Slum Settlements
Kayomars Irandoost; Milad Doostvandi; Kasra Ashouri; seyed mohamad Ghanezade
Abstract
Highlights- Different approaches and policies have been adopted to confront spontaneous urban settlements, which have failed to stop the development process of these settlements.- The informal urban settlement needs to be politically approved in developing countries, such as Iran, as it will be involved ...
Read More
Highlights- Different approaches and policies have been adopted to confront spontaneous urban settlements, which have failed to stop the development process of these settlements.- The informal urban settlement needs to be politically approved in developing countries, such as Iran, as it will be involved in a significant part of the urbanization process.- Presenting a novel approach known as informal armatures, David Gouverneur attempted to adopt a futuristic, protective, realistic perspective on spontaneous urban settlements and to consider administrative, environmental, morphological, planning, and design issues.- In Sanandaj, it can be helpful to consider the informal armatures approach, given that three spatial layers of the spontaneous urban settlement have taken shape so far, and the city can develop in the eastern part of the city. IntroductionDuring the past few decades, there has been widespread immigration to urban centers of wealth for utilization of opportunities and better conditions in prospect due to the dominance of the city-oriented capitalist economy, shortcomings, and failures of governments and official markets, and inequality in southern countries. Along with the inefficiency of governments and urban planning systems in satisfying needs, particularly those for dwelling and employment, this trend has led to spontaneous urban settlements. Therefore, it is essential to provide low-income groups with dwellings and present solutions in accordance with the residents’ financial capability. David Gouverneur presented a novel approach in 2015, which came to be known as informal armatures (IA). He believes that spontaneous urban settlements involve numerous physical and social complexities, and to simplify, the environment, morphology, and administrative aspects need to be balanced. He states that the problems with these settlements can be solved by the people, local governments, and central governments. This research has investigated the informal armatures approach in Sanandaj, Iran.Theoretical frameworkBeyond the theoretical controversies in this regard, the IA approach presents a framework for spontaneous neighborhoods before the occupation of land with a preventive, futuristic attitude. This approach approves of spontaneous urban settlements’ innovative, innate socio-spatial features and adopts this as a point to begin improvement. The conditions that need to be met for a successful IA approach include pre-emptive and transformative nature (political acceptance of the informality, presentation of appropriate public land with participation from the public and private sectors, and instruction of staff capable of implementing the approach), consideration of physical and performative components, hybrid and multi-scalar operations, environment-friendly nature, consideration of flexible planning components, and adaptability to different site conditions. Moreover, corridors, patches, and custodians are major components in planning and design based on the IA approach.MethodologyThe paradigm governing this research is pragmatism, which some contemporary methodologists have considered the foundation of research methodology with hybrid methods. In accordance with this worldview, the conceptual framework of the research has first been extracted besides an examination of the theoretical views on the topic based on Gouverneur’s perspectives in order to provide the background. Then, it was investigated how the approach could be adapted to Sanandaj in line with the research purpose. The statistics required to apply the approach to Sanandaj were extracted from the censuses of individuals and dwellings and the village lexicons, and satellite images and location data on the current state of Sanandaj in ArcGIS were used for the analysis of the spatial conditions of the city.Results and discussionSanandaj is a city with particular topographic features and looks as if located in a space cup due to the highs around the city and the variety of hills inside it. It can be extended mainly on the eastern side. Moreover, three spatial layers of spontaneous urban settlements have taken shape in Sanandaj so far. The first layer is the fixed layer inside the city; the origination dates back to the period between the 1960s and 1980s and is regarded today as the distressed middle area of the city. The second layer involves settlements with backgrounds as villages located within the limits of Sanandaj, which are known today as unconnected urban areas and have been excluded from the informal settlement. A third layer is also taking shape around the city, given the barren lands inside it, including villages with growing populations. The investigations demonstrated that Sanandaj could be considered for pilot research on the application of the IA approach, given its features.ConclusionInspired by the international policies, different approaches have been adopted so far in Iran with respect to spontaneous urban settlements. However, these approaches have failed to stop the extension process of these settlements, and about twelve million of the country’s urban population thus resides in these settlements today. Moreover, all the previous approaches have mainly disregarded the important idea of future development of these settlements and the combination of the planning, morphological, and administrative components, while the IA approach has successfully filled the gap. The informal armatures approach can prevent fundamental problems, particularly in terms of infrastructure, in future spontaneous urban settlements through mutual government-people management and consideration of residents’ financial capability and planning tools such as the interconnection of corridors around the city, provision of patches, and protection of valuable land. Moreover, this approach can contribute significantly as one of the most effective futuristic, collaborative approaches (top-down and bottom-up), as it provides widespread coverage of informal urban settlement in Iran.
Slum Settlements
Maryam Soleimani; minoo gharehbaglou
Abstract
Highlights
The residence of informal settlements in the northern part of Tabriz is affected by the legitimate structures and signification of the region.
In their social life, marginalized residents do not pay much attention to the rules set by the upstream planners.
Marginalized residents reproduce ...
Read More
Highlights
The residence of informal settlements in the northern part of Tabriz is affected by the legitimate structures and signification of the region.
In their social life, marginalized residents do not pay much attention to the rules set by the upstream planners.
Marginalized residents reproduce the structures of domination in line with their legitimate and implicit structures so that their residence is in line with local values and implications.
Introduction
A particular factor effective in the spontaneous settlements in suburban areas is the behavioral patterns in the residents’ lives and relevant daily activities that could affect the shape of housing. Consideration of the life structure and its effect on the formation of the architecture are topics that have been addressed by various thinkers in fields such as culture and environmental psychology. It is essential to attend to the set of values and meanings of human behavior, viewed as local culture, and the realization of traditions. This process provides a criterion in the construction of spontaneous settlements in marginalized areas. This study investigated and identified the physical patterns of spontaneous settlements and their construction strategies with respect to the lifestyles adopted by the inhabitants of the suburban areas in the northern parts of the city of Tabriz, Iran. In these areas, the residents seem to form the features of the residences according to their local culture rather than the regulations and urban plans.
Theoretical Framework
Many policies proposed to improve the conditions of informal settlements have ignored the structure of life, which has led them to neglect residents’ lifestyles and attempt to impose renovation plans with top-down approaches. Despite the abundance of research, there are more fundamental questions about the residents’ hidden layers faced during their lives. Most of the reviews of research on marginal housing have disregarded the residents’ life structure. This study investigates how the physical patterns of spontaneous settlements take shape with respect to the inhabitants’ lifestyle in suburban areas of the northern parts of Tabriz. Some of the most sophisticated studies conducted in the field include the research by Abrams (1964) and Turner (1967), focused on the participation of residents and their autonomy in the process of improvement and empowerment besides critical views of the destruction and displacement of the suburbs. To proceed with these studies, various conferences and meetings were held between 1996 and 1999 to discuss the empowerment of the poor in the suburbs in order to increase the efficiency of urban development. In addition, different dimensions of informal settlement were addressed in the adopted approaches, in which issues such as economic development, culture, social capital, and security were examined (Hashas 2005, Paul 2017, Petter et al. 2007, Tsenkova 2009, Fernandes 2001, Pugh 2000). Along with the expansion of studies on the culture of marginalization and validation of the structures of local communities, field research needed to be conducted, exemplified by Young and Wilmot (1957), Ganz (1962), and Suttles (1974). Focused on the distinction of the culture of marginalization from the urban culture, these studies have demonstrated that marginalized people define a lifestyle framework with self-assessment criteria, and always strive for social cohesion and protection of internal security.
Methodology
The approach adopted in this research is a qualitative one developed by grounded theory. For selection of the sample, the purposeful sampling method was used with the greatest variety, and semi-structured interviews, observations, and planned samplings were utilized for data collection. In the research sample, forty residents of the examined areas participated, and thirty sample houses were studied.
Results and Discussion
The results demonstrate that the organization of spaces and the physical pattern of spontaneous settlements have been more dependent on legitimate and semantic structures than on signification or domination. In this process, the characteristics of residents’ lives and the physical shape system of the environment in regard to these structures have affected the environmental components, such as neighborhood presence, physical flexibility and adaptability, physical scalability, integration of living space and work, outdoor viability, and widespread housing.
Conclusion
The analysis of the findings demonstrates that the sense of dwelling is more dependent in informal settlements on autonomous patterns to maintain significant legitimate structures than on practical ones (pertaining to extrinsic biological aspects), and the residents always try to protect their existential security as social agents. They can validate structures that respond to all kinds of real perception (concerning intrinsic value aspects). These categories are essential items that should be taken into account in the design and improvement of suburban areas to align the body with the residents’ lifestyle. This factor can indirectly lead to a sense of belonging and sustainable settlement in these areas. Therefore, the planners must improve the physical-biological aspect as a priority to promote these areas according to the local value structures, so that the residents can improve their residential structures under legitimate and significant structures in their social lives in a self-organizing process, in which reference is made to consideration of changeable, adaptable, and flexible housing.
Acknowledgement
This paper has been extracted from the corresponding author’s PhD dissertation on Islamic Architecture, which is in progress under the supervision of the second author at Tabriz Islamic Art University, Iran and with the spiritual and financial support of Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).
Slum Settlements
akbar mohammadi; Kasra Ashouri; mohammad bashir robati
Volume 6, Issue 22 , May 2017, , Pages 75-88
Abstract
Nowadays, due to different reasons such as low financial affordability, high cost of standard housing, lack of affordable land in cities (especially for a particular population), lack of scientific criteria in finding location (for housing) or in urban development, and as urban development processes ...
Read More
Nowadays, due to different reasons such as low financial affordability, high cost of standard housing, lack of affordable land in cities (especially for a particular population), lack of scientific criteria in finding location (for housing) or in urban development, and as urban development processes surpass rational urban planning and managemen, most cities and urban habitats are located in sites which are exposed to a variety of human-made threats because of natural hazards or technological progresses. In this regard, in the case of a crisis, efforts to achieve circumstances which provide the possibility to restore the conditions before crisis or increasing the flexibility of those cities and habitats are of high importance. Resilience is a new approach proposed as a novel perspective to deal with rapid changes and increasing needs and complications of cities. In most cases, this approach is used to face the unknowns or uncertainties. Resilience is also emphasized over vulnerability. The concept of resilience has evolved over time; in the recent decade, it has peculiarly been the center of attention in scientific and political debates. The present applied research tries to recognize and evaluate the effective factors on social and institutional resilience in Naisar detached urban district of Sanandaj. It also attempts to optimally adapt those factors by using descriptive, analytic and comparative methods. Naisar district is located at the northeast of Sanandaj. It is 309.5 hectares making it the largest spontaneous settlement of the city. At the beginning, this area was in the form of a village in Sanandaj suburbs, but, due to lack of residential land in the city (Sanandaj has many hills unsuitable for residential construction), the village turned into a satellite area for the overflowing population of the city in the 90s. In the census of villages in 1996, the population of Naisar was announced to be 938. The interesting point is the rapid increase in Naisar population over the past 15 years. The population of Naisar was 12480 in 2006. In 2011, it increased by 29.5% and reached 27377. Like many such settlements, Naisar has a very low resilience in the face of incidents. The purpose of this research is to investigate the social and institutional resilience criteria in this settlement. To this end, the indices and influential factors on social and institutional resilience in these settlements were first identified and defined operationally through library research. Then, the resilience level of the spontaneous settlement of Naisar was determined through AIR, RIF and CIR formulas. The results of the research indicated low levels of resilience in this settlement. Based on the findings, it seems that more factors are effective on the evaluation of the resilience level of the spontaneous settlement of Naisar due to its unfavorable conditions. The results also indicate that, in Naisar detached urban district, as one of the particular settlements of Sanandaj which has been recognized as an informal settlement, social resilience has a more favorable situation than institutional resilience.
