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 ...
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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.
Urban Planning
fatemah esmaeilpoor; mohammadhosein saraei; najma esmaeilpoor
Abstract
Highlights The prestige and identity of the middle tissues of Arak has been effective in the cost of land and has resulted in the destruction of usable residential units. Contrary to Bergess's theory - which describes the central fabric as a fabric with depressing neighborhoods with a sad and ...
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Highlights The prestige and identity of the middle tissues of Arak has been effective in the cost of land and has resulted in the destruction of usable residential units. Contrary to Bergess's theory - which describes the central fabric as a fabric with depressing neighborhoods with a sad and sometimes ruined appearance and the habitat of immigrants and low-income cities - the high price of land and the profitability of investing in the central fabric of Arak make it attractive. And has become the residence of the upper social and economic classes. 1. Introduction Throughout history and all around the world, the living spaces of different classes in cities have been segregated given their socio-economic conditions. The central fabric of the city of Arak, Iran is characterized by the highest housing and land prices, and many citizens wish to live there. The high price of land in this area has led to a high demand for housing. As a result, many of the buildings are demolished and converted into new, multi-story condominiums although usable by the owners and builders. Problems have arisen currently, and inappropriate prospects are expected for the future due to the replacement of single-family houses with multi-family apartment buildings without other residential needs considered, such as transportation, provision of health services, education, open and public green spaces, and parking spaces. The purpose of this article is to provide a structural modeling of the reasons for the above tendency and for the high prices of land in this fabric and of the impact of social status in the neighborhoods on regeneration. 2. Theoretical Framework The urban ecology perspective distinguishes cities from three aspects of household: socio-economic, family, and ethno-racial. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the socio-economic status of high social classes on the high prices of land in the central fabric of Arak and its impact on the regeneration of the central city neighborhoods. Just as the lower classes and ethno-racial groups regard segregation as a way of uniting and preserving their identity, the upper classes try to maintain their residential territory in terms of habits and behaviors by segregating prestigious neighborhoods. Dignity or prestige results from approval by others. Therefore, social class can be defined as a group of individuals with similar positions in the labor market or with similar lifestyles and cultures. According to Weber’s socio-economic theory of capitalism, economic conditions alone do not necessarily determine one’s way of life. 3. Methodology This is an applied quantitative descriptive-causal study. For investigation of the orientation toward the central fabric and its effects on this fabric, different aspects of questionnaire data analysis and in-depth interview were considered using structural equation modeling and the Smart-PLS software. 4. Results and Discussion The findings demonstrated that the central fabric of Arak has appealed to the population, contrary to Borges’ theory. The high prices of land in this fabric is mainly associated with its validity and authenticity (T value = 2.682). Its easy access to the city center is another factor affecting the orientation toward this fabric and the increase in land prices therein. These high prices have led to the demolition of single-family houses that are not yet very old, to be turned into multi-story apartment buildings. The effect of the low cost of transportation on the individuals’ decision to choose these neighborhoods to live in was not confirmed (T value = 1.306). The regeneration of the fabric has changed its demographic conditions and the departure of low-income classes (T value = 23.861). The output of the final matrix and the design of the interpretive structural model placed the two variables of transportation and social status in the dependent zone, the housing price variable in the linking zone, and the variables of demographic change and land use diversity in the independent zone. The central fabric of Arak appeals to citizens due to its originality, prestige, and expensive land. This is contrary to Borges’ theory, which describes the fabric around the city center as one with distressed neighborhoods and a miserable, destructed appearance where immigrants live. 5. Conclusion Given that the original neighborhoods with indigenous populations in Arak provide proper opportunities for regeneration, gentrification of this fabric must be avoided, since land is a scarce resource in cities, and it is extremely costly to meet the infrastructure requirements of development. Moreover, urban managers should consider the current trend as an opportunity to provide a plan for efficient use of these lands because the lands in central Arak involve capacity and demand for housing. Thus, infrastructure and superstructure facilities and services also increase proportionally to the increase in density and residential construction. Acknowledgments The authors hereby express their gratitude to the Municipality of Arak for provision of the required information.
