Motaleate Shahri

Urban Sustainability

Evaluating the impacts of border on the issue of urban sustainability: the case study of Marivan

bakhtyar khosravi

Volume 5, Issue 20 , November 2016, , Pages 5-16

Abstract

Development is an idea or practice which came into existence in the early 19th century. This notion differs from that of progress. Key features of urban sustainability which are mostly expressed in documents and literature are intra-generation equality, inter-generation equality, natural environment ... Read More Development is an idea or practice which came into existence in the early 19th century. This notion differs from that of progress. Key features of urban sustainability which are mostly expressed in documents and literature are intra-generation equality, inter-generation equality, natural environment protection, minimum use of non-renewable sources, economic survival and diversity, self-reliant society, individual welfare and meeting peoples' basic needs in a society. Moreover, sustainable urban development is a form of development which provides the capacity for the continuous development of cities and future generation of urban communities. From a structural point of view, development brings about changes in land use and density levels and can meet city residents’ needs in the area of housing, transportation, and leisure so that with the lapse of time, the city becomes habitable environmentally, life is rendered endurable from an economic standing and remains coherent socially. Each city, given the extent to which it is influenced by local and global forces, needs to formulate their own local strategies for sustainable urban development to take into account environmental conditions as well as its social and economic structures. In this regard, border cities, due to their own peculiar situation and functions, are amongst cities whose sustainability is affected by both local and global forces. Because on the one hand, cities, like their counterparts, are affected by environmental conditions, residents' social relations, and relations with their surrounding settlements, they have roles and functions within their national policy and economic systems. On the other hand, given border situations, these cities are also influenced by trans-national and even global economic, political, social and environmental developments. For this reason the issue of sustainability in such cities is more important and is deemed to be more challenging compared to other cities. Currently, sustainability in a considerable number of cities in the country depends directly on their border situation. Therefore, any strategies, polices and development with regards to a country's borders affect a substantial part of the country's borders directly and indirectly. In this regard, cities in Kurdistan, as one of border provinces in the country, is constantly influenced by the border situation of this province, and development, especially sustainability, has always been a function of their border situation (due to numerous ups and downs in relations and ties between Iraq and Iran). Accordingly, the main issue of the research has been directed at border cities' sustainability for achieving sustainability in such cities. To answer these questions in this paper, analytical-descriptive methods, as well as such methods as numerical taxonomy, strategic planning methods and statistical tests based on SPSS software were used for assessing sustainability in the city of Marivan.

Urban Planning

The relation between transforming border’s function and improving peripheral status of border cities- case study: (Bane & Saghez border cities)

m r; j m; a m; a r; k i

Volume 3, Issue 9 , February 2014, , Pages 45-58

Abstract

There is a lot of evidence that political boundaries have lost a large part of its function as a barrier, and cross-border interactions and cooperation will increasingly become more important over time. In this case, the border operates as a contact area which is a functional space for exchange and socio-economic ... Read More There is a lot of evidence that political boundaries have lost a large part of its function as a barrier, and cross-border interactions and cooperation will increasingly become more important over time. In this case, the border operates as a contact area which is a functional space for exchange and socio-economic interactions; the border spreads its positive effects in its vicinity. The impact of borders is the key agent in the development of cities on or near them. Borders can either block or bridge the development and integration of different border areas. Understanding this barrier or opportunity affects how we conceptualize borders and their functions. This research studies the correlation between transforming border function and improving peripheral status of the border cities of Baneh and Saghez. Quantitative-survey methods were used to achieve the above aim. Using questionnaires data was collected from cross-border traders and prominent local figures and experts. To test the hypothesis, the result of 131 questionnaires of the cross-border traders and 49 questionnaires of the prominent local figures and experts were analyzed through Comparison of averages, One sample T-Test, Regression analysis, and Nonparametric Friedman's Test. In addition, the sample size of the research was selected using snowball sampling and targeted methods. The results show that border function has changed from the perspective of the cross-border traders and prominent local figures and experts. According to the descriptive results, score for the changing role of border variability is higher than the theoretical median and the scores for constituent indicator of transforming border function that include reinforcement of legal-institutional capacity, development of transport infrastructures, facilitating the flow of cross-border exchange and decreasing socio-cultural distance are 3.06, 3.30, 2.56, and 3.07 respectively. The results also indicated that the peripheral status of the border cities has improved. According to the results, employment and income status, economic well-being, social security, political and social collaboration amongst people have improved. Furthermore, there is a significant correlation between transforming border function and peripheral status based on the Regression’s Test. This correlation is at medium level (0.50 and o.51 for cross-border trader and local elites and experts respectively). In addition, the results indicate that the constituent indicator of transforming border function have a different proportion in transforming border function. The results of the Nonparametric Friedman's Test show that the development of transport infrastructures and the lessening socio-cultural distance has had a greater effect on transforming border function. Thus, as noted in the theoretical principles, improvement of the peripheral status of border cities and development of the border city area need border function (or border role) to be redefined and governments to alter their viewpoints – people in border regions adapt to local conditions. Elimination of long bureaucratic process in cross-border trade and traffic, stability and transparency of business rules, development of information and communication infrastructure will have positive ramifications in adjacent regions. Finally, based on the results, lower inhibitory effects at borders is a key factor in the development of border cities and regions.

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Keywords = border cities

Evaluating the impacts of border on the issue of urban sustainability: the case study of Marivan

Abstract

The relation between transforming border’s function and improving peripheral status of border cities- case study: (Bane & Saghez border cities)

Abstract