Urban Sustainability
hossein daneshmehr; saaied khani; vorya molasalimi
Abstract
Highlights- There is a significant positive relationship between the level of apartment life standards and social capital in residents of Mehr Dwellings.- There is no significant relationship between the type of residence and social capital in residents of Mehr Dwellings.- The variables of neighborhood ...
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Highlights- There is a significant positive relationship between the level of apartment life standards and social capital in residents of Mehr Dwellings.- There is no significant relationship between the type of residence and social capital in residents of Mehr Dwellings.- The variables of neighborhood relations and level of acquaintance have influenced the social capital of residents of Mehr Dwellings. IntroductionToday, social capital is an indicator of growth and development in societies, without which it is highly challenging to achieve development at different levels. This capital increases investment in the fields of physical capital and human capital and establishes the structures created by public and private sector agents. Housing is one of the most important human needs leading to social conflicts or peace in different ages. The occurrence of each of these conditions is directly related to the amount of social capital among the residents, from the point of view that the social norths and souths in cities have turned into a concept for class distinction. Projects like Mehr Dwellings may have been capable of meeting the housing market needs in terms of quantity and shelter to a large extent, but what is stated in the theoretical literature on social housing at the global level, i.e. the level of satisfaction of residents of social housing projects, concerns the conditions therein in social, cultural, and other terms. It seems that the Mehr Dwellings project was carried out in a hasty manner regardless of basic criteria such as social capital. Therefore, the current research seeks to investigate the social capital conditions among the residents of Mehr Dwellings in the city of Sanandaj, Iran and the effective sociological factors. The questions raised on that basis concern the level of social capital among the residents of Mehr Dwellings in Sanandaj based on the above indicators and the extent to which sociological and contextual factors have affected each dimension of social capital.Theoretical FrameworkThe theoretical framework of the current research is based on the theories available in the field of social capital and the studies conducted in Iran and around the world on the research title. The structure of social capital is investigated here based on the socio-cultural dimensions of the Mehr Dwellings project. Following the discussion, the conceptual model of the research, which involves the link between the research literature and the results, is formulated in the concluding section.MethodologyThe current research is a quantitative survey and therefore involves a method of data collection in which certain groups of people are asked to answer a certain number of specific questions, which are the same for all respondents. The research population includes all the households in the Mehr Dwellings in Sanandaj in 2019. According to the statistics published by Kurdistan Province Directorate-General for Roads and Urban Development, there are 38,000 Mehr Dwellings in the whole province, of which 13,606 have been built and submitted in Sanandaj, where a population of 43,091 people lives (Kurdistan Province Directorate-General for Roads and Urban Development, 2018). The statistical sample includes people over eighteen years of age residing in 7,600 Mehr Dwellings in Baharan Neighborhood in 2019. The sample size was specified through Cochran’s formula, based on which a size of 340 people was estimated; given the possibility of drop in the sample size, 10% was added to this number, and 374 people were finally selected to make up the study sample. The sampling methods included clustering according to Mehr Dwellings blocks and random selection of people over 18 years of age. In the selection of the samples, we tried to observe the age and sex combination as far as possible. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, the formal and content validity of which were evaluated by experts in the fields of urban development and sociology. Moreover, the validity of the questions was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient as 0.849, which indicates the appropriate reliability and validity. As a research measurement tool, the SPSS version 21 software was used to analyze the data in two sections: descriptive and inferential.Results and DiscussionThe findings of the research demonstrated that there are significant positive relationships between the social capital of residents of Mehr Dwellings and a number of the variables making up the level of apartment life standards, including the degree of neighborhood relations, the level of acquaintance with the social environment, satisfaction with the place of residence, access to facilities, and the quality of urban services and infrastructures, and the contextual variables of residence background, income, and marital status. The statistical results demonstrated that there is no significant relationship between the residents’ social capital and the variables of social relations and type of residence and contextual variables (age, gender, occupation, and academic degree). Apartment life standards and social capital among the residents of Baharan Mehr Dwellings will not change overnight, because the residents of these blocks are mainly immigrants from villages, unemployed people, female householders, urban subordinates in sociological terms. Corridors of social relations are limited, while there are stable conditions from another point of view. Although the residents’ harmony has undergone major changes during the past two years due to the high costs of housing, fundamental measures need to be taken by the institutions and trustees in the urban area. According to the results of the research, important actions to be taken in the current conditions include the participation of citizens in the affairs of the neighborhood, enhancement of the infrastructure and access networks, formation of civil institutions, and establishment of service and security institutions.ConclusionThe results of the multivariate regression analysis also indicate that the variables of apartment life standards, neighborhood relations, and level of acquaintance impact the social capital of the residents of Mehr Dwellings and explain 32% of the changes in the dependent variable.
Urban Sociology
parastoo mohammadyan; Nasibeh Zanjari; Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz; Ahmad Delbari
Abstract
Highlights
Among the examined variables, economic status and then health status exhibited the greatest impacts on satisfaction with the place of residence in the elderly.
The elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence.
There are different sources of residential ...
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Highlights
Among the examined variables, economic status and then health status exhibited the greatest impacts on satisfaction with the place of residence in the elderly.
The elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence.
There are different sources of residential satisfaction or dissatisfaction among older people in different societies.
Introduction
With the advancement of technology and health and medical sciences, the population of the elderly is increasing all over the world, in such a way that the population of people aged sixty years or more is estimated to reach 2.03 billion by 2050 (Nations, 2015; Zhao & Chung, 2017). The elderly are among the valuable capitals of any country and a symbol of the development of societies. As a result, understanding the needs of this part of the society and planning to meet their needs can improve their quality of life and life expectancy (Moghimi & Momeni, 2019). In most epidemiological studies, the factors affecting the health of the elderly have been studied, one of which is satisfaction with their place of residence, with a great impact on the performance and well-being of the elderly (Balfour & Kaplan, 2002). Satisfaction with the place of residence is an important issue in environmental psychology because it is one of the most prominent environments in human experience, especially for the elderly; For those with physical and financial limitations, their homes and places of residence often make up the focus of their daily lives, which makes it very important to understand and identify the factors affecting satisfaction with the place of residence (Rioux & Werner, 2011). Satisfaction with the place of residence is a factor with great impacts on the health, performance, well-being, and quality of life of the elderly. In Iran, however, there have not been enough studies in the field of environment and aging. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the level of satisfaction with the place of residence and the relevant factors in the elderly in the city of Sanandaj, Iran.
Theoretical Framework
In the present study, the theoretical framework of Rioux and Warner’s research was used. This framework includes two parts of satisfaction levels: residence and predictive factors. The examined levels of satisfaction with the place of residence included the assessment of the dimensions of the neighborhood (beauty, safety, etc.), access to services and shopping centers (transportation and conditions of sidewalks), social relations with neighbors (mutual, positive respect and respect for privacy, and internal features of the house (desirability, comfort of accommodation, absence of coercion, etc.). The investigated predictive factors included the convenience of the physical environment (properties of the residence, distance from shopping centers, and distance from green spaces), social environment (meetings, visits, and transition in the neighborhood), self-perceived well-being (self-perceived health, self-perceived economic status, etc.), and demographic characteristics (age, gender, household size, etc.) have been investigated (Rioux & Werner, 2011).
Methodology
The present research is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study that was performed on 280 older people in the city of Sanandaj, Iran in 2021. The population included all the residents of Sanandaj aged 60 years or older. In this study, the multistage cluster sampling method was used. The data were collected using a questionnaire measuring satisfaction with the place of residence, and the SPSS software version 24.0 was used to analyze the data.
Results and Discussion
The mean age of the older adults in the present study was 68.34 with a standard deviation of 7.26, and 55% of the participants were men. The mean score of satisfaction with the place of residence in this study was 3.65 with a standard deviation of 0.54, the lowest mean score pertained to the quality of the surrounding environment (mean = 3.51, sd = 0.90), and the highest mean concerned the facilities (mean = 3.85, sd = 0.78). Significant relationships were found between satisfaction with the place of residence and the following according to the results of bivariate analysis: gender (t = 2.47, p < 0.01), marital status (t = 4.52, p < 0.001), academic degree (f = 22.62, p < 0.001), employment status (f = 10.96, p < 0.001), economic status (f = 60.81, p < 0.001), length of stay in the neighborhood (r = -0.29, p < 0.001), general well-being (r = 0.60, p < 0.001), economic well-being (f = 60.10, p < 0.001), and self-perceived health status (f = 32.58, p < 0.001). According to the multilinear regression model, controlling the simultaneous effects of the predictor variables demonstrated that the participants with better general well-being, economic well-being, and health status were more satisfied with their places of residence. Moreover, the elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence than those who lived in houses. Overall, the regression model explained 59% of the changes in satisfaction with the place of residence among the participants.
Conclusion
According to the results, there was a significant relationship between satisfaction with the place of residence and well-being (general well-being, self-perceived health, and financial well-being). These results are in line with those of Rioux’s study. The elderly who considered themselves more active and healthier reported the highest satisfaction with their places of residence, because the more capable and active people are, the more easily they can match and adapt themselves to their residential conditions and places of living (Rioux & Werner, 2011) The results of the present study also demonstrated that the elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence than those who lived in houses. In James’s study, however, different and even contradictory results have been expressed. In some of the studies mentioned in this research, dissatisfaction has been reported with life in apartments because of overcrowded buildings; dissatisfaction has been stated with houses, on the other hand, as the residents may be far from each other in terms of location, leaving the residents less capable of establishing social connections (James, 2008). The results of this research also indicated that there is moderate satisfaction with the residence among the elderly. The findings can help policy-makers in the field of housing and urban planning to pay attention to the level of satisfaction of the elderly and their health and well-being.
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 ...
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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
Saeed Khani; Kayoumars Irandoost; Alireza Kammali
Abstract
Highlights
- With increasing urbanization and the importance of planning, demographic data and analysis are needed at the level of urban districts.
- The paper compares the demographic indicators and characteristics of informal settlements and other settlements in Sanandaj.
- Along with demographic ...
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Highlights
- With increasing urbanization and the importance of planning, demographic data and analysis are needed at the level of urban districts.
- The paper compares the demographic indicators and characteristics of informal settlements and other settlements in Sanandaj.
- Along with demographic heterogeneity, a significant portion of the changes, including population growth and immigration, take place in informal settlements.
- In urban management with the aim of upgrading and regeneration of informal settlements, it is necessary to pay attention to demographic characteristics.
Introduction
Informal settlements are a fundamental challenge in modern urbanization. Various approaches and plans have been adopted to address this challenge, but many of them have not been associated with success for various reasons, including a lack of understanding of the characteristics of these settlements, especially the demographic dimensions. Studies have demonstrated that housing and habitation in informal settlements is far more frequent in Sanandaj than the national average, and covers more than half of the city’s population. The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic characteristics and indices in informal settlements and compare them to those in other settlements in Sanandaj. The achievements are highly significant mainly because they provide an overview of the active demographic structure and processes in formal and informal settlements. Moreover, many theories that indicate the formation of informal settlements highlight the importance of social, economic, and demographic factors in this regard.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this research was based on theories that focus on urban growth and diversity in developing countries. Furthermore, these theories address the typology of urban settlements due to this diversity.
According to the demographic transition framework, rural-urban migration is the initial source of urban growth at the early stages of transition, but natural population growth itself is the fundamental source of urban growth as the transition and urbanization processes continue, and the urban sector grows increasingly larger (Keyfitz, 1980: 149). In the middle and end of the demographic transition, where the rates of death and birth are both low and more or less equal in urban and rural areas, rural-urban migration turns into another factor affecting the growth of urban population.
Undergoing a state of demographic transition and post-transition, the city of Sanandaj, Iran has witnessed both natural growth and rural migration, and has therefore experienced high rates of urbanization. This increasing urbanization has led to the formation of various structures and patterns of urban settlement, including informal dimensions, and represents different trends, types, and patterns in demographic terms.
Methodology
The present research is a quantitative descriptive study with an exploratory nature although it analyzed the current conditions. It was conducted to compare population characteristics and indices in formal and informal settlements in Sanandaj with a secondary analysis of raw data from the population and housing censuses in 2006, 2011, and 2016 in Sanandaj. After the data were processed and prepared, the districts were classified into settlement types based on previous research, and the population characteristics and indices in urban settlements were then compared and analyzed.
Results and Discussion
According to the results, the most dramatic demographic changes in Sanandaj, including those in size, population growth rate, and migration, had occurred in informal settlements. In addition, they are considered as the poles of attraction of the population along with the new settlement areas. There is instability and imbalance among the settlements in terms of the static characteristics of the population, including household density, residential unit quality, academic conditions, dependency burden, and employment status This indicates that informal settlements with larger households, smaller residential units, larger populations per room, and higher ratios of flimsy housing units are excluded from the proper cycle of economic and social urban life. These problems can all lead to occurrence of further urban challenges.
Conclusion
The present study revealed the existence of heterogeneous characteristics and demographic indices in the settlements of Sanandaj. Although the same pattern in terms of population processes cannot be considered for different districts, some settlements are characterized by both higher population growth and poorer housing, occupation, employment, and education. This makes them not only more vulnerable but also potential causes of urban issues and the Achilles’ heel of urban management.
The policy solution proposed in this article is that it is necessary and fundamental to pay attention to the demographic characteristics and indices of informal settlements in the provision and advancement of a comprehensive approach to planning and management in order to upgrade and regenerate these settlements. The results of this paper provide important lessons for planners and policy-makers on population redistribution policies and urban management, and indicate the different dimensions and characteristics of population in districts and settlements of Sanandaj.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Deputy of Statistics and Information of the Management and Planning Organization of Kurdistan Province for their provision of the available information concerning the general population and housing censuses of the districts of Sanandaj.
Urban GIS
Mahnaz Azadtalab; Himan Shahabi; Ataollah Shirzadi; Kamran Chapi
Abstract
The flood is the second natural disaster in terms of the damage that it causes to human societies every year. At the same time, cities and population centers are exposed to the highest risk and potential for physical damage caused by flood events. The growing trend of floods in Iran in recent years indicates ...
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The flood is the second natural disaster in terms of the damage that it causes to human societies every year. At the same time, cities and population centers are exposed to the highest risk and potential for physical damage caused by flood events. The growing trend of floods in Iran in recent years indicates that most parts of the country are at risk. According to the conducted studies, about forty large and small floods occur annually in different parts of the country. Since the flood is the most devastating disaster in the world and a serious threat to life, preparation of flood hazard maps is essential in identification of flood-sensitive areas, and is one of the first steps taken to reduce damage. It should be noted that researchers can easily identify areas with high risk using flood hazard maps to prevent damage. In the modeling of research on natural and environmental hazards such as floods, the complexity of natural systems makes it difficult to use physical models, highlighting the use of hybrid models as a suitable alternative. Therefore, it is necessary to provide appropriate methods and suggestions for estimation of runoff and flood in areas with high risk in order to prevent their occurrence. In recent years, a large number of statistical and probabilistic models have been used for flood hazard mapping, and GIS has been used as a basic analysis tool for spatial management and data manipulation due to its capability of managing large amounts of spatial data. Furthermore, it is possible using GIS prediction models to partition urban areas in terms of flood hazard. The obtained hazard maps can be used for identification of areas with high flood hazard. Today, the accuracy of flood susceptibility maps in urban areas can be increased using hybrid GIS models rather than single ones. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to predict the risk of flood in the city of Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Iran using hybrid models in the GIS environment. The factors considered in this study as influencing the occurrence of flood included inclination, slope, elevation, distance from the river, river density, flow accumulation, land use, gradient curvature, lithology, distance from the passage, road density, distance from the building, building density, and rainfall. After collecting the required data and layers, we used two algorithms, including the definitive statistical index (SI) and the evidential belief function (EBF), both in isolation and in combination. The locations of flood susceptibility in Sanandaj were predicted. In order to assess the performance of the model, the AUC curve obtained from the ROC curve was used. According to the adopted assessment criteria (ROC) and the validation data, the EBF model (0.840) exhibited better performance than the SI model (0.827) in flood hazard mapping in the area under investigation. The accuracy rate of the hybrid SI-EBF model was 0.849 based on the ROC results, which demonstrated that the hybrid model performed better in prediction of the spatial hazard of flood than the single models. Finally, the results of the study showed that Sanandaj flood spurts resulted from various environmental and human factors, which can be handled using flood hazard maps and appropriate management measures to reduce flood damage.
Urban Ecology
shler katorani
Abstract
Environmental pollution has attracted greater attention than ever before in the past three decades. On the other hand, noise pollution in cities is a global issue in most countries, considered today as one of the most important environmental problems. Noise pollution level is rising for various reasons ...
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Environmental pollution has attracted greater attention than ever before in the past three decades. On the other hand, noise pollution in cities is a global issue in most countries, considered today as one of the most important environmental problems. Noise pollution level is rising for various reasons such as the increase in population density, the increase in the number of motor vehicles in cities, establishment of industries adjacent to cities, and expansion of construction. The harmful effects of noise pollution on humans do not occur directly in the short run, but the short-term persistence has a significant long-term impact on man. Consequently, the physiological and psychological effects of noise on humans often emerge gradually, affecting the human nervous system in the long run, with negative consequences. In most of the world’s developed and developing countries, the issue of noise pollution has been attended to, and anti-pollution laws have been formulated and enforced. Given the role of noise pollution in the well-being of people in the community, it is of great importance to model and simulate sound transmission, partition noise pollution, and identify areas with excessive noise levels. The purpose of this study was to specify the level of noise pollution in the city of Sanandaj, Iran and its relationship with anxiety level. Therefore, fifty stations with residential, commercial, residential-commercial, and green space land uses were selected, and equivalent sound level was measured using an acoustic device and compared to the standard noise pollution level. In the next step, the obtained data were interpolated using the IDW geostatistical method in the ARCGIS10.4 software due to the lower error rate. The Hamilton questionnaire was then used for investigation of the effect of noise pollution on the citizens’ level of anxiety. The number of distributed questionnaires was 400, of which 351 could be referred to. The results indicated that mean equivalent sound level at all the examined stations was 71,621 dB. On average, the highest noise pollution concerned the commercial sector, followed by the residential-commercial sector, with equivalent sound levels of 73.70 and 71.32 dB, respectively, 60 dB higher than the allowed maximum according to the standard set by Iranian Department of Environment. The results of partitioning demonstrated that the central parts of the city had high levels of pollution. According to the statistical results, there were significant differences in equivalent sound level between all the land uses. The results obtained from the distributed questionnaires showed that there were significant relationships between the demographic variables and level of anxiety. People exposed to noise pollution were the most vulnerable group in terms of increased anxiety level. 54.42% of the respondents reported a high mean level of citizen anxiety, 21.46% reported a moderate level, and 26.82% reported a low level. The results demonstrated that there were significant relationships between the variables. Thus, the higher the noise pollution resulting from congestion, the higher the level of anxiety. The study showed that mean equivalent sound level was higher than the allowed maximum in the area under investigation. Therefore, it was suggested that there should be planning to reduce the noise pollution level and, consequently, the citizens’ level of anxiety along with an enhancement of well-being.
Urban Scape
Mohammad Azad Ahmadi; Mehrdad Karimi Moshaver
Abstract
Today, the issue of visibility assessment and visual impact (dominance) of a building on its surrounding context is considered as one of the most important issues of urban landscape. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the visibility of two high-rise buildings in the center and west of Sanandaj using raw ...
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Today, the issue of visibility assessment and visual impact (dominance) of a building on its surrounding context is considered as one of the most important issues of urban landscape. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the visibility of two high-rise buildings in the center and west of Sanandaj using raw input data and processing them by GIS and ArcGis 10. For the visibility analysis in urban landscape, the mutual visibility between high-rise building and its surrounding area is calculated. This is done traditionally by taking photos from urban areas. However, in this method, the whole region is studied by considering all points and places. The available vegetation such as trees with an approximate transparency ratio is considered to obtain more accurate results. Also, for better evaluation of differences between the amount and trend of visibility, the areas around both buildings (region number 1 is relatively flat and has a river-valley with low depth and mild slope; region number 2 involves dune hills) were classified into the close, intermediate and far fields. The visibility of these two high-rise buildings in their surrounding areas is in the form of output GIS images which is calculated separately for both buildings and all their floors. It means that for building number 1, which has 17 floors, 17 output maps of visibility to surrounding areas are obtained by the software. Also, for building number 2 with 14 floors, 14 output visibility maps are obtained. The findings show that visibility trend of different floors of these two buildings is not a constant and linear trend, it has variations in some points. Among these points, visibility and its effect, relative to surrounding areas, is more important than other floors in the triple fields. The points where visibility curve has track change, steep change and sudden increase show the greater importance of their visibility and their relative dominance than other floors. These floors can visually have more effect on their surrounding environment. Therefore, the design style of these particular floors (milestones in the visibility curve) in high-rise buildings can be important. The changes in floors visibility trend and their values were different for the two buildings. By evaluating the related diagrams, the reasons for this difference were found in three cases: first, the difference in average height of buildings around of two buildings; second, the difference between the tilt around the two buildings; and third, the dune hill in region number 2. Finally, we can say that visibility analysis is considered to be a tool for modeling the visibility in planning high-rise buildings. Before constructing such buildings, visibility analysis can be an effective method to estimate that a floor or an apartment will or will not have a good view after completion. Therefore, this tool can be used to investigate the positive or negative value of a region. Also, the extent to which a building is or is not visible can be very important in decisions about determining the height of a building relative to its surrounding texture (especially in cities with historically valuable texture and touristic landscape).
Slum Settlements
Kioumars Habibi; arman rahimi
Abstract
One area of unsustainable urban development, especially in developing countries living with acute problems, is the so-called informal settlements which requires adopting special measures to regulate their current situation and prevent their spread in the future. With the introduction of sustainable urban ...
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One area of unsustainable urban development, especially in developing countries living with acute problems, is the so-called informal settlements which requires adopting special measures to regulate their current situation and prevent their spread in the future. With the introduction of sustainable urban development in the 1980s and attention to all aspects of the city (including environmental, economic and social aspects) as a basis for sustainable urban development, the problem of informal settlements entered a new phase of studies that is most relevant to the assessment of the level of stability in such settlements. The emergence of new practical methods and practices of sustainable development thinking in terms of environmental impact assessment occurred in the 1990s. The ecological footprint analysis is one of the indices that has attracted the attention of academics, politicians and educationalists. Ecological footprint is an indicator that assesses the energy and materials used in a city, region or country, and evaluates the burden on ecosystems induced by the population and industrial processes. In recent decades, Sanandaj, as the main city of Kurdistan province, has witnessed a massive wave of migration from the countryside into the city, leading to the formation of many informal settlements such as Abbas Abad, Naysr, etc. This research tries to evaluate the level of sustainability in Abbas Abad neighborhood using ecological footprint. The present study is an applied research with a descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population includes all the households living in Abbas Abad neighborhood. Given the fact that 4741 households live in Abbas Abad neighborhood, the sample size was estimated using the Cochran formula to be about 355 households. On this basis, 355 questionnaires were randomly distributed among households living in the Abbas Abad neighborhood. The questionnaires collected the information on the annual consumption of food and waste generation as expressed by the respondents. In order to assess the level of stability in Abbas Abad, the ecological footprint of the neighborhood was measured as one of the unofficial neighborhoods of Sanandaj. Eventually, one year’s water, electricity and gas consumption was calculated. It is worth noting that information on food intake, transport and waste production was been obtained through the distributed questionnaires. The results show that the total ecological footprint of Abbas Abad neighborhood is 74560.551 hectares. The calculations show that the ecological footprint of the Abbas Abad neighborhood in 2011 was 74560.551 hectares worldwide, which represents an area of 3.808 hectares per capita for each neighborhood resident. This means that although the area of Abbas Abad neighborhood is 46 hectare, the land consumption of 19578 people living in the neighborhood is 1,621 times more than the area of the neighborhood, and given the 4065 hectares area of Sanandaj in 2011, it is about 18 times more than the area Sanandaj. The highest ecological footprint in the Abbas Abad neighborhood relates to the construction sector (38162 hectares). After construction, food (25819.06 hectares) and gas (5498 hectares) have the highest share in the Abbas Abad neighborhood.
Slum Settlements
Volume 5, Issue 20 , November 2016, , Pages 53-64
Abstract
Urban slums have always been a challenge for urban managers in our country. In recent years, some problems such as rapid and continuous changes and emergence of new issues has led to planning and policy in this area to be solved with short-term and temporary measures. Transformation and change ...
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Urban slums have always been a challenge for urban managers in our country. In recent years, some problems such as rapid and continuous changes and emergence of new issues has led to planning and policy in this area to be solved with short-term and temporary measures. Transformation and change is a normal phenomenon in society and is a continuous and long process. Changes in all fields, past, present and future will be extended. What is needed is the revision of approaches to the management and use of new tools in planning. Foresight as a new approach is in fact the wise and prudent response to the challenges arising from changes and is a process that will lead to sustainable planning . I this study, the foresight approach is used to identify the drivers or effective factors that impact the future status of urban slums in Sanandaj and their effects on each other . In addition, the foresight approach is used to provide strategies, plans and policies to achieve the desired scenarios. The research methodology was based on new methods of foresight study and to gather the data library method and environmental scanning was used. Cross-impact / structural analysis was used to analyze the data using MICMAC software application. The results show that in the first stage, using environmental scanning, 54 factors in 6 areas were identified to affectthe future status of urban slums of the city. Based on the number of factors, the matrix size was 54 × 54 which was set in 6 different areas. The considered number of repetitions was 2 times and the matrix fill degree was 47/70 percent, indicating an average coefficient which seems to be normalbecause of the scattering of the variables affecting the future status of urban slums in Sanandaj. Amongst a total of 1391 relationships in evaluation of this matrix, 1525 had zero relationshipss, 1276 had one relationship, 102 had two relationships, and 13 had three relationships. . On the other hand, the matrix achieved 100% desirability and efficiency based on the statistical indicators with 2 times data rotation, indicating the validity of the questionnaire and its responses. In regards the scattered distribution of variables one can understand that it is due to system instability which shows that most variables are scattered around the diagonal axis and also apart from a few limiting factors that demonstrate a high effectiveness in the system other variables of conditions are similar to each other. Therefore, the five categories of factors (Effective factor, Two-sided factor, Regulation factor, Effectiveness factor, Independent factor) are identifiable. Finally, of the 54 factors mentioned after checking the amount and the degree of effectiveness the of factors in connection to each other and on the future status of settlements with direct and indirect methods, of the following 12 key factors were selected as having the greatest role in the future status of urban slums in Sanandaj: management style, development of the national economy, immigration, neighborhood-oriented approach, affordable housing policies, quality of space and place, social capital, the price of land and housing, educational permeability, land management, and ownership (security of tenure).
Urban Scape
m k; a a; m a
Volume 4, Issue 13 , February 2015, , Pages 33-42
Abstract
Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis tools are used to quantify and measure the quality of space, and despite their lack of maturity and evolution, they are considered to be the future of space analysis tools by researchers. This study was undertaken with the purpose of introducing the aforementioned ...
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Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis tools are used to quantify and measure the quality of space, and despite their lack of maturity and evolution, they are considered to be the future of space analysis tools by researchers. This study was undertaken with the purpose of introducing the aforementioned tools for analyzing Sanandaj’s urban areas. In this study, four different urban areas in Sanandaj were selected and after the software was prepared, the areas were analyzed by Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis. Then, the charts and data obtained from these regions were compared. The interpretation of the findings of the Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis reveal that in the old region builders used a sort of inherent and collective standard for measurements despite building without modern urban development maps. Amongst all the four urban areas of Sanandaj, this region has the greatest visual richness and diversity; in addition, the special analysis of neighborhood size indicates harmony and balance in this region. Moreover, the results illustrate that the nearest wall and special neighborhood size indices have the highest correlation, followed by jaggedness which has the highest correlation with revelation. However, openness factor and the nearest wall have the lowest correlation. The openness factor indicates the degree observers feel themselves in the space and also present their visual dominance over the space. In this factor, the standard deviation values of the new and the middle areas are low which indicates that the openness coefficient is the same in all areas and the individual experiences monotony and boredom. The feeling of being in space and attention to the environment in these regions (especially in new areas) is significantly reduced. In addition, in this index the high standard deviation for informal settlement areas is merely due to the diversity of the streets and sidewalks, but in the old area, the high standard deviation is due to the combination of sidewalks with squares and various open spaces spread in the region. Thus, the only area with visual richness and diversity is the old area. The nearest wall index signifies the domination of the wall in the informal settlement area over the spaces. In the middle area, the surrounding long streets and linear views along with visual opening and open spaces with lower degree of circumscription appear. According to this index, the old area has the lowest standard deviation which indicates visual space sequence and the feeling of the existence of a united identity in the area by the observer. Since the revelation index indicates the rate of change in the field of view during movement, the highest value of kurtosis and drift in the revelation index of the old area indicates that this area has the most variations and changes in vision for the moving observer and meets the quality of mystery in vision and visual richness. Finally, the results concerning the four types of regions in Sanandaj indicate that the Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis factors reveal the similarities and differences between these regions in terms of space properties and visual quality. Therefore, using these tools in decision-making related to urban design can significantly contribute to the promotion of the visual quality of the urban fabric.
