Urban Planning
Ehsan Darvishi; Ali shamsoddini; Mohammad Hemmati
Abstract
Entrepreneurship plays a key role in the economic and social development of new towns. In the face of multiple challenges in these urban areas—such as the shortage of sustainable employment opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, and social issues—entrepreneurship can serve as an effective solution ...
Read More
Entrepreneurship plays a key role in the economic and social development of new towns. In the face of multiple challenges in these urban areas—such as the shortage of sustainable employment opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, and social issues—entrepreneurship can serve as an effective solution for job creation, increased productivity and income, and improved quality of life for residents. It plays a fundamental role in achieving sustainable economic and social development. This study aims to explain and propose novel entrepreneurial-oriented models in new towns, with a focus on sustainable urban development in Parand New Town. From a methodological perspective, the research is applied in purpose and qualitative in nature, employing a descriptive-analytical and explanatory approach. A multi-stage strategy was adopted by combining documentary analysis, analytical reasoning, and fieldwork methods. On the one hand, this approach helped gather theoretical foundations and global experiences in the fields of urban development and entrepreneurship; on the other hand, it allowed for the analysis of local and contextual conditions in order to design context-appropriate models. Documentary findings identified five fundamental dimensions for entrepreneurial development in new towns: (1) Institutional-governance (participatory local institutions and network governance, transparent policymaking and enabling legislation, integration of urban and economic policies); (2) Economic (financial infrastructure and access to capital, emerging markets and links with local and regional economies, entrepreneurial urban branding); (3) Socio-cultural (education and empowerment, entrepreneurial culture, social participation networks, and social capital); (4) Technological-knowledge-based (innovation ecosystems, university-industry linkages, smart urban technologies, and support for start-ups); and (5) Physical-environmental (flexible urban spaces and innovation zones, green and environmentally adaptive infrastructure, legal facilitation, and active local participation). In the fieldwork phase, 136 initial codes were identified, synthesized into 21 intermediate codes and 8 abstract concepts—namely: institutional and managerial fragmentation, weak social participation networks, financial dependence on external capital, underdeveloped entrepreneurial urban branding, bureaucratic culture and risk aversion, university-to-market skill gaps, weak technology and innovation infrastructure, and inefficiency of shared spaces and innovation zones. These were categorized into five overarching thematic categories. Based on both documentary and field findings, dominant conceptual themes were extracted as the core of the study. A comparative analysis with international cases was conducted to assess localization potential in Parand, and ultimately, a context-specific model for entrepreneurial-oriented development in Parand New Town was proposed.
Urban Sustainability
Mohammad Mehdi Azizi; samaneh khosravani nezhad
Abstract
Highlights
Analysis of the pedagogical orientation of the planning discipline towards the concept of sustainable development and its position in the academic field
Orientation of the patterns of education towards sustainable development
The predominant orientation in the teaching of ...
Read More
Highlights
Analysis of the pedagogical orientation of the planning discipline towards the concept of sustainable development and its position in the academic field
Orientation of the patterns of education towards sustainable development
The predominant orientation in the teaching of sustainability involves the provision of an independent course on sustainability and environmental concepts and inclusion of instructions on sustainability in the procedure and materials of planning courses
Consideration of the issue of sustainability can be observed formally in the sub-disciplines of urban design and regional planning as one and two optional courses, respectively, in masters studies of educational planning in Iran.
Introduction
The change in the attitude of the urban planning discipline from the growth to the sustainability paradigm resulted from the inefficiency of the discipline and profession in response to environmental concerns around the world since the second half of the twentieth century; this shifted the substantial, procedural orientation of the discipline to the latter dominant paradigm. The result of such a change in attitude in the late twentieth century was reflected worldwide in formal and informal educational planning, and different orientations towards sustainability and sustainable development took shape according to the conditions in each country.
Theoretical Framework
The fundamental question that this article seeks to answer can be raised as follows: given the position of urban planners in plans and programs where they function as specialized managers and coordinators, what is the position of sustainable development with a focus on environmental and social issues in urban planning education, and how can urban development graduates be promoted in the field to improve the quality of professional activities? The purpose of this study is to analyze the pedagogical orientation of the urban planning discipline towards the concept of sustainable development and its position in the academic field, where professionals are trained to work in the profession.
Methodology
It is directly affected by the nature of the field how an emerging idea is addressed in any knowledge. Transition from theory to practice requires the idea to go through the scientific process of education. Education that has adopted its input from research and profession conceptualizes it and transmits it to future students and professionals as educational content–involving the knowledge, skills, and value of urban planning curricula. Thus, different feedbacks can be provided to the profession given the type of acceptance and the way education deals with emerging phenomena and ideas in the field of urban planning. At the same time, there is the missing link between education and profession, which is being moved from the channel of education to profession in the transition towards sustainable development. The specific area and research gap elaborated on in this study is the number of orientation patterns of education towards sustainable development, which are specified based on the research method.
The main tool used in this fundamental qualitative descriptive-analytical method is content analysis, enabled through the capabilities of the SPSS software.
Results and Discussion
The results of the authors’ surveys at 128 universities in 9 different countries demonstrated that the predominant orientation in the teaching of sustainability is to provide an independent course on sustainability and environmental concepts and to teach sustainability in the procedure and materials of urban planning courses. The results can be observed in the case of Iran, as a developing country that strives to move towards sustainability, contrary to the direction taken in the profession corresponding to the discipline. In Iran, the only independent course on sustainability is that entitled Sustainable Urban Development, which is an optional course presented in two theoretical credits. Among all the universities with doctorate programs in urban planning, however, this course is taught only at two, namely the University of Tehran and Tehran University of Art. For a master’s degree in urban planning, on the other hand, it is included in different sub-disciplines of the curricula. Although courses with environmental content and topics are offered in all sub-disciplines, consideration of the issue of sustainability can be observed formally in urban design and regional planning as one and two optional courses, respectively.
Conclusion
The current trend will practically slow down the process of replacing the growth paradigm with the sustainability paradigm and bring about wide gaps therein. However, the proper orientation adopted in the discipline in recent years in regard to education of sustainability and sustainable development conveys the message that the gap will be reduced greatly in the future. This means that the appropriate orientation of the discipline (in education and research) is also reflected in the profession to help responds to the requirements of the field in the right direction. This is especially important in the training of graduates who will be developing plans and programs in the future. Education of sustainability and sustainable development, one of the criteria examined in the Green Metric ranking system, can be considered as a focus of future applied research and as a step forward in its achievement.
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 ...
Read More
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 Ecology
Hooshmand Alizadeh; Werya Lotfi; Salah Vaisi
Abstract
Man’s unsustainable use of environmental resources needs to be tackled from different perspectives and at multiple levels of land use. Ecological Footprint (EF) is a renewable resource accounting tool that assesses the environmental impacts of urban land uses, and measures the impact of human activities ...
Read More
Man’s unsustainable use of environmental resources needs to be tackled from different perspectives and at multiple levels of land use. Ecological Footprint (EF) is a renewable resource accounting tool that assesses the environmental impacts of urban land uses, and measures the impact of human activities on the environment with respect to the underlying issue of sustainable consumption. EF compares the level of consumption with the available amount of biocapacity to demonstrate how human beings are using natural resources faster than they can regenerate them. It was developed originally as an indicator of the environmental impacts of nations, individuals, or human populations or of organizational and corporate environmental performance and even product sustainability. Given this capability, the environmental impact of the University of Kurdistan campus as a major urban land use in the city of Sanandaj, Iran was evaluated in this study using the component-based footprinting method. Actual data on the five environmental indicators of natural gas, electricity, water, food, and waste were collected during the 2014-2015 academic year. The results indicate that the University of Kurdistan ecological footprint index in the above academic year is -0.56. On that basis, the function and performance of the university has been unsustainable with respect to the examined indicators. In addition, the results indicated that the University of Kurdistan ecological footprint is about 16,675 global hectares, which means that an area of land 165 times larger than the university is needed to compensate for the amount of natural resources consumed and the resulting waste. It can therefore be stated that the University of Kurdistan campus exhibits unsustainable performance in the 2014-2015 academic year. Furthermore, the energy (natural gas and electricity) and water indicators show the highest and lowest levels of environmental impacts with 72.03 and 0.97 percent of total ecological footprint, respectively. Therefore, the environmental impact of energy consumption is about 2.5 times that of the other indicators investigated here (water, food, and waste). As suggested in the literature, the most important indicators used in the ecological footprint model at various universities around the world include energy, fuel consumption in transportation, materials, food, water, waste, and paper consumption, among which energy exhibits the highest level of environmental impacts, as suggested by the results obtained for the University of Kurdistan. On that basis, the University of Kurdistan campus ranks second after the University of Algarve campus (Portuguese) in terms of impact on the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize energy consumption in the university policies and plans for reduction of natural resource consumption. For that purpose, a comprehensive plan should be developed firstly to monitor the environmental impacts of natural resource useand secondly to modify the consumption pattern and thus reduce the impact of the university on the environmental resources.
Urban Sociology
j m; h d
Volume 2, Issue 7 , July 2013, , Pages 61-72
Abstract
Abstracts The cities are the most outstanding symbols of modernity and are the main context for constructing and developing public spheres. In Iran, the urban public spaces, despite their significant function in creating social interaction, have usually been neglected and unused. Urban gardens and parks, ...
Read More
Abstracts The cities are the most outstanding symbols of modernity and are the main context for constructing and developing public spheres. In Iran, the urban public spaces, despite their significant function in creating social interaction, have usually been neglected and unused. Urban gardens and parks, as public spaces, due to this neglecting, encounter many physical and social problems. Reparation and reconstruction of these public spaces could create an emancipating context for social and economic participation and for developing physical and aesthetic aspects of cities. This research using mixed methods rely on social impact assessment approach to study the economic, social and cultural impacts of reparation and reconstruction of urban gardens and parks on everyday life of people. Social impact assessment approach argues that any project in the field of development should be oriented to increase participation of people. So, the best model of development is sustainable development. Social impact assessment approach includes the process of analyzing and managing the intended or unintended consequences of any social policy, especially urban planning. In other words, social impact assessment approach attempts to explain and predict the consequences of a project in the context of people’s everyday life. This approach can help the policy-makers and decision-makers to pay attention to the cultural, ritual and social aspects of the local residents. In this research, we have used mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) to study the different dimension of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks. In quantitative section, survey method and questionnaire technique were used to study the residents of discrete 18, and in qualitative section we have used individual interview and focused group interview to study the opinions of experts and policy-makers. In this way, social impact assessment of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks, in quantitative section, was analyzed in two different aspects: from the viewpoints of respondents and in relation to civilities and social interaction. But in qualitative section it was analyzed in aspects such as “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on cultural and social interaction”, “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on social security of the residents”, “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on mental and physical health”, “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on availability of urban equipments”, and “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on the social and economic situation of interested groups. The findings show that this repairing and reconstructing result in positive aspects like increasing social solidarity, social trust, social capital, sustainable development and individual gratifications. In other words, we can say that it has different functions such as psychological, social and cultural, aesthetic, environmental and political. Therefore, it is argued that all the urban residents are the interested groups in these projects. According to the results, some suggestions could be provided like: providing security for urban gardens and parks, preventing any kind of vandalism, inventing counseling centers and recreational equipments, and increasing the interaction between residents and policy-makers.
Urban Economy
Volume 1, Issue 2 , June 2012, , Pages 41-56
Abstract
Dealing with major challenges that many of the regions in Iran are faced with that, it is necessary to analyze the capacity of regional institutions and enforce their abilities. This article, therefore, tries to assess institutional capacity in the studied regions to demonstrate their institutional capacity. ...
Read More
Dealing with major challenges that many of the regions in Iran are faced with that, it is necessary to analyze the capacity of regional institutions and enforce their abilities. This article, therefore, tries to assess institutional capacity in the studied regions to demonstrate their institutional capacity. The article, also, aims to respond to this fundamental question: what are the appropriate strategies to enforce institutional capacity in Boukan and Orumiyeh counties? In order to reach the above aim and also answer the posed question, the surveying method is used. The paper also applies the strategic planning framework to determine appropriate strategies to enforce institutional capacity in the studied regions. The results demonstrate low institutional capacity in Boukan (by the average 2.46 out of 5). The results also demonstrate medium institutional capacity in Orumiyeh (by the average 3.04 out of 5). The appropriate strategies also include creating legal mechanisms to improve the relationship between institutions, improving the circumstance and necessary and appropriate legal arrangements to improve the performance of institutions, providing the necessary circumstance to enhance the accordance of the national and provincial regulations with their regional counterparts, enhancing the role of technical committees, devolution of the local affairs to local institutions, creating a legal context for cooperation of existing institutions in regional governing process, improving institutions’ access to knowledge and learning resources, paying attention to viewpoints and wills of local people, and enhancing the institutional abilities.
Urban Sociology
Volume 1, Issue 4 , March 2012, , Pages 81-94
Abstract
Nowadays, more attentions have been paid on sustainability and following its goals in cities development and planning. Mentioning sustainable development principles as fundamental concepts that their main attentions are on preserving capitals for intergenerational justice, have become an ongoing and ...
Read More
Nowadays, more attentions have been paid on sustainability and following its goals in cities development and planning. Mentioning sustainable development principles as fundamental concepts that their main attentions are on preserving capitals for intergenerational justice, have become an ongoing and general purpose in city development plans. Since taking this route without being aware of the cities’ conditions might be impossible, evaluation of achievement of sustainable development goals has become government’s agenda. Extensive research and literature reviews have been done on assessment of sustainable development with various approaches and methods. Measuring achievements of sustainable development can be discussed from two main substantive and procedural perspectives. Substantive dimension includes the variables affecting the outcome of policies and consists of social, economic, and environmental sustainability evaluation. In fact, these variables represent the development of city. Whereas, procedural perspective refers to methods and processes of achieving sustainable development and urban planners’ role in this case is to arrange procedures and processes for sustainable decision- making. Moreover, this dimension consists of basic factors that can act as a backup and stimulus for sustainability. Considering focusing of majority of research works conducted in Iran is on substantial dimension of sustainable development, this study intended to discuss the relationship between sustainable development and social capital, institutional capital, and capacity building. In addition, we evaluated and compared procedural indicators of sustainable development in both cities of Karaj and Qazvin. Research variables were institutional capital, social capital, and capacity building. In this study, the main techniques used for data collection were interviews with experts and managers and administering questionnaire in the field. Interviews were used to collect data in capacity building indicators and questionnaires were used for social capital and institutional capital data collecting. We used Simple Random Sampling for indicators of social capital. Whereas, non-probability purposive sampling was used for institutional capital and capacity building indicators. For data analysis, the inferential statistics, descriptive and qualitative significance test means and methods were used. Our results revealed a significant difference between the variables of social capital, institutional capital, and capacity building in these cities. However, the indicators in Qazvin were in a better situation compared with Karaj. Thus, it seems that Qazvin has a better orientation in moving towards sustainable development in comparison with Karaj. Moreover, it seems that Qazvin is moving in the right path towards sustainability and has accelerated move towards sustainable development compared to Karaj.
