Urban Ecology
najme sadat mostafavi; parvin partovi; Zhara Asadolahi
Abstract
Highlight:
- Urban development plans offer numerous opportunities to incorporate the concept of ecosystem services into the urban planning process, yet their integration remains inconsistent.
- Scientific methods to evaluate the uptake and operationalization of ecosystem services in urban planning ...
Read More
Highlight:
- Urban development plans offer numerous opportunities to incorporate the concept of ecosystem services into the urban planning process, yet their integration remains inconsistent.
- Scientific methods to evaluate the uptake and operationalization of ecosystem services in urban planning include stakeholder interviews and content analysis of plans.
- Analyzing these plans provides a broader understanding of the potential, gaps, and limitations regarding ecosystem services.
- Cultural ecosystem services, followed by provisioning and some regulating services, receive the most attention in these plans.
- The survey and analysis phase, influenced by the scale of service studies, is the primary focus.
Introduction:
Urban areas, as human-environment systems, depend heavily on natural ecosystems for sustainability and well-being. Therefore, integrating ecosystem services into urban planning is essential for promoting sustainable urban development. Among the various decision-making processes impacting ecosystem services in cities, urban planning is arguably the most critical. Despite the increasing academic interest in ecosystem services, there are still significant knowledge gaps regarding their integration into urban planning. Incorporating ecosystem services into the management of urban land is crucial for the rational allocation of land and effective ecological management in urban areas.
However, several obstacles hinder this integration, including the inadequacies in the content and process of urban development plans, the limitations of current planning tools, the lack of knowledge about ecosystem services, the absence of relevant institutions and executive organizations, and the deficiency in the application of ecosystem services knowledge in practice and policy. Moreover, the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks are often lacking. This paper aims to examine both the current and potential utilization of ecosystem services in urban development plans, specifically focusing on the city of Arak.
Methods:
Two dominant scientific approaches are employed to evaluate the uptake and operationalization of ecosystem services in urban planning: interviewing stakeholders and analyzing the content of plans and policies. Content analysis of urban development plan documents provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential, gaps, and limitations related to the inclusion of ecosystem services in urban planning practices. To achieve this goal, a content analysis method with a directional approach (deductive method based on theory) was utilized. The study examined the extent to which 19 ecosystem services were addressed within three components of the Arak development and construction plan: the information base, vision/objectives, and actions.
A scoring protocol was developed to assess the quality of ecosystem services inclusion in urban plans. This protocol used a 3-point scale, with scores ranging from zero (no inclusion), one (implicit inclusion), to two (explicit inclusion).
Results:
Among the regulating services, air purification and local ventilation services were mentioned 109 times, with the highest frequency (34 times) in the analysis section (database). The content analysis revealed that healthy water production was referenced 99 times, while food production was mentioned 82 times. Regarding supporting services, soil quality was noted nine times in total, with the highest mention (four times) in the analysis section. Among cultural services, recreational services and mental experiences were mentioned 94 times, with the highest frequency (26 times) in the city survey and knowledge section.
The results indicate that the ecosystem services concept is partially integrated into the mentioned development document. However, the document lacks a holistic view of urban ecology and its benefits. In the three examined components, ecosystem services were mentioned 607 times, both implicitly (312 times - 51.4%) and explicitly (295 times - 48.6%), with the most attention given to the information base component (358 times - 59%). The significant difference in the score for cultural services (400) compared to provisioning (274), regulating (198), and supporting (30) services suggests that cultural services are more comprehensively included in the Arak metropolis plan.
Discussion:
The inconsistency in addressing each service or concept across the three components highlights a lack of significant correlation between data collection, analysis, goal formulation, vision development, plan preparation, and the establishment of rules and regulations. Another critical issue is the misalignment between the process and content of these plans with new concepts, as well as the weakness of the comprehensive rational process in integrating these concepts. To incorporate new ideas like ecosystem services into urban development plans, not only is there a need to strengthen content and process, but also to improve planning tools. Empirical studies suggest that tools such as Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) can help bridge this gap.
Conclusion:
Incorporating the concept of ecosystem services into new laws, guidelines, or revisions of existing plans and programs is a complex process that cannot be accomplished in the short term. The presence of informed stakeholders, public decision-makers, and experts is essential. Additionally, it is crucial to form interdisciplinary teams within both consulting engineering firms that prepare urban development plans and public institutions responsible for drafting and approving these plans. Tools such as Strategic Impact Assessment (SIA) are recommended to evaluate proposed alternatives and select the final options.
maryam farash khiabani; parvin partovi
Abstract
Highlights:Ethnography and Grounded theory methods each have weaknesses for urban studies.Hybridizing Ethnography and Grounded theory methods can cover inefficiencies of both methods.Grounded theory ethnography can take advantages of two methods to increase the quality of urban studies researches. IntroductionIn ...
Read More
Highlights:Ethnography and Grounded theory methods each have weaknesses for urban studies.Hybridizing Ethnography and Grounded theory methods can cover inefficiencies of both methods.Grounded theory ethnography can take advantages of two methods to increase the quality of urban studies researches. IntroductionIn research conducted on the city and issues related to space and place in urban planning, it can be helpful to use both ethnography and grounded theory methods depending on the researcher’s purpose. However, the weaknesses of each of these methods lead to a number of gaps. The method of ethnography is highly useful for in-depth research and understanding of culture, but it suffers from the lack of a coherent analysis stage, and does not necessarily lead the researcher to the appropriate theory. Meanwhile, its open-ended nature fails to meet urban researchers’ expected outputs. On the other hand, one of the most important factors that justify the method of grounded theory is the lack of theories appropriate to the context under study. This method offers a coherent, systematic analysis, and the clear output is to arrive at the theory. The sociological origins of its proponents suggest that in the frequent applications of this method in academic research, individuals and the relevant social and psychological issues have often mattered rather than spaces. Moreover, the extensive use of the current systematic version has increased the possibility of converting the method to a mechanical one and reduced its depth. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to adopt a method involving a combination of the above two (ethnography and grounded theory) so that they can fill each other’s gaps and provide a suitable, efficient framework for conducting studies in the field of urban studies. Theoretical FrameworkAmong all methods of qualitative studies, ethnography is one that reveals many details (Stevenson, 2003). The term ethnography is rooted in cultural anthropology. Ethno- means people or ethnicity, and -graphy means to describe something. The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz believes that a very important part of ethnography is a complete, accurate description (Neuman, 2015, Volume II: 278-279). Ethnography facilitates broader research on individuals in different communities, both at the city or a smaller scale. As a qualitative research method, it considers the story told by the participants (Pardo & Prato, 2018: 389). Ethnographic research ends in a summary of how a group functions in everyday life, and the reader thus gains an understanding of a group with which he/she is unfamiliar (Creswell & Poth, 2018: 271). Grounded theory, on the other hand, was developed in 1967 by two sociologists, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. As a low-level or middle-range theory, it emerges from a particular position, and is a competitor for grand theories (Glaser & Strauss, 1967: 34-35). Moreover, it is a tool that can prepare the researcher in the field of urban studies to develop relevant theories (Allen & Davey, 2017: 1). MethodologyScholars such as Kathy Charmaz welcome entry into a methodological conflict and call other researchers to the field (Charmaz, 2006). The purpose of this research is to design a hybrid of the two methods of ethnography and grounded theory to help to fill their gaps as a suitable, efficient tool for conducting research in the field of urban studies. This has been carried out through a systematic review of each of the two approaches and study of the methods of their combination. Finally, the grounded theory ethnography has been tested on a sample café in the center of Tehran. Results and DiscussionIn this research, various combinations of ethnography and grounded theory have been studied and classified into three categories. The first involves studies that consider one of these two methods as a subset of the other or as superior to and more complete than the other. The second group emphasizes the importance of ethnography and achievement of the constructivist grounded theory, where Kathy Charmaz is the leading figure. The third category emphasizes the simultaneous use and combination of the two methods, where ethnography is used for data collection, and grounded theory is used for analysis. In this study, a combination of the second and third approaches has been adopted. Grounded theory ethnography can be defined as a method that utilizes both approaches, and proceeds with the stages of cognition and analysis simultaneously according to both methods. The final product is a theory derived from the constructivist approach and supported by ethnographic cotextuality. The method consists of four steps: 1. initiation of the fieldwork, 2. data collection (involving observation, interview, photography, sketching, and maps), 3. analysis (involving coding and memo writing), and 4. achievement of the theory and documentation. ConclusionThis study has demonstrated that grounded theory ethnography is a method that can cover the drawbacks of both methods of ethnography and grounded theory, and can be used in conditions where both methods are required. This is the case where the issue of understanding the culture of the examined context is one of the researcher’s main concerns. Moreover, there has been no specific theory to introduce the phenomenon under study, turning it into an important aim of the research to achieve such a theory. The above hybrid approach is highly applicable particularly in the field of urban studies because of the efficiency of investigation of the city and urban space in ethnography due to the emphasis on entry into the field of research and the relevant strategies and on the observation involved in the method. However, the method suffers drawbacks including the lack of a clear analytical stage and open-endedness, which can be covered by grounded theory. Using grounded theory ethnography and going through its four stages, the researcher can conduct in-depth studies according to the cultural context of the field. AcknowledgmentThis research has been extracted from the Ph.D. thesis of Maryam Farash Khiabani, entitled Unraveling the essence of other spaces of the city of Tehran (central district) with emphasis on cultural context, defended in the Department of Urban Planning at the University of Art under the supervision of Dr. Parvin Partovi.
Urban Planning
sepideh taban tarashkar; parvin partovi
Abstract
Uncontrolled urban development in the present age has caused many problems that cannot be solved by traditional management and requires the participation of all citizens in the administration of urban affairs. Today, citizen participation and its application in urban planning, as one of the characteristics ...
Read More
Uncontrolled urban development in the present age has caused many problems that cannot be solved by traditional management and requires the participation of all citizens in the administration of urban affairs. Today, citizen participation and its application in urban planning, as one of the characteristics of the development of a country, is considered by designers and urban planners. Citizen participation is effective in the success of local development plans, so it has become one of the main issues of urban planning today. The role of children, who make one third of urban population (citizens), is neglected in many cases. In recent years, there has been much research on children’s participation, but it can be said that, in practical terms, this concept faces many obstacles. Many of the issues we are facing today, such as leaving the neighborhood, lack of security, etc., are due to neglecting all citizens, especially children, in the city and, at a smaller scale, in the neighborhood. Accordingly, it is essential that children participate in local development planning. Undoubtedly, children’s participation needs a thorough perception of the concepts related to child. It requires a full understanding of the concepts of the child and the benefits and challenges of children’s participation. Finally, it is necessary to answer the question of what the methods of children’s participation in the process of preparing and implementing local development planning are. The theoretical foundation and global experiences related to children’s participation is presented to answer this question. Then, the case study of Sarshoor neighborhood is introduced and the results are presented. Finally, the conclusions are made based on the analysis of theoretical concepts, answering the main questions by Delphi method, and experts’ opinions. The results indicate that contextualization is the most influential factor in the planning process, as compared to other factors including culture-building, institutionalization and durability of participation. The two factors of institutionalization and participation control are the most influential factors in the implementation of plans. When these factors are realized, children tend to become more involved in the development process of the neighborhood because (1) their abilities focus on themselves in this process, (2) they are provided with an opportunity in this process, (3) participation methods become available to them, and (4) they become aware of their rights. At the end, the cycle of the process of neighborhood development projects is proposed based on the components of children’s participation in the Sarshoor neighborhood. The findings of this study will not only help planners and designers to better understand the way children are involved in planning and designing processes, but also provide an appropriate framework for using effective factors on the participation of children in local development projects. It is suggested that the factors proposed in this paper be applied according to the specific conditions and characteristics of each neighborhood.
