Urban Design
toktam hanaee; Sanaz saeedi; shima abedi
Abstract
Familiarity with the destination environment plays an important role in tourism, and the more frequent tourists’ visits to the area, the greater their knowledge of the environment and, consequently, the easier for them to navigate around the place. Those unfamiliar with the environment should make ...
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Familiarity with the destination environment plays an important role in tourism, and the more frequent tourists’ visits to the area, the greater their knowledge of the environment and, consequently, the easier for them to navigate around the place. Those unfamiliar with the environment should make sure that there are sufficient wayfinding aids, and that it will be clear for them how to reach their target sights by following the aids without getting lost. Use of various wayfinding tools can allow visitors to realize the overall spatial layout of the environment and the relationships between them. It is dependent on the user’s characteristics what types of tools are utilized in wayfinding. If tourists are confused at a part of a destination about how to find their way, they will lose incentives to visit it. The easier for tourists to identify the ways to their target sights in the environment, the more attractive the place to them, motivating them to be there in the environment. This study aimed to identify tourists’ specific wayfinding tools in the Paeen Khiaban neighborhood in the city of Mashhad, Iran. Tourists could have different levels of familiarity with the destination addressed in the case study, which could be categorized as an applied survey. The data were collected through field observations, questionnaires, and site visits. The sample size appropriate for a population of 359 people was calculated using Cochran’s formula. The statistical analyses were made using methods including one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), dependent t-test, and the K2 test, used to prioritize the variables, and the significance levels of the indicators were analyzed using Duncan’s test. The results demonstrated that tourists more familiar with the destination used spatial orientation and representation, whereas those who were less familiar with the environment utilized the landmark strategy through recognition of the elements and identification of the location for wayfinding via points. The former group identified their direction through coordinates in a more general situation, while the latter group identified landmark points and followed them to the target place in smaller areas and through the points and the connections between the landmark and the situation. The tourists were interested in using visual guidelines for wayfinding, analyzing, learning, encoding, and processing them in their minds, and then selected the optimal route. Familiarity was effective in the selection of the type of wayfinding strategy and the use of a variety of wayfinding guidelines. Furthermore, the tourists considered the attractions in their choice of destinations, the walls and familiarity with the environment were the next most significant factors, and the signs and patterns on the route were also effective in the selection. The signs were very important to the tourists because the number of signs, locations, distances, designs, fonts and backgrounds, sizes, and heights affected readability. The guidelines and distinctive signs or visual cues at decision points along routes can help improve wayfinding.
Urban Planning
mohammad ghaffari; mohammad nematpour
Abstract
Market segmentation is a prerequisite of tourism planning success. Tourist segmentation based on psychological variables is in turn one of the most important, most operational methods in tourism market segmentation. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive-analytical applied study was to segment the ...
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Market segmentation is a prerequisite of tourism planning success. Tourist segmentation based on psychological variables is in turn one of the most important, most operational methods in tourism market segmentation. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive-analytical applied study was to segment the tourism market of Tehran, Iran through identification of the travel incentives and lifestyle characteristics of inbound tourists visiting the ancient Grand Bazaar of the city. The research population consisted of inbound tourists who visited Tehran Grand Bazaar from March 2017 to May 2018. A sample of 394 tourists was selected from the population through convenience sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire composed of 67 questions. To assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, content validity and Cronbach’s alpha were used. Data analysis was made in SPSS using factor analysis, cluster analysis, and K-square. To specify the number of samples required for factor analysis, the model presented by Everrit was used. In this study, fifteen incentive and lifestyle factors were identified, and four segments of inbound visitors were demonstrated. Based on the results of the analysis, the four clusters appeared to be appropriate, significant, and interpretational. To interpret and name the clusters, mean values were used. In accordance with the employed five-point Likert scale, mean values above or below 3.00 indicated the significance and insignificance of tourist incentive and lifestyle. The results demonstrated that the 394 respondents could be classified into four clusters: ideal seekers, behavioral fundamentalists, moderators, and special seekers. The cluster analysis indicated that the mean values for the factors relationship orientation, accessibility, special-seeking, self-valuation, conservativeness, cultural heritage, and occupational attachment were higher than 3.00 in all the clusters. This demonstrated that visitors in all the four segments were highly interested in interaction with other people, exploration of the local culture and the way of life therein, and visit to sights that their friends had never seen when traveling abroad. Specifically, ideal seekers would like to visit cultural and historic sites, to socialize with people, to do interesting activities, or to go the movies, the theater, an amusement park, a common party, or a festival or to a restaurant to have local cuisines. Behavioral fundamentalists included sociable, optimistic people interested in healthy, safe routines when traveling. Moderators exhibited moderate tendency to everything, but were unmotivated, careless buyers in their selection of products and services and their shopping behavior. Special seekers, who made up the second largest cluster in this study, were highly motivated and interested in exploration of different culture-nations, exposing themselves to different situations and interacting with other people. The results also indicated a significant positive relationship between demographic variables and clusters.
Urban GIS
Mahnaz Azadtalab; Himan Shahabi; Ataollah Shirzadi; Kamran Chapi
Abstract
The flood is the second natural disaster in terms of the damage that it causes to human societies every year. At the same time, cities and population centers are exposed to the highest risk and potential for physical damage caused by flood events. The growing trend of floods in Iran in recent years indicates ...
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The flood is the second natural disaster in terms of the damage that it causes to human societies every year. At the same time, cities and population centers are exposed to the highest risk and potential for physical damage caused by flood events. The growing trend of floods in Iran in recent years indicates that most parts of the country are at risk. According to the conducted studies, about forty large and small floods occur annually in different parts of the country. Since the flood is the most devastating disaster in the world and a serious threat to life, preparation of flood hazard maps is essential in identification of flood-sensitive areas, and is one of the first steps taken to reduce damage. It should be noted that researchers can easily identify areas with high risk using flood hazard maps to prevent damage. In the modeling of research on natural and environmental hazards such as floods, the complexity of natural systems makes it difficult to use physical models, highlighting the use of hybrid models as a suitable alternative. Therefore, it is necessary to provide appropriate methods and suggestions for estimation of runoff and flood in areas with high risk in order to prevent their occurrence. In recent years, a large number of statistical and probabilistic models have been used for flood hazard mapping, and GIS has been used as a basic analysis tool for spatial management and data manipulation due to its capability of managing large amounts of spatial data. Furthermore, it is possible using GIS prediction models to partition urban areas in terms of flood hazard. The obtained hazard maps can be used for identification of areas with high flood hazard. Today, the accuracy of flood susceptibility maps in urban areas can be increased using hybrid GIS models rather than single ones. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to predict the risk of flood in the city of Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Iran using hybrid models in the GIS environment. The factors considered in this study as influencing the occurrence of flood included inclination, slope, elevation, distance from the river, river density, flow accumulation, land use, gradient curvature, lithology, distance from the passage, road density, distance from the building, building density, and rainfall. After collecting the required data and layers, we used two algorithms, including the definitive statistical index (SI) and the evidential belief function (EBF), both in isolation and in combination. The locations of flood susceptibility in Sanandaj were predicted. In order to assess the performance of the model, the AUC curve obtained from the ROC curve was used. According to the adopted assessment criteria (ROC) and the validation data, the EBF model (0.840) exhibited better performance than the SI model (0.827) in flood hazard mapping in the area under investigation. The accuracy rate of the hybrid SI-EBF model was 0.849 based on the ROC results, which demonstrated that the hybrid model performed better in prediction of the spatial hazard of flood than the single models. Finally, the results of the study showed that Sanandaj flood spurts resulted from various environmental and human factors, which can be handled using flood hazard maps and appropriate management measures to reduce flood damage.
Urban Planning
parvaneh jalerajabi; reza ahmadian; Zahra sadat saiedeh Zarabadi
Abstract
This research was conducted mainly to provide a method based on artificial intelligence algorithms in order to obtain optimal urban land use allocation, subjected to mathematical modeling from the perspective of spatial justice using multi-criteria decision analysis concepts, both parcel-based and floor-based. ...
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This research was conducted mainly to provide a method based on artificial intelligence algorithms in order to obtain optimal urban land use allocation, subjected to mathematical modeling from the perspective of spatial justice using multi-criteria decision analysis concepts, both parcel-based and floor-based. For that purpose, objective functions were considered for land use allocation, including mixed use, suitability, dependency, compatibility, and access to services, in terms of both floors and neighbors. For achievement of the main purpose, parameters effective on urban land use planning were examined to optimize urban land use allocation from the spatial justice perspective. This led to a presentation and classification of the spatial parameters effective on land use allocation based on sustainability and, more specifically, spatial justice concerns. The main part of the research, named “land use allocation modeling with NSGA-II” focused on development of a land use allocation model and its optimization. The main stage in the modeling procedure was to adapt multi-objective optimization algorithms to land use allocation and, then, to define it as desired. The adaptation of the multi-objective optimization algorithm involved the definition of the solution structure, objective functions, and problem constraints and their calculation for use in the second version of the Non-dominant Genetic Ranking Algorithm (NSGA-II). The objective functions were defined based on criteria and indexes extracted in the second part of the research, including maximization of accessibility to the facilities, of service efficiency (compatibility), of mixed uses, of land suitability, and of spatial dependency. Moreover, seven constraints were introduced for land use allocation, including avoidance of allocating wasteland to the first floor of the parcel, allocation of a land use to the third floor provided that the second one already has a defined land use, possibility of land use allocation to various floors of the same parcel, consideration of maximum and minimum land parceling, avoidance of exceeding the per capita standards in neighborhoods and districts, and, finally, allocation of the necessary land uses to each of the neighborhoods. The models were then implemented, where the main purpose was to optimize urban land use allocation according to all the criteria and constraints. In other words, these criteria had to be defined in terms of the model objectives and with an extensive search space (many of the possible land use allocations) at the same time. Therefore, a set of solutions, which included Pareto front, i.e. optimal, solutions, was obtained rather than a single solution to the problem. As decision-makers prefer to examine the corresponding scenarios after introducing their own decision priorities, the AHP method was used finally after the optimal Pareto solutions were obtained for selection of one of the four possible land use allocations and its presentation in a land use plan given spatial justice concerns. For that purpose, weights were assigned to the objective functions based on spatial justice. Once the objective function values were normalized, the desired weights were multiplied by the normal values. After the calculation of total weight, the solutions corresponding to the objective functions being addressed were converted to land use plans in ArcGIS. The results of land use allocation in floors were compared to the actual conditions. It could be stated in general that the most important achievement of the study involved the introduction and presentation of an efficient model that was appropriate for addressing multi-criteria decision-making problems for allocation of urban land use. The presented model performs simultaneous optimization, and helps decision makers to select one desired solution from among multiple optimized ones according to their priorities, although it is in contradiction with some of the objective functions. The results of the model designed for land use allocation given spatial justice concerns improved the spatial distribution of facilities at the level of the area under study. Moreover, a quantitative evaluation of the allocation results demonstrated that the commercial, academic, health, sport, and cultural land uses were allocated properly per capita, increasing the level of enjoyment in neighborhoods across the area under investigation. Land use allocation, Spatial justice, Multi-objective optimization method, NSGA-II.
Urban Management
Malihe Taghipour; aliakbar heidari; maryam haghayegh
Abstract
The rapid population growth and transformation of apartments into the dominant form of urban residence have created new health issues in human life. The consequences, threatening residents’ health, include increase in vitamin D deficiency, overweight, decrease in physical health, social isolation ...
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The rapid population growth and transformation of apartments into the dominant form of urban residence have created new health issues in human life. The consequences, threatening residents’ health, include increase in vitamin D deficiency, overweight, decrease in physical health, social isolation and a variety of social injuries, decrease in personal space, and decrease in mental health. From the World Health Organization’s point of view, health involves provision of three dimensions thereof at the same time: physical, mental, and social. In addition to the above, however, it seems that the economic index has a direct, immediate impact on individuals’ quality of life and health. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the three aspects of health in terms of the achievement of cooperation with the fields of architecture, medical science, psychology, and social sciences in the preferences of people with different economic conditions upon selection of apartments as housing and the priorities of the components from the three areas that influenced their selections. In this descriptive survey, SPSS 22 and AMOS 23 were used for data analysis, and Friedman test and ANOVA were employed to examine the hypotheses. The results indicated that individuals’ economic and livelihood conditions affected their preferences and concern for the three dimensions (physical, mental, and social) of health in the area of housing. It is noteworthy that economic conditions are considered today as a health-threatening factor, hence their great significance in health policies and disease prevention and intervention measures. Furthermore, the results obtained from the paper emphasized the need to consider the effects of the physical components of buildings on residents’ health, where a building could prevent the occurrence of disease in the residents and prevent an excessive amount of money from being spent for treatment. These findings can provide useful guidelines for policy-makers in the field of construction and social institutions influencing the promotion of modern urban living patterns. What is clear is that the current pattern of modern urban living and housing common in Iran is an obsolete model imported from other countries regardless of the psychological, physical, and social aspects of individuals’ lives. It therefore fails to meet the current requirements of the society, and can have harmful physical, psychological, and social effects in the long run. Modification of this model requires cooperation from medical and social scientists, psychologists, and architects and designers, development of regulations and construction standards, and cooperation from the relevant bodies (the municipality and engineering system) and medical, humanities, and social scientists. Based on the results of studies that have critically scrutinized the details of living in apartments, the organizations in charge of construction can also take important steps in establishment of laws and regulations that affect residents’ health to improve their quality of life. Based on the comprehensive dimensions of health, further achievements will hopefully be made in the construction industry and the design of residential units, so that people’s health will not be threatened by buildings, which can even have therapeutic properties.
Urban Management
Daryoush Ardalan; zohreh davoudpour; Keramatollah Ziari
Abstract
The high rates of financial and human loss in natural disasters (particularly in recent decades) have led various countries and organizations to seek effective theories in that regard. Since 2005 (the Hugo Summit), the issue of resilience has been pursued seriously, addressing the idea of empowering ...
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The high rates of financial and human loss in natural disasters (particularly in recent decades) have led various countries and organizations to seek effective theories in that regard. Since 2005 (the Hugo Summit), the issue of resilience has been pursued seriously, addressing the idea of empowering cities to perform better in the event of an accident. Iran is a country where a large number of natural disasters occur, and the city of Qazvin is at constant risk of severe earthquakes, as indicated by research, due to the crossing of dangerous pressure faults in its northern part. In Iran, particularly in Qazvin, urban management has delegated responsibility for addressing disasters to a "crisis management headquarters." Given that the structure of the headquarters in Qazvin is similar to those of similar entities in cities with unsuccessful backgrounds of performance in addressing earthquakes in recent years, the main issue in this regard is how to change the structure of the headquarters so that it can perform more favorably upon earthquakes. This descriptive-analytical research considered the proposed headquarters structures and models as described in the UN documentations and those of countries having addressed such events successfully. Moreover, the variables and indicators examined in investigation of institutional resilience were identified. Qazvin’s crisis management headquarters was regarded as a dependent variable influenced by a number of independent variables, and its success depended on the conditions of those variables. In the analysis of the findings, the required factors were first identified according to the conditions of Qazvin through assessment of the variables and indicators using CVR (the content validity ratio). A survey was conducted of 30 urban planning experts, in which a total of 9 variables and 9 indicators were selected to obtain institutional resilience. A questionnaire was then prepared in the format of the Likert scale, where the questions were based on the tasks specified by the law for the different working groups at the headquarters and categorized on that basis, with the variable and the target index for each question specified. After a survey of 110 urban planning experts, the data were analyzed using SPSS. Using a Student’s t-test, the variables were assessed with different indicators for the headquarters under investigation. The results indicated a lack of concern for the 9 effective variables. Furthermore, a comparison of the structure of the headquarters to the models in use around the world demonstrated that it consisted of only two parts, including operating and administrative forces, unlike the successful models, which are composed of four main parts. It was also found that the above two departments of course need organizational reform. Thus, the headquarters needed to consider three measures to achieve institutional resilience. Firstly, the structure needed to be reformed to address the existing drawbacks. Secondly, the attitudes toward management needed to be changed from government to governance. Thirdly, equipment with new hardware and software technologies was needed for preparedness and prevention. The required measures in the above three areas should be taken simultaneously to exhibit the necessary effectiveness.
Urban Economy
mehdi Mododi Arkhudi; sajad ferdowsi
Abstract
Planning for development of tourism always requires concern for supply and demand. At the same time, tourism marketing relies particularly on knowledge of the characteristics of supply and demand. The significance of the present study could be explained by the issue of the changing world and its effects ...
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Planning for development of tourism always requires concern for supply and demand. At the same time, tourism marketing relies particularly on knowledge of the characteristics of supply and demand. The significance of the present study could be explained by the issue of the changing world and its effects on tourism, where important changes have long been observed in tourism form the aspects of supply and demand, which accounts for the need to review the parallel management and marketing practices. Unlike studies that have been conducted so far, this research considered the results of the developments made in capitalism to assess the supply and demand behavior in tourism. This provided a useful theoretical framework for establishment of marketing activities for tourism development. For that purpose, the supply and demand behavior patterns in tourism were assessed based on the changes made in capitalism in the city of Karaj, Iran and the surrounding villages. The tourism demand dimension was defined using three components: planning, products, and characteristics. The dimension of tourism supply was defined as a combination of four economic components: planning, products, structure, and function. In addition, criteria were considered for each of the components of tourism supply and demand. The population of this quantitative research included experts in the field, also including the local community, who were surveyed as two categories: that of residents of Karaj and surrounding villages, as travel demanders, and that of travel companies in Karaj, as travel suppliers. The experts were sampled using the targeted and convenience sampling methods, the residents were sampled using the simple random sampling method, and the travel companies were sampled using the complete enumeration method. The findings of the study were presented in two broad phases. In the first phase, the method of analytic hierarchy process was used to specify the importance and priority of the factors based on the expert opinions. In the second phase, the scale of measurement and the formulation of the items were introduced for assessment of the criteria identified in tourism destinations, and two proposed maps were then used for description and analysis of the coefficients obtained from the assessment of the criteria. The results demonstrated that the behavior patterns of travel demanders were different from the residents of Karaj to those of the surrounding villages. Accordingly, the behavior of the latter group of residents was inclined to the characteristics of Fordism- post-Fordism tourism, with a weighted mean of 0.521, while the behavior pattern of the residents of Karaj exhibited inclination to the characteristics of post-Fordism tourism, with a weighted mean of 0.711. On the other hand, the behavior pattern of travel companies in Karaj was inclined to the characteristics of post-Fordism tourism, with a weighted mean of 0.751. Overall, the behavior pattern of tourism supply and demand in Karaj was assessed as post-Fordism. According to the above findings, marketing activities can be more effective, and tourism development planning can be directed as desired through identification and analysis of the characteristics of tourism supply and demand in the study areas.
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
Arastoo Yari hesar; samira saeidi zarangi; zhila Farzane sadat zaranji; Hadi eskandarieynadin
Abstract
Individuals’ characteristics and those of age, sex, and social groups should help provide a safe, healthy, sustainable, and attractive environment that can properly respond to the different needs of all groups in the community. The population of the disabled, including people with physical and ...
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Individuals’ characteristics and those of age, sex, and social groups should help provide a safe, healthy, sustainable, and attractive environment that can properly respond to the different needs of all groups in the community. The population of the disabled, including people with physical and mobility disabilities, is among those who are deprived of ordinary lives, and the social planning system has led them to physical and social seclusion. All around the world, people with physical and mobility disabilities constitute a significant part of the population who, like other people, should be able to move around the city to satisfy their needs, strive, and not be deprived of their right to live a social life. It is a necessity for the development of the society to adapt urban spaces in order to provide all individuals and segments of the society with equal opportunities to move around the city and access all urban spaces. According to Article 5 of the Charter of Civil Rights of the Iranian Government, all the disabled and the elderly hold the right to benefit from medical and rehabilitation facilities for recovery or empowerment to be able to live independently and participate in different aspects of life. The research population included 4430 disabled people (physically disabled, blind, or partially sighted) in the city of Ardabil, Iran. Sample size was estimated to be 354 using Cochran’s formula, and a questionnaire was distributed among as many disabled participants and filled out. Interview methods were used for the blind and visually impaired who were not able to fill out the questionnaire. The sampling method employed in the study was simple random sampling, and data analysis was performed in SPSS using one-sample t-test and analysis of variance. As members of the society, the disabled have rights and entitlements that must be taken into account. One such issue concerns the design and adaptation of urban spaces for this group. If a disabled citizen is unable to access the places he needs to visit due to inappropriate urban spaces, he will be faced with many problems and barriers. The results of this study demonstrated that the physical zone of Ardabil, sidewalks, and construction equipment could not be used by the disabled. Urban administrators and officials have tried to adapt urban spaces by observing relevant principles in the central part of the city. On average, the status of the indicators was better in the group with physical and mobility impairment than in the blind. For example, the physical and socio-economic indicators exhibited higher averages in the group with physical and mobility impairment than in the blind. Although there were employment restrictions in both groups, they were more common among the blind and visually impaired. Furthermore, higher transportation costs were imposed on the blind and visually impaired than on those with physical and mobility disabilities. Despite the measures taken to adapt the environment for the active presence of the physically disabled and the blind, it is still impossible in the current socio-economic and physical conditions to adequately meet the needs of the disabled. Moreover, the urban management authorities in Ardabil have not formulated a clear plan for adaptation of urban spaces, and have therefore failed to exhibit acceptable performance in the field.
Urban Planning
Mohammad Mahdi Ghajar Khosravi; Gholam Reza Haghighat Naeeni
Abstract
The position and importance of urban development plans and their evaluation through various methods remains a significant issue in theoretical and practical areas. Plan quality evaluation is known as an emerging methodology for examination of whether a plan holds certain desirable features, and is aimed ...
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The position and importance of urban development plans and their evaluation through various methods remains a significant issue in theoretical and practical areas. Plan quality evaluation is known as an emerging methodology for examination of whether a plan holds certain desirable features, and is aimed at answering questions about the suitability of plans and application of methods and theories of planning and their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the ideal conditions in different fields. During the past two decades, researchers have successfully formulated a conceptual consensus based on the preliminary principles of plan quality. The purpose of this study was to introduce concepts and methods for plan quality evaluation and to present an appropriate systematic conceptual model for quality evaluation of urban development plans in Iran. For specification of the theoretical framework of this explanatory-analytical research, a range of methods and studies related to the subject were comprehensively examined and analyzed, and the consequent appropriate model for evaluation of the quality of urban development plans in Iran was clearly established and adapted to the entire country. A conceptual model for evaluating the quality of comprehensive plans consists of seven basic components (factual basis, analysis and inference, plans and programs, implementation, inter-organizational coordination, presentation, and planning methods) and three progressive components (participation, sustainable development, and monitoring and evaluation). This study evaluated 29 plans from medium-sized Iranian cities and 5 from large ones. The results demonstrated that the overall quality score of the comprehensive plans in both groups was moderate (The average score was 4.95 out of 10). Among the seven basic components of plan quality, factual basis, analysis and inference, organization, and presentation exhibited proper conditions, and the components of plans and programs, inter-organizational coordination, implementation, and planning methods were found to be inappropriate. The progressive component of sustainable development exhibited potentials for advancement despite the low score, while participation and monitoring and evaluation were generally disregarded in the plans. The findings also indicated the incapability of the plans (at least in the present conditions) of correctly completing the planning process. The most important drawbacks of the plans included the reduction of the capability of presenting and implementing the plans and the lack of a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating them. Among all the evaluated plans, the plan from the city of Rasht was identified as the best, followed by those of Mahabad, Bojnord, Amol, Sabzevar, Kerman, and Birjand, all of which could be regarded as plans with potentials for advancement. In a study of the internal consistency of the plan components, plans and programs was found to be the most important, most influential component of plan quality, which could be considered as the main indicator of comprehensive plan quality. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the plan quality of the large and medium-sized cities. However, the quality of the plans has increased over the past two decades, and the dates of their approval were found to be effective on their quality. The future conditions of plan quality in the country seem to be promising, and better quality is expected to be provided by the urban development plans. Future plans are likely to be capable of addressing issues such as justice in urban development, environmental quality, transportation, and sustainability. This study sought to provide incentives for reconsideration of how plans are developed and to prevent discouragement of planners and unnecessary underestimation of their ability to inject creativity, new methods, and new planning challenges into their plans, so that they can present better plans to which they are committed. The value of the capacity to assess the quality of plans in order to highlight their strengths and weaknesses in analysis of the controversial or innovative effects of urban development plans and land use planning in various fields was demonstrated in this research, requiring those in charge of development and implementation of plans to have greater concern for to their quality indicators.
