of safety and quality of lighting in the old neighborhood and access to green spaces and quality of water spaces in the new neighborhood from a physical perspective, level of security in the old neighborhood and participation in local celebrations and participation in solving the problems in the new neighborhood from a social perspective.
Urban Planning
Mehdi Moeini; Bahareh Ebrahimpour
Abstract
Following the industrial revolution, the development of urbanization, and the expansion of cities, the oldest form of human movement, i.e. walking, was replaced with the use of automobiles. Therefore, the ease of traverse for pedestrians around cities is less significant now than a century ago. Today, ...
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Following the industrial revolution, the development of urbanization, and the expansion of cities, the oldest form of human movement, i.e. walking, was replaced with the use of automobiles. Therefore, the ease of traverse for pedestrians around cities is less significant now than a century ago. Today, there is a growing interest in enhancement of walking habits in urban areas in order to reduce pollution and other problems associated with motor transportation and to improve public health. Therefore, the issue of walking habits has been included on the agendas of many cities. Highlighting its significance, a large number of studies have been conducted around the world and in Iran over the past few decades to address the issue. The increasing trend in the past decade in the publication of high-quality articles addressing the topic of pedestrians demonstrates its importance and the expert concern for it in the field of urban planning and design. The present article aimed to investigate the issue of pedestrians quantitatively and qualitatively, analyzing and interpreting research published in Iran as high-quality articles and to avoid unnecessary replication in the field. It involved meta-synthesis, using encoding to analyze and interpret previous studies. Thisprovided a valuable opportunity for researchers to access an overview of the existing research activity, which could be very useful and effective in definition of research projects and adoption of new orientations on specific topics. The present paper resulted from an investigation of 80 high-quality articles focused on pedestrians, and sought to draft a vision on pedestrian research by studying the structures and contents of relevant high-quality Persian papers. The results of the research indicated that the volume of pedestrian research has been growing rapidly in the past two decades, with orientations toward walkability and footpaths. In most articles focused excessively on footpaths, however, promotion of walkability in cities to a basic level with the aim of improving quality and meeting the needs of citizens has been neglected. In fact, pedestrian research should be focused not only on expansion of footpaths but also on flexibility in promotion of the basic principles of walkability and, consequently, the desire to walk around cities, of which footpaths are only a part. The most important issues found through a review of the existing pedestrian studies include the unnecessary replication of the contents of pedestrian research, repetitive selection of case studies, application of inconsistent terminology, and lack of concern for particular target groups including children, women, and the disabled. The review also indicated that the majority of the studies had been conducted only at the micro-scale (sidewalk-street), and no mention was found of other types of space used for pedestrians, such as neighborhoods. Many articles have dealt with the issue of pedestrians in isolation, while pedestrian studies are part of the research on transportation systems, and need to be linked to investigations of other modes of transportation. Finally, the most common topics associated with the issue of pedestrians were extracted, including activity-behavior, vision and perspective, social issues, environmental qualities, safety and security, health, and tourism. Thus, future research will need to disregard repetitive topics and focus instead on other relevant, influential issues in the area.
Urban Planning
K. I.; M. B.; R. T.
Volume 2, Issue 6 , June 2013, , Pages 105-118
Regional Planning
Farshad Noorian; Hamidreza Bahmanpour Khalesi
Abstract
An investigation of the documents on regional development in Fars Province, Iran shows that there is such a wide gap between the ideals mentioned in the plans and their potentials for realization that it has turned into a big challenge how to realize the spatial prospects of the development plans in ...
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An investigation of the documents on regional development in Fars Province, Iran shows that there is such a wide gap between the ideals mentioned in the plans and their potentials for realization that it has turned into a big challenge how to realize the spatial prospects of the development plans in the province. By reviewing the development documents from 1997 to 2013, the authors found that the province suffered from a range of uncertainties in all the regional scenarios. Therefore, the prospects and objectives of the plan have not been realized throughout the period. In this research, futurology was adopted as a method for foresight and specification of the uncertainties based on the available information. Employment of this method along with scenario-based strategic planning enables the local administrators to imagine the various images of future development and prepare themselves for different conditions to take place. On that basis, the driving forces and uncertainties were first defined using the Delphi method and structural analysis. The results of the models demonstrated that the key uncertainties for the province included freeway and highway network access, information technology speed, air freight terminals, access to the sea, and railway technology and network. Although not included on the list, water resources and regional administration were both added as suggested by the expert experience. Furthermore, the prospects of the province were divided into nine driving forces, including high-tech industries (electronics, aerospace, information technology, and pharmacy), agricultural industries (agriculture, animal husbandry, and the food industry), other industries (oil, gas, the petrochemical industry, mining, energy-intensives industries, and the automotive industry), healthcare service (medicine, ophthalmology, and organ transplantation), tourism (tourism and handicrafts), transportation (airport services, railways, and road transport), other services (higher education, financial services, technical and engineering services, and trade), knowledge economy (knowledge-based activities, bio- and nanotechnology), and defense. 21 strong scenarios were then found using the cross-impact balance method, classified into three major scenarios: Scenario 1, strong local performance and weak national performance, Scenario 2, strong national performance and weak international performance, and Scenario 3, strong international performance and a single national performance. In the first scenario, the spatial framework of the province moves toward the monocentric pattern, with the national functions administered by the government, due to the severe shortage of water resources, fragmented management, and undeveloped infrastructure. In the second scenario, the province can play a substantial role at the national level and a weak role at the international level, with cluster networks functioning as the spatial pattern, due to the integrated management, particularly with respect to the water resources, . In the last scenario, the province exhibits great international performance in all its prospects, functioning at the national level only in the defense sector, thanks to the regional governance, developed infrastructure, and influence on international processes. Furthermore, weighted strategies along with control indicators were presented for all the above scenarios.
Urban Planning
Mohammad Masoud; Shirzad Yazdani; Mostafa Behzadfar
Abstract
Iran’s urban planning system has undergone many changes in recent decades. An issue that has had a significant impact on the development of Iranian cities has been that of building density in urban development plans. In order to address the issue, the present article was aimed at specifying the ...
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Iran’s urban planning system has undergone many changes in recent decades. An issue that has had a significant impact on the development of Iranian cities has been that of building density in urban development plans. In order to address the issue, the present article was aimed at specifying the density of residential buildings in comprehensive plans of Iran’s provincial capitals since the preparation of the first plan so far and providing a typology thereof and explaining its features. This original descriptive-analytical article adopted a documentary data collection method with direct reference to access the data, analyzed simply through description of the relationships between them. The findings indicated that five different types of residential building density specification method could be identified: Traditional Method (with three subtypes: Reduction, Incremental, and Three-Level), Floating Method, Strategic-Structural Method, Combined Method, and Other Methods. On that basis, a historical trend was identified in the proposed typology, where each type or subtype in a certain period of the timeline has the greatest impact in specification of the density of residential buildings in cities. Moreover, the study of the historical evolution of such types demonstrated that laws approved by the upper hand and regulations concerning the issue of building density have functioned as turning points for application of these methods in Iran’s comprehensive urban plans. The adoption of the Regulations for Increasing Density and High-Rise Buildings by the Iranian Supreme Council of Architecture and Urban Planning in 1990 turned the inverse relationship between the two variables of parcel size and building density into a direct relationship. This resulted in the development of open spaces and increase in building density in the municipal rules and regulations for construction and urban planning, considered particularly in the theoretical foundations and development patterns in plans. Another important factor in the shift from traditional to three-tier subtypes was the Rules and Regulations for Cities’ Residential Zoning to Apartment Complexes, Multi-households, and Single Units to Preserve Neighborhood Rights in Residential Units, ratified in 1992. Along with the earlier regulations, these induced a lasting change in the approach adopted in the plan to the issue of specifying building density. This approach causes the increase in the density of buildings to be conditioned upon increase in outdoor space, decrease in the level of residential infrastructure, avoidance of segregation, and observance of neighborhood rights through provision of light and sun and avoidance of overlook. Another influential factor that has led to the creation of a strategic-structural type involves the (Comprehensive) Strategic-Structural Plan of the city of Tehran, ratified in 2007, which was followed by nearly all the subsequent plans. Finally, the comprehensive plans of Tehran in 1969, 1991, and 2007 have played an important role in specification of density in other plans, where the widespread zoning of building density began from the comprehensive plan of Tehran ratified in 1969. In general, the study of density specification experiences in provincial capitals can provide urban planners and designers with guidelines for specification of the density of residential buildings. Thus, they can pathologize the existing methods and provide optimal density specification methods based on the requirements of each city and the internal and external advantages, so as to achieve the correct forecast in the use of resources, lands, natural environments, and infrastructures according to population capacity and upper-hand rules.
maryam farash khiabani; Pooyan Shahabian
Abstract
Many measures are being taken to bring peace and contentment to the citizens of today’s cities in weird and costly ways. However, little attention is paid to modest places that can satisfy the neglected needs of urban dwellers with lower costs. Paying attention to these places is a reflection on ...
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Many measures are being taken to bring peace and contentment to the citizens of today’s cities in weird and costly ways. However, little attention is paid to modest places that can satisfy the neglected needs of urban dwellers with lower costs. Paying attention to these places is a reflection on a circle that has an important relationship with freedom, satisfaction and peace of mind. The current research seeks to introduce one of the most attractive and influential types of such places. In this regard, it is essential to review the related principles from a philosophical point of view in order to understand the nature of these spaces.The most important basic concepts in this review are the third space (introduced by Edward Soja, the postmodern geographer and Homi K. Bhabha, the post-colonial cultural theorist), the third place (introduced by Ray Oldendburg, American urban sociologist) and heterotopia (a concept developed by Michel Foucault, the French philosopher, for the purpose of classifying space). A dissenting model, combining the features of these spaces, creates a new concept called “Other Space”. One of the typical examples of these types of spaces, which is less regarded by the experts in the field of urban studies, is cafe. Although cafes are semi-public spaces, identifying their nature and functionality due to their customer attraction can provide informative lessons for urban designers and planners. This research is based on qualitative methods, interpretive and case study approaches. It uses 20 cafes in the city of Karaj as sample. Documents about the three basic concepts were presented in order to define the types of cafes used for implementing the conceptual model of heterogeneous spaces. The final 5 main categories offered for cafes’ typology are: 1. Cafe Galleries and cafes with friendly atmosphere, where artists and art lovers are their main owners and customers. 2. Luxurious cafes, having more expensive menus and more affluent customers. 3. Old cafes whose identity is based on their age and history, and nostalgia is their main attraction. 4. Cozy cafes with diverse customers, have been existed from the very beginning of cafe in Iran and endure in the same way, despite the diversity in the business sector. These cafes can be found in each neighborhood. 5. Chain cafes, a newer generation of cafes in Iran based on the global models. According to the results of this study, these cafes, especially those with more cultural-artistic tendencies, have a close relationship with the features mentioned in the theoretical basics of the conceptual model of “Other spaces” such as the third space, third place and heterotopia. They have many lessons for urban planners and designers. With their capacity, their characteristics and optimized usage, these cafes can be considered as “other spaces” in various theoretical and practical urban studies. In fact, understanding that “Other Spaces” have been able to create small utopias in the commotion of today’s city can help to reconsider specialized decision making about other urban spaces.
Urban Design
Forouzan Rahmani; Hossein Nourmohammadzad
Abstract
A structure is a whole composed of divisions, connectors, joints, and boundaries, which are formed through transformations around regulators in accordance with certain principles. The structure theory, selected as the theoretical framework, comprehensively addresses the structure components, functions ...
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A structure is a whole composed of divisions, connectors, joints, and boundaries, which are formed through transformations around regulators in accordance with certain principles. The structure theory, selected as the theoretical framework, comprehensively addresses the structure components, functions that create the structure (transformations), regulators, which serve to regulate the structure, and principles, which form the basis for the structure. Every structure involves a meaning, an idea formed in the reader’s mind of a word, sentence, paragraph, or text. The structure of meaning involves a network of semantic units taking shape through transformations around regulators in adherence to certain principles. Likewise, the physical structure of a city is a whole composed of physical components (form, material, and content) taking shape through transformations around regulators in adherence to certain principles. People react to the surrounding environment according to the meaning taken from it, and their responses to the environment are based on what it means to them. It is therefore important to study the meaning of the environment. The necessity of addressing urban design by focusing on meaning is clear as long as the main audience of meaning is man, and the most important purpose of urban design is to establish a relationship between man and his perceived environment. Research on semantic structure in the context of urban studies can be conducted from its different aspects. Since the physical aspect is the most tangible, stable, objective aspect of the city, such research is performed within its physical structure. The historic area of the city of Yazd, Iran is one of the most valuable areas that could be examined as a text in the city viewed as a book. As a text, the area involves words, sentences, and paragraphs that are semantically rich. Each piece of the area assumes a role as a word. A set of pieces forms a sentence, a set of sentences make a paragraph, and the set of paragraphs creates the text. The text can be read as a whole with no interference with the validity of the paragraphs, sentences, or words, and each word, sentence, or paragraph can be recited with no reference to the whole text to obtain the meaning. In recent years, the physical structure of the historic area of Yazd has lost part of its meaning due to factors such as isolation, destruction, and distress, and other parts have been left with inadequate meanings. This has caused problems with the interpretation of the text, preventing the reader’s mind from developing a clear image thereof. Moreover, some of the interventions made in the area have caused the relevant meanings to be lost. It seems necessary, therefore, to conduct research on provision of agreement between the semantic and physical structures. The notions of structure, meaning, and physique were first reviewed in this research, and their theoretical models were developed and presented. Then, the semantic and physical structures of the historic area under investigation were studied with a descriptive survey using the above models, and the relationship between the two structures was examined with a comparative method. The achievements of the research included the provision of macro-, mid-, and micro-level agreement and correspondence between the physical and semantic structures and the intersection of the principles and their components. Use of the presented models in similar cases is recommended.
Urban Ecology
SEPIDEH MOVAHED; Manouchehr Tabibian
Abstract
Man’s most complex products, cities are confronted with great risks due to both the wide range of risks and changes involved in them and their multiple vulnerabilities. These changes include numerous disorders, some of which are known and predictable, while most are unpredictable and beyond expectation. ...
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Man’s most complex products, cities are confronted with great risks due to both the wide range of risks and changes involved in them and their multiple vulnerabilities. These changes include numerous disorders, some of which are known and predictable, while most are unpredictable and beyond expectation. It therefore seems necessary to address the modern approaches to encountering disorders and disasters. The prevailing perspective has shifted from a mere focus on vulnerability and reinforcement to an increase in resilience against disorder. Therefore, the current research was focused on the idea of resilience as a newly-emerging concept in urbanism issues, and sought to enhance the capability of cities of confronting disorders, particularly environmental crises, as dynamic, self-organizing systems by introducing the notion of resilience to the domain of urbanization through formulation of an integrated model. The significance of the present paper lay in the appreciation of urban resilience thinking as a tool for recognition of the capabilities of urban systems of adapting to changes or absorbing disorders by helping to understand the dynamicity, complexity, processes, and patterns in these systems. Through knowledge of this thinking and the factors affecting its different aspects, the capability of socio-ecological systems such as cities could be increased for adaptation to changes and self-organization. The purpose of this paper was to analyze ecological resilience and determine the factors effective on it based on urban ecology thinking, to identify the criteria, and to generate a model for enhancement of the ecological resilience of cities. It was a qualitative study, where the data were collected from multiple sources using various library methods to be validated through triangulation. Thematic analysis and the thematic network tool were used for data analysis. Through identification of around 45 themes, obtained through examination of more than 50 theoretical and applied studies, and analysis of the relationships between them, the thematic network resulting from their clustering was formulated, consisting of basic, organizing, and comprehensive themes. Based on the qualitative analysis, a series of factors most effective on urban resilience were categorized into six major groups that formed the proposed urban ecological resilience scheme, including natural structure, ecosystem functions and processes, socio-economic functions and processes, urban shape, institutions, and knowledge. Each of the above categories affected urban resilience differently, where the first and the second had direct effects, while the other four influenced it indirectly, by affecting natural elements and biological species as urban assets and affecting ecosystem functions and processes through disorder or reinforcement of ecosystem services. The research results demonstrated that the ecological resilience of cities based on knowledge of urban resilience was affected by dynamic interactions between socio-economic and biophysical processes, where the formulated model and the criteria set as subcategories in the proposed model made it possible to enhance urban resilience. The formulated model serves as a general guide for urban planners, designers, and managers for achievement of ecological resilience in socio-ecological systems such as cities. Furthermore, it covers the gap identified as resulting from absence of an integrated framework in the ecological dimension of urban resilience is covered thanks to the integration of the factors affecting resilience.
