Urban Scape
Bahador Zamani; Shirin Eslami
Abstract
Highlights Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique is an appropriate technique in townscape analysis with a physical approach. Spatial, structural and ordering organizing patterns have the most scores from the experts' viewpoints in the Imam Khomeini Square, respectively. Patterns of visual organizing ...
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Highlights Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique is an appropriate technique in townscape analysis with a physical approach. Spatial, structural and ordering organizing patterns have the most scores from the experts' viewpoints in the Imam Khomeini Square, respectively. Patterns of visual organizing have the highest scores on the eastern, northern, western and southern sides of the studied square, respectively. Introduction Townscape is a complex environmental phenomenon in physical and perceptual terms, created by various layers of form, function, and meaning through interaction with the human mind, and plays an important role in promotion of the visual and perceptual capabilities of urban spaces. Although mere view and reading of the city as townscape will not be responsive to the complex urban problems, it is necessary to consider townscape as a basic, essential tool (although not sufficient) for reading the city text in order to respond to part of the urban issues and the rights of citizenship. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the visual and spatial quality of Imam Khomeini Square in the city of Qom, Iran based on expert viewpoints in order to answer the main research question: Based on the criteria and sub-criteria derived from Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique, which side of Qom’s Imam Khomeini Square is prioritized for redesign intervention? Theoretical Framework In visual analysis, different approaches to the subject can be adopted, some of the most important being the place-based approach, visual approach, subjective approach, physical approach, organizational approach, and visibility approach. Among the above, the physical approach is selected as basis for this paper, in turn based on the Simon Bell landscape analysis framework. In his book Elements of Visual Design in the Landscape, Bill proposes this framework to designers as an alphabet of aesthetics. This framework includes basic elements, variables, and patterns of visual organization, as follows. Basic elements: Point, line, plane, solid volume, open volume. Variables: Number, position, direction, orientation, size, shape (form), interval, texture, density, color, time, light, visual force, visual inertia. Patterns: The organizational principles can be grouped into three categories, as follows. Spatial: nearness, enclosure, interlock, continuity, similarity, figure and ground. Structural: balance, tension, rhythm, proportion, scale. Ordering: axis, symmetry, hierarchy, datum, transformation (Bell, 2007: 22). In visual analysis, different approaches to the subject can be adopted. Some of the most important approaches include the place approach, visual approach, subjective approach, physical approach, organizational approach, and visibility approach. Among the visual analysis approaches, the physical approach is selected as the theoretical framework of this paper, in turn based on the Simon Bell landscape analysis framework. In his book Elements of Visual Design in the Landscape, Bell proposes this framework to designers as an alphabet of aesthetics. The presentation of this alphabet follows a tripartite structure. First, the basic constituents of each landscape are investigated and discussed. Each of these basic elements may be varied in a number of ways. They may also be organized into different patterns. It is the combination of these three components—the element, its variation, and its organization—that describes the existing landscape patterns, or produces new visual designs and patterns. An appropriate design contributes to accurate choice of elements and variables and of coherently harmonious modes of organization. The components of the tripartite structure are as follows (Bell, 2007: 22). Basic elements: Point, line, plane, solid volume, open volume. Variables: Number, position, direction, orientation, size, shape (form), interval, texture, density, color, time, light, visual force, visual inertia. Patterns: The organizational principles can be grouped into three categories, as follows. Spatial: nearness, enclosure, interlock, continuity, similarity, figure and ground. Structural: balance, tension, rhythm, proportion, scale. Ordering: axis, symmetry, hierarchy, datum, transformation (Bell, 2007: 22). Methodology To help achieve the aimof this research, a descriptive-analytical method with a qualitative-quantitative approachwas applied. For assessment of the current conditions, the required data were collected and analyzed based on the Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique using observation, photography, and the SWOT and AHP techniques. After the research literature was reviewed, an initial survey and analysis was made of the visual qualities supported by the framework through field observation and photography of the square. Then, the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats of the tripartite organizing patterns of all the square sides were examined in SWOT tables. Next, the criteria and sub-criteria of the selected framework were weighted. For that purpose, the average viewpoints of thirty urban experts were taken into consideration using a questionnaire, evaluation matrices, and the AHP technique. The rate of inconsistency in the experts’ judgments was less than 0.1, indicating the consistency and logical validity of the experts’ viewpoints. Results and Discussion According to the research findings, the townscape analysis of Imam Khomeini Square based on the selected framework rates the spatial organizing pattern 43.9%, the structural organizing pattern 38.3%, and the ordering organizing pattern 17.8%. Overall, the evaluation of townscape organizing patterns exhibited the highest value, i.e. 44.4% of the score, on the eastern side, 29.4% on the northern side, 16.4% on the western side, and 9.8% on the southern side. Conclusion The results of the present study demonstrate that the spatial, structural, and ordering organizing patterns received the highest scores, in that order, from the experts’ viewpoints on the four sides of Imam Khomeini Square. In the spatial organizing pattern, the highest scores concerned the sub-criteria of figure and ground, interlock, enclosure, continuity, similarity, and nearness, in that order. In the structural organizing pattern, balance, proportion, rhythm, scale, and tension scored highest, and hierarchy, axis, symmetry, datum, and transformation obtained the highest scores in the ordering organizing pattern. The patterns of visual organizing exhibited the highest scores on the eastern, northern, western, and southern sides of the square, in that order. Therefore, the southern side of the square was prioritized for redesign.
Urban Planning
Mojtaba Rafieian; golkou giahhchi
Abstract
Highlights: Prioritization of Environmental quality indicators were done by structural equation modelling (SEM) method. Smart PLS software was used in order to analyzing data. Environmental quality indicators of coastal areas were investigated based on users’ opinions. Permeability is the most ...
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Highlights: Prioritization of Environmental quality indicators were done by structural equation modelling (SEM) method. Smart PLS software was used in order to analyzing data. Environmental quality indicators of coastal areas were investigated based on users’ opinions. Permeability is the most efficient factor in desirability of coastal areas. Introduction Human societies have always been interested in beaches and their surrounding areas. This can be attributed to the existence of two territories of land and water in these areas, which lead to the creation of competitive advantages in social, economic, physical, and other aspects. The considerable demand of the population for exploitation of coastal areas has caused systematic problems and disruptions in these areas. As explained by Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Planning and Supervision, these problems have a variety of dimensions, such as environmental, land use, political and security, and regulatory and legal aspects. Therefore, these areas require the adoption of an integrated planning and management approach. Hence, the comprehensive integrated coastal zone management plan has begun to link planning at the national, regional, and local levels since the early 90’s around the world and after less than a decade later in Iran (in the late 90’s). Theoretical Framework Since 1976, the concept of environmental quality has been examined in the field of urban studies (urban planning and design), which addresses all the aspects of urban environments and spaces (Rafieian et al., 2013). It has been discussed and developed by many theorists over the past few decades. In terms of content, the previous decade can be regarded as the period of maturity of this notion, but there are still a large number of challenges involved in the implementation and operation. [N1] The need for a comprehensive, integrated approach to coastal areas at the micro and macro scales, as well as the multidimensional concept of environmental quality, has provided an opportunity to view coastal areas from the perspective of this notion, to identify its indicators, and to prioritize them. Based on a review of the literature on coastal areas and environmental quality, the authors found that coastal users can provide one of the most important links between them. Fig. 1. Theoretical framework Methodology Most of the dimensions that affect citizen satisfaction are determined by the concept of environmental quality. This study sought to prioritize the components of environmental quality based on user opinions. According to the literature, national and international documents, and authors’ views, a questionnaire was made to collect different indicators of the nine components. Moreover, coastal areas have some aspects that have been identified by other studies. Fig. 1 shows the theoretical framework of this study, which involved different aspects of coastal areas and environmental quality. The method of analysis used in this study is based on Structural Equation Model (SEM). The data were analyzed using the SmartPLS 3 software. For testing the model, data were collected from 160 questionnaires based on the Likert spectrum distributed in the coastal area of Bandar Anzali. According to the SmartPLS outputs, space users had an indirect impact on the nine indicators of environmental quality derived from the theoretical framework. Results and Discussion Desirable environmental quality zones have nine features, of which permeability is the most powerful. According to this model, changes in environmental quality affect those in the permeability of the coastal zone by up to 87%. In this study, permeability is defined through four indicators, including absence of space confusion, quality of bike paths and sidewalks, visibility of natural and significant sights, and walkability and cyclability. According to coastal users, therefore, these four features are the most significant in this type of area. In addition to permeability, the flexibility variable is more influential than the others. In this research, flexibility was defined by four indicators: flexibility of outdoor spaces, services for individuals with disabilities, flexibility of buildings, and individuals’ unblocked access to spaces. If environmental quality is there in a coastal zone, therefore, the above four indicators are expected to be in desirable conditions. According to earlier experts’ and researchers’ findings on the indicators of environmental quality and a comparison to the results of the present study, we found that the proportionality indicator has been neglected in the definitions of environmental quality, as well as efficiency. Moreover, the comparison demonstrated that the present study examined a larger number of indicators over Iran, and considered issues such as meaningfulness, proportionality, flexibility, and functional compatibility for the first time. Conclusion Coastal areas are one of the most important zones around the world as they have a variety of advantages. Since there are different aspects to be considered in regard to coastal areas, it requires a comprehensive approach to plan and manage this kind of area. Theoretically, environmental quality can be addressed given a range of indicators corresponding to different dimensions of coastal areas. This research considered coastal users as the link between environmental quality and coastal areas, using structural equation modeling to examine the theoretical model. According to the PLS outputs, the indicators of environmental quality in coastal areas are prioritized as follows: permeability, flexibility, functional compatibility, efficiency, meaningfulness, proportionality, variety, presence of different groups of individuals, and sustainability. Thus, permeability is the most significant factor affecting the desirability of this kind of space.
Urban Economy
Mostafa Hosseinabadi; Mohammad Hossein Sharifzadegan
Abstract
HighlightsApplying the theory of public choice in the discipline of urban planning of Iran.Interdisciplinary analysis of conflicts of interest in state institution as the responsible of urban planning in Tehran metropolitan.Estimating the impact of public choice theory component on decision-maker ...
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HighlightsApplying the theory of public choice in the discipline of urban planning of Iran.Interdisciplinary analysis of conflicts of interest in state institution as the responsible of urban planning in Tehran metropolitan.Estimating the impact of public choice theory component on decision-maker and decision-taker in urban planning of Tehran metropolitan.Demonstrating the negative impact of self-interests, rent-seeking, and political interests on choices made by decision-makers. IntroductionUrban space planning is a collective social action concerning decisions on the social use of land; i.e. an action performed by the people’s elected state. Thus, the state is seen as an institution that seeks to realize the public interest and compensate for market failure through legitimate power. However, the fundamental question is whether the state actually functions as a benevolent institution in urban space planning based solely on the public interest of the city. The purpose of this study is to provide an answer to this fundamental question from the perspective of Public Choice Theory, which is focused on the state for analysis and comprehension of the consequences of the interaction between its elements, emphasizing the similarities between people’s choices in market and non-market decisions.The urban planning system in Iran is one of the most complex, comprehensive land use regulation systems with a focus on the government. The conditions of urban development and urban planning in Iranian cities, including the Tehran metropolitan area, well demonstrates urban-planners’ and decision-makers’ lack of concern for the public interests regarding the city in some cases. In an interdisciplinary analysis using components from the theory of positive public choice, this research addresses the decision space in urban planning for the Tehran metropolitan area, and presents solutions to improve the conditions from the normative aspect of the theory. Theoretical FrameworkThe state has tried to provide urban public benefits and services through urban planning, and the public interest is used in fact to justify and advocate urban planning interventions. From an ethical point of view, the biggest problem encountered by planners is to adopt the best approach in response to decision-makers and the best action for the public interest, as they are always pressured by government change on the one hand and social change on the other. The public interest has always been important in urban space planning despite its controversial entity. It can play three major roles in that regard: those of legitimizing planning as a state activity, of a norm for planning and professional ethics, and of a criterion for evaluation of planning and plans.Public choice theory focuses on planning as a political activity by identifying state influence and market failure. According to the theory, the state is not regarded as a single entity, but a group of individuals who pursue their personal and group interests, which makes up an important failure of the state. Stakeholders, political organizations, and social classes impose pressure on the state to pursue their own interests, and this can severely affect the efficiency of the state.The main purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of the decision space in spatial planning of the Tehran metropolitan area given the components emphasized in the public choice approach and concern for personal and political interests and rent-seeking in choices made by decision-makers. MethodologyThe methodology of qualitative analysis was first reviewed, and the main indicators concerning each of the relevant components were then obtained based on the data extracted by experts in the field and quantified using the Likert scale. Attempts were made to analyze the impacts of the components of public choice theory on the decision-making carried out for the Tehran metropolitan area planning through application of Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Squares in the SmartPLS software. Results and DiscussionSince the value of the t-statistic was greater than 1.96, it can be stated that the factors of personal and political interests and rent-seeking had significant negative effects on decision-making in the spatial planning process in the Tehran metropolitan area. The values concerning the paths in the final research model indicated that concern for personal interest pursued with the cost-benefit approach accounted for 21.5% of the changes made in decision-making in urban planning, rent-seeking explained 36.5%, and political interests explained 31.2%. Therefore, the hypotheses proposed in the research were retained.The results of the research demonstrated that the factors with the severest negative effects on the components under examination and decision-making in the process of urban space planning of the Tehran metropolitan area include urban planners’ lack of concern for the feasibility and functionality of plans, collusion between planners, city managers, and landowners to determine and change land use, special privileges granted beyond personal competence to specific individuals and groups, lack of transparency and information, influence of those in power and wealth in the urban planning structure, and urban managers’ prioritization of attempts to maintain their statuses and protect the established power structure, etc. ConclusionThe findings of this study, conducted among experts aware of the spatial planning system of the Tehran metropolitan area, indicated that the components of public choice theory, including concern for personal and political interests and rent-seeking, have significant negative impacts on decision-making in the spatial planning process. In other words, although it is assumed that the public interest of the city should be considered in the process of urban space planning, other incentives are influential in decision-making, and there is a conflict of interest in practice. Keywords: state, urban space planning, public choice theory, public interest. AcknowledgmentThis article has been extracted from a Ph.D. thesis on urban planning entitled The Role of State and Market in Urban Spatial Development Planning of Iran, defended by the first author under supervision of the second at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran.
Urban Planning
Mohammad Reza Haghi; ehsan heidarzadeh
Abstract
Highlights
- The development of the Internet and electronic services contributes to the sustainability and resilience of cities against epidemics.
- Provision of neighborhood-scale land uses, especially green spaces and sports, is the first priority in the city of Kermanshah, Iran in the face of epidemics.
- ...
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Highlights
- The development of the Internet and electronic services contributes to the sustainability and resilience of cities against epidemics.
- Provision of neighborhood-scale land uses, especially green spaces and sports, is the first priority in the city of Kermanshah, Iran in the face of epidemics.
- The approaches of integrated urban management, digital cities, orientation toward the neighborhood, and social capital have a key role in promotion of resilience in Kermanshah.
Introduction
The worldwide outbreak of Covid-19 since the end of 2019 can be considered as one of the biggest challenges in recent decades, which has caused the issue of epidemic diseases to assume a prominent position in the atlas of natural and artificial hazards. The high rate of spread, high mortality rates, and severe damage to various economic and social sectors of societies indicates the importance of considering this key issue. According to the World Health Organization, the coronavirus epidemic is a global crisis that is unique in contemporary history in terms of spatial extent, onset rate, and complexity. Therefore, the present study has sought to answer the following question: which urban resilience variables are associated with higher priority in the struggle against epidemic diseases in the city of Kermanshah, Iran?
Theoretical Framework
A community’s resilience to potential contingencies is determined by the degree to which it can access the required resources and its capability of organizing itself both in advance and when needed. Accordingly, a resilient community is one that functions prudently in reduction of risk, preparation for the various effects of risk, and acceleration of recovery from hazardous events.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19, it became clear that urban resilience extends beyond climate, landscape, ecology, and natural disasters. To raise the capability of an urban environment, therefore, such shocks need to be absorbed without significant changes in its structure or function. Hence, urban planners must seek to answer such questions as why urban planning has been inactive in control of the coronavirus epidemic crisis, and whether the concentration and distribution of population and activity has made city dwellers more vulnerable to diseases, terrorist attacks, and artificial and natural disasters. The answers to these questions are essential because there is ample evidence about the influence of urban form and design on the prevalence of epidemics.
Methodology
The present applied research involved interpretive description. The required information was collected in two ways: through library studies and questionnaires. For collection of data and identification of the initial variables through a review of various study sources, nineteen variables were finally selected for evaluation. After the variables were compiled, the studied sample was analyzed by the elite.
Since the Micmac software was used to analyze the data, the questionnaire involved a matrix of cross-adjustment effects, and was validated by experts. The data input to Micmac were obtained using the Delphi method and a questionnaire distributed among fifteen experts familiar with the conditions in Kermanshah (ten people with doctorate degrees and five with master’s degrees). In order to increase the validity of the data, prerequisites were considered such as explanation of the conceptual model based on the latest scientific research, the experts’ acquaintance with the case study, reception of the experts’ feedback about the final results, and independency of the experts.
Results and Discussion
The present study analyzed the influence of urban resilience against epidemics on the basis of nineteen variables. The findings demonstrated that the following variables had the greatest direct and indirect impacts on the other variables involved in resilience in Kermanshah in the face of Covid-19: the infrastructure for remote provision of professional, administrative, academic, and medical services, access to green and open spaces and recreation-and-sports land uses, access to services and neighborhood scale uses, capacity of urban facilities and equipment such as the electricity network and Internet, and unified, integrated management in crisis conditions. Moreover, the two variables capacity of neighborhoods for walking and cycling and enhancement of local communities’ public participation and social capital exhibited a two-dimensional nature in the issue of resilience in Kermanshah. This means that these variables are affected by others while greatly influencing them.
Conclusion
Based on the factors identified as drivers, suggestions should be made for their promotion. Therefore, four macro approaches were mentioned as priority plans through adaption of the driving factors to what had been proposed in previous studies, including integrated urban management, the digital city, orientation toward the neighborhood, and social capital. In fact, one can implicitly achieve urban resilience against epidemic diseases by placing such approaches at the forefront of the urban planning system.
The four proposed approaches are important because the synergy of measures taken in the public and private sectors is expected to improve and prevent waste of time and financial and human resources, aided by integrated urban management. Enhancement of the role of the digital city is important not only for provision of tools for identification and control of carriers of disease but also for better reduction of physical contact through telecommuting capacity, e-learning, online shopping, etc. Orientation toward the neighborhood is also considered significant as it reduces long inter-neighborhood commute by meeting citizens’ daily and weekly needs on a neighborhood scale. In addition, if urban neighborhoods are properly designed, achievements such as pedestrianization and access to green and open spaces will be realized, which will play a key role in residents’ mental and physical health during quarantine. The impact of social capital is also important because epidemics can be managed only through the people’s empathy and collective will. In fact, as the disease spreads among the people, their support and participation can undeniably help to control it.
Urban Tourism
Mohammad Bagher Nadi; reza akbari; Mohsen Rafian
Abstract
Highlights
- Citizens, tourists, students, investors, and urban management as important beneficiaries of urban branding.
- Importance of establishing a destination management organization in Iran.
- Importance of creating an urban brand for the competitive advantage of the city.
- Identification ...
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Highlights
- Citizens, tourists, students, investors, and urban management as important beneficiaries of urban branding.
- Importance of establishing a destination management organization in Iran.
- Importance of creating an urban brand for the competitive advantage of the city.
- Identification of the various labels given to Yazd with respect to heritage and history, religion and spirituality, industry and production, and the environment.
Introduction
The choice of cities for life, tourism, education, and investment depends on their perceived images, and the process of creating a positive image of a city is called urban branding. Urban branding is one of the most important factors in the development of the tourism industry. In Iran, this issue has received less attention despite the high potentials of many cities for branding (Dinnie, 2013, p. 16). Therefore, the purpose of this article was to examine the various aspects of this issue in order to provide a model to facilitate urban branding in the development of tourism.
Theoretical Framework
A brand is a concept designed to develop a product (Chan et al., 2021, p. 331), and involves two definition categories. In the first category, a brand is defined as a set of related assets and liabilities and a brand name (Gómez et al., 2018, p. 191). In the second category, it is defined as a collection of perceptions that are there in people’s minds (Hildreth, 2012, p. 4). The brand of a city, like that of a product, is an external signal that evokes emotions, increases awareness, and influences behaviors (Gómez et al., 2018, p. 191), but it may be more complex because of ownership, stakeholder participation, and brand development (Herget et al., 2015, p. 120; Yang et al., 2018, p. 1).
Methodology
Since official branding plans are not very common in Iran, and no official branding plan was developed in the city of Yazd, a qualitative method has been used in the present study along with the grounded theory. For this purpose, the first group was selected for in-depth semi-structured interviews, which included professionals in urban management, tourism, and academics, based on criteria such as familiarity with the concepts of branding and tourism and with the city of Yazd and availability and preparedness for cooperation. The next groups were introduced for interview by the same group. Sampling continued until no more new idea was created, and the research achieved theoretical saturation and adequacy. It should be noted that the twelfth sample achieved partial saturation, but the research process continued until the fourteenth.
Result and Discussion
Many studies concerning urban branding and tourism indicate that urban branding has a positive effect on tourism prosperity–including (Feyzi et al., 2020; Herget et al., 2015; Jojic, 2018; Mousavi et al., 2017; Shutaieva et al., 2020). The present research was conducted to facilitate branding in Yazd based on the results of these studies and in line with some others–including (Ghanbari et al., 2021; Hankinson, 2007; Menvariyan et al., 2013; Mohammadifar, 2018; Setiadi et al., 2021)which have sought to provide strategies and present a model for further prosperity of tourism through creation or enhancement of branding. Thus, it can be effective in the creation or enhancement of urban branding and monitoring of its proper implementation besides formation of a special working group on branding or establishment of a destination management organization to adopt strategies such as attracting the participation of public institutions in development and implementation of branding plans, training managers and employees to better implement branding projects, holding international celebrations and events for brand development, and developing the tourism infrastructure. This will also have positive consequences from various economic, social, environmental, physical, and urban management aspects.
Conclusion
- The five groups of citizens, tourists, students, investors, and urban management are the stakeholders who benefit in the short term and in the long term from urban branding if the city is properly branded. Therefore, different cities in the world need to adopt appropriate branding and competition strategies to attract the above stakeholders for life, tourism, education, and investment.
- Despite their high potentials for branding, many cities in Iran do not have urban branding administrators, and the tourism sector is even spread in organizations such as municipalities, directorates for cultural heritage, and chambers of commerce. A destination management organization must be established to enhance integrated urban management, and its branches in different cities must undertake to create or enhance an urban brand and monitor its continuity.
- In urban branding, it is important to consider the distinctive, competitive identity of the city, so it is necessary to manage several brands that are sometimes developed unofficially and unilaterally in different cities (as in Yazd), as brand confusion in cities indicates a lack of coordination between different organizations, and creates challenges that outweigh its benefits.
Urban Scape
Hajar Assadpour; Mahmoud Ghalehnoee; Armin Bahramian
Abstract
Highlights- The six layers of the research onion include research philosophy, approach to theory development, methodological choice, strategy, time horizons, and techniques and procedures including data collection and analysis.- The researchers developed the research onion for the concept of urban landscape, ...
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Highlights- The six layers of the research onion include research philosophy, approach to theory development, methodological choice, strategy, time horizons, and techniques and procedures including data collection and analysis.- The researchers developed the research onion for the concept of urban landscape, visual evaluation of landscape, and visual management of landscape through a systematic review. - The urban landscape research onion model was presented in seven layers along with researcher guidelines using the idea of word clouds.- The researcher must choose among the three categories of objectivist, structuralist, and subjectivist, as mentioned in the philosophy layer.- Techniques and procedures were proposed in the central core of the urban landscape research onion and divided into the direct (by asking people) and indirect (through specialist analysis) categories. IntroductionThe urban landscape is part of the understandable objectivity of the reality of the existing space around people in the city. As a phenomenon, urban landscape cannot be assumed to have only subjective or objective dimensions. The connection between different methodological components in different fields of landscape research is always necessary. The research aims to strengthen the necessary foundations of research in urban landscape with a holistic, comprehensive viewpoint by examining the components and layers that the onion model of urban landscape research includes. Therefore, a systematic review was applied of the articles conducted in the field of urban landscape. The identification and analysis of the cases used in the majority of the research onions presented by Saunders et al. led to the urban landscape research onion through changes applied to this model. Researchers can choose their lines of research more accurately and faster using the research onion.Theoretical FrameworkSpecifically in the field of research methodology, a book entitled Research in Landscape Architecture: Methods and Methodology was published in 2017 by Routledge Publications. This book deals with the conflict between objectivists and subjectivists. It states that pragmatism is the only solution to this duality (Hashemizadegan, 2019: 55). In addition, many studies have been conducted with an emphasis on urban landscape and its relationship with other urban concepts. However, there has not been a comprehensive viewpoint on their methods and processes. The research onion (moving from the outer layers to the core) was developed by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2016) for business studies. It is widely used in social sciences to construct a theoretical framework for research. In various studies, the layers proposed in the research onion model have been modified and changed according to the field of study. The research onion consists of six main layers: research philosophy, approach to theory development, methodological choice, strategy, time horizons, and techniques and procedures including data collection and analysis (Melnikovas, 2018: 33; Sahay, 2016: 1).MethodologyAfter a search of article titles and keywords for the concept of urban landscape, more than 110 with more citations were selected. After a study of the article abstracts and other preliminary studies, 71 articles were selected, analyzed, and categorized using the qualitative method and content analysis. Finally, the research onion for each of the areas (the concept of urban landscape, visual evaluation of landscape, and visual management of landscape) was drawn and explained. Then Comprehensive research onion could use in landscape study and research compiled.Results and DiscussionThe research conducted in Iran in the field of visual management of landscape has generally been carried out at the macro scale (city), medium scale (watercourses and parks), and micro scale (streets). The survey research method and the descriptive-analytical approach have been adopted to investigate and analyze the current situation with the questionnaire tool. Many articles in the field of visual management have evaluated the visual aspects of landscape. Visual evaluation of the landscape is proposed as an independent concept in the field of landscape. In the field of evaluation, it is possible to become closer to people’s experience; therefore, quantitative methods, an experimental approach, a variety of techniques and analytical tools, such as visual protection levels, and Philip Thiel’s technique were used.The concept of urban landscape was addressed further with a view of the landscape as a whole. Aesthetic, critical, and semiotic theories were proposed as the theoretical support for the studies. The research process pursued in most of them is qualitative and analytical, and comparative, inductive, interpretive, and descriptive methods have been used therein. After choosing the desired method, the authors have used the Delphi technique, aerial photos, cluster analysis, systematic review, in-depth interview, review of narratives, photography, and collaborative mapping as data mining and data analysis tools. The model presented in this article involves an extra layer with respect to Saunders’s research onion model. The outer layer, which includes the ontology of the research, corresponds to the stage that specifies the researcher’s beliefs in the research process. The researcher must select their position from among the three categories of objectivist, structuralist, and subjectivist, as considered by Deming and Sowfield.A) The descriptive approach is added to the analogical inductive one proposed in Saunders’ research onion.B) In the strategy layer, experimental simulation and descriptive, correlational, hermeneutic, and analogical-adaptive analysis are added.C) In terms of time horizon, all studies are placed in one of the two categories of longitudinal and transverse research, and most of them are conducted with a longitudinal time horizon.D) Techniques and procedures are proposed in the central core of the urban landscape research onion. Research techniques are divided into two general categories with an emphasis on the opinions provided by experts: direct (by asking people) and indirect (through specialist analysis) (Karimi Moshaver, 2013; Tveit et al., 2006; Briggs & France, 1980).ConclusionThe urban landscape research onion model is composed of seven layers. It can be of different types according to the research problem, questions and objectives, choice of ontology, methodology, approach, strategy, and appropriate tool for analysis of the collected data. Given that most of the conducted studies applied various techniques, it is necessary to consider other layers of the research onion. This model attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of urban landscape research and introduce an integrated framework of the diverse, scattered types thereof. The model can help determine the paths of the research and avoid confusion and incorrect choices of analytical tools. The onion of urban landscape research can open the doors to researchers in the field. In future research, emphasis can be made on the specific concepts of landscape such as cultural landscape and vernacular landscape. On the other hand, similar research onion models in the field of urban landscape can be investigated with an emphasis on landscape scale (micro, medium, or macro).AcknowledgmentThis article is extracted from the first author's PhD thesis in titled "Explaining a semantic model of the urban landscape; a case study of the urban landscape of Shiraz". It is in progress at the Art University of Isfahan under the guidance of Dr. Mahmoud Ghalehnoee (the first guide) and Dr. Armin Behramian (The second guide).
Urban Design
Toktam Roshandel; Bakhtiar Bahrami; Mehdi Saidi; Goran Erfani
Abstract
Highlights: Parents' consent emerges as a highly influential factor.Children require a secure and enjoyable pedestrian route from home to school.Environmental affordances usable during both day and night play a pivotal role. Introduction:Children's physical activity and mobility are pivotal ...
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Highlights: Parents' consent emerges as a highly influential factor.Children require a secure and enjoyable pedestrian route from home to school.Environmental affordances usable during both day and night play a pivotal role. Introduction:Children's physical activity and mobility are pivotal for their overall health. This study, conducted in Mashhad City, Iran, explores children's perspectives on environmental characteristics that impact physical mobility and activity.Theoretical Framework:Utilizing a theoretical framework comprising 28 measures, this research aims to unveil the environmental features within neighborhoods contributing to the improvement of children's physical mobility and activity.Methodology:To accomplish this, the present study collected the perspectives of 450 children aged 9 to 13 (43.8% girls and 56.2% boys) regarding a specific set of these attributes within Mashhad City, Iran. Utilizing exploratory factor analysis, a model was constructed based on the children's responses to the survey measures.Results and Discussion:This model identifies seven factors and 24 measures influencing the mobility and physical activity of children in their neighborhoods: Parents' Approval: Encompasses measures associated with "parents' permission and concern" and reflects "children's desire for independence and agency." Results suggest that parental concern about the autonomous presence of their children in neighborhood spaces significantly inhibits the children's mobility and independent activities. Walking Path: Associated with measures conveying the concepts of "optimal and joyful mobility on paths," this factor emphasizes features like adequate width and appropriate flooring. The potential for 'playing along the route from home to school' is crucial for children's mobility. According to children, this pathway serves not only as a route for the essential journey to school but also should provide opportunities for social and optional activities, including play and enjoyment. Social Security: Linked to measures reflecting 'the sense of security regarding strangers and bullies' in neighborhoods. An interesting result is the association of "creating a pleasant atmosphere such as colored sidewalks" with social security. Children believe that the use of specific colors on sidewalks not only provides a fun atmosphere but also establishes spaces for local socialization, consequently reducing the threat of bullying and outsiders. Environmental Affordance: Associated with activities reflecting children’s physical abilities, such as climbing trees and running in open spaces without obstacles. The results indicate that children test these capabilities through movement and exploration of their surroundings. Additionally, the inclusion of "night lighting" as a measure in this factor suggests a preference among children for exploratory play during the night. Legibility: Aligned with Lynch's theory of legibility, this factor involves measures related to way-finding by architectural elements. The findings indicate that children use 'buildings' and 'stores on the ground floor' as landmarks for navigation in their neighborhoods. Diverse Environment for Exploration: Associated with measures representing attractive routes, various play equipment, and nature connectedness. Children's positive assessment of the existence of winding paths in the neighborhood indicates that engaging in exploratory activities along these paths can increase their mobility in their community. Furthermore, integrating a variety of natural elements and play equipment in their neighborhood can enhance children's movement and exploration, making the experience deeper and more enjoyable. Mobility Safety: The final factor is associated with measures indicating safe mobility in neighborhoods. In addition to the fear of a car accident, children's desire for age/gender-appropriate play equipment highlights their concern for their physical safety. The results indicate that inappropriate play equipment and car traffic have the least impact on children's mobility in their neighborhoods. Conclusion:Interventions targeting these factors can significantly enhance children's mobility experiences, promoting not only physical activity but also social interaction and a deeper connection with their surroundings. The recurring theme of children's desire for playful activities emphasizes a fundamental need for quality movement and physical activities.
h d; f r; b a
Volume 3, Issue 12 , November 2014, , Pages 5-18
Abstract
The concept of justice is dependent on time and place and so far a definition for it has not been provided. Nevertheless, justice in urban planning is related with fair distribution of resources and public services in a city. Although the demand for distributive justice in urban planning is necessary, ...
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The concept of justice is dependent on time and place and so far a definition for it has not been provided. Nevertheless, justice in urban planning is related with fair distribution of resources and public services in a city. Although the demand for distributive justice in urban planning is necessary, it is not sufficient on its own because it neglects fundamental and structural questions such as the distribution of power in the city. No doubt, executing any plans and designs has good impacts on some citizens and bad impacts on citizens with less social and economic power. From this viewpoint, urban development plans and designs are key tools for reducing economic-social inequity in cities. Since urban planning is related to allocation and distribution of scarce resources among various places in the city, it is important for urban planning to rely on criterion such as justice. Otherwise, it can lead to more enjoyment of some places compared to others in a city. The contact point of urban planning and social justice is distributive justice. Distributive justice is based on the distribution of municipal services in the city according to the two criteria of “accessibility” and “spatial distribution”. In recent decades, one of the most important outputs of rapid urbanization and physical development of cities in Iran has been a disintegration in the distribution system of civil service centers. It has been the basis for unequal enjoyment of the service system by residents in cities. Thus, the most important duty of urban planners and managers is to achieve just distribution of public services for different groups in urban society and to decrease inequality in accessibility to public services such as health and educational services, and green spaces. Unjust distribution of public services will lead to social crises and spatial complex problems in cities. By considering the importance of this issue, the key aim of this study is to evaluate the level of just distribution of municipal services in Hamadan city. It seems that the distribution of municipal services in Hamadan city is unjust. The present study is a developmental study using descriptive analysis methodology. To measure residents’ access to municipal services, network analysis method was employed. To measure the spatial distribution of municipal services, the Gary Moran coefficients were used. The findings of this study show that resident access to educational, sport, health, cultural and religious and green space services in Hamadan city is not acceptable. Moreover, spatial distribution of municipal services in Hamadan city has a cluster pattern. The cluster pattern in spatial distribution of municipal services indicates that some areas have more services than others in the city. The study results show that distribution of municipal services in Hamadan city is unjust. This injustice has various consequences and it can be a barrier to achieving sustainable development. In addition, it can lead to civil protests. It is recommended that city managers who eliminate and decrease present injustices in the distribution of municipal services should be given top priority.
Urban Design
m f; f m; m r; m a
Volume 4, Issue 13 , February 2015, , Pages 5-16
Abstract
Apart from providing homes for native wildlife, parks have many values. The last few decades of the 20th century have seen a rapid change in approaches towards nature in the urban environment, which reflects more familiarity with nature amongst the general public and landscape professionals. Benefits ...
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Apart from providing homes for native wildlife, parks have many values. The last few decades of the 20th century have seen a rapid change in approaches towards nature in the urban environment, which reflects more familiarity with nature amongst the general public and landscape professionals. Benefits and values of contact with nature have been investigated by environmental psychologists. It can be said that such contact is necessary for human health and existence of natural and open spaces have many psychological and aesthetic benefits. Evidence regarding the influence of nature on the health and well-being of individuals and communities has emerged from a number of traditional disciplines such as psychology and in recent fields of research like recreation and leisure. Although much emphasis has been put on urban nature from different perspectives and on preferences of urban natural areas in comparison to built-up areas, studies focusing on perception and preferences of different forms of nature are rather scarce. For increasing use of urban green spaces, it is better that these spaces be designed based on the public’s preferences and needs. There is proof which show that some people do not respond to natural landscapes in urban areas, and view them as messy, worthless or even frightening, and prefer formal and designed landscapes. This research paper examines public attitudes towards urban naturalistic in contrast to designed landscapes. Public opinions was evaluated using site-based questionnaire and random sampling in natural and designed spaces (Lale and Daneshjoo Parks, respectively) and these two methods were then compared. The survey sites should be in the same area and approximately similar in size in order to eliminate possible effect of population differences, distance, and size on perceptions and preferences. Following site selection, a questionnaire was designed to measure public perception and preferences of contrasting landscapes. The questionnaires were conducted on a face-to-face basis with 200 park users (100 per site) at the survey sites. In the next stage, researchers asked them to classify 16 photos of different parks with varied landscape characteristics into 5 groups (very elegant, beautiful, simple, ugly, very ugly). Results demonstrated that the study population did not have a clear understanding of natural and organic design patterns, prefered regular and plaid patterns for urban green spaces and derived more benefits and values from them. Laleh and Daneshjoo Park were appraised as more attractive and safer, respectively. It can be concluded that peace and quiet, safety, nature observation, experiencing seasonal changes and social interactions are rated higher in designed parks (Daneshjoo) and other factors such as contact with nature and being beneficial for wildlife are superior in natural parks (Laleh). Furthermore, natural parks are more effective in creating excitement and sense of freedom in users. On the other hand, designed parks (Daneshjoo) are more calming and have more positive effect such as relief from stress and sense of renewal. Recognizing public perception of landscape design styles and paying attention to their preferences and needs in green spaces can help landscape designers in designing such places and enhancing their use.
Urban Planning
n r; n s
Volume 4, Issue 14 , May 2015, , Pages 5-18
Abstract
Pubic space is a mixture of physical milieu of various activities with the purpose of showing social life visible for all. All parts of an urban fabric which are accessible physically and visually for all are considered as public space. They are the most important part of towns and cities in which ...
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Pubic space is a mixture of physical milieu of various activities with the purpose of showing social life visible for all. All parts of an urban fabric which are accessible physically and visually for all are considered as public space. They are the most important part of towns and cities in which the greatest amount of contact and interaction among people take place. In public spaces, existence of users is not the only sign of success, a successful public space attracts different levels of activity. Whyte reminds us that: “The best-used places are sociable places, with a higher proportion of couples than you find in less-used places, more people in groups, more people meeting people, or exchanging goodbye. A high proportion of people in groups is an index of selectivity. When people go to a place in two or three or rendezvous there, it is most often because they have decided to. Nor are these sociable places less congenial to the individual. In absolute numbers, they attract more individuals than do less-used spaces”. The best-used places also tend to have a higher than average proportion of women. If a plaza has a markedly lower than average proportion of women, something is wrong. Where there is a higher than average proportion of women, the plaza is probably a good one and has been chosen as such. The condition that various cities, including Iranian cities, are confronted with makes the creation of successful public space a necessity. It is clear that for creating suitable public space, first, we should understand the factors influencing space and simultaneously solve and improve the problems through understanding the environment. Successful urban spaces should be responsible for their clients and be designed and managed to fulfill the needs of their users. Awareness of the needs, preferences of people and the space design by considering these requirements is one of the most important factors in attracting people and the success of public spaces. Studies conducted in different countries, consider the behavior of people in large cities very similar to each other, while based on this claim, the similarity between the people who live in small towns with the same nationality is much lower. In this article, as per the main goal of the research, a comparison of the effective factors in the success of public space in the minds and functional behavior of citizens in Ankara and Tehran with an emphasis on public space planning system is made. The indicators of a successful public space were extracted from the most important theorists’ points of views. Important theorists of successful public space such as White, Montgomery, Jacobs, Gehl, Carr, and Oldenburg, and the experience of famous international institutes are reviewed. Finally, a model for space evaluation based on place game model of PPS institute was presented in four dimensions. The indicators of these four dimensions -access and linkage, activity, comfort and image, and sociability- were estimated for selected statistical communities in Ankara & Tehran. The results of the research validate the assumption of similarity for preferences and needs of people in large cities. In addition, the findings indicate that there is little difference between the mental and functional behavior and spaces that citizens functionally prefer to attend at leisure time also corresponds to their mental preference. In public space planning systems, Ankara has been more successful than Tehran and on the national and local scale the same vision of planning is employed; they have a more coherent approach. Planning on a national scale to attract tourists, proposing Ankara as a Universal city and attempting to put it among European countries are the reasons that have improved public space quality in Ankara even though there is not any independent planning for public places in this city as is the case in Tehran.
Urban Planning
Sajjad Fallah Zadeh; Farzin Mahmoudi Pati
Volume 4, Issue 15 , August 2015, , Pages 5-16
Abstract
An urban regeneration project is defined as a series of actions determined to accomplish urban regeneration aims that lead to a reduction of the problems of an area through the improvement of socio-economic, physical and environmental conditions (Roberts & Sykes, 2000; Yu & Lee, 2012). "Today, ...
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An urban regeneration project is defined as a series of actions determined to accomplish urban regeneration aims that lead to a reduction of the problems of an area through the improvement of socio-economic, physical and environmental conditions (Roberts & Sykes, 2000; Yu & Lee, 2012). "Today, urban regeneration is one of key principles in act of planning and it is beyond the urban renewal, urban redevelopment or urban rehabilitation processes because of its longer-term and strategic approaches and its socioeconomic goals beside physical ones" (Tarkay, 2010; 22). In the context of participating actors and stakeholders, the transition of urban regeneration policies has shown that from the 1950s to the beginning of the 21st century, in each decade, the policies had a tendency toward cross-sector partnerships amongst private sector, public sector and community. From 1990s until the present participatory approach has dominated, local authorities have been empowered and coalition amongst the main actors and stakeholders has been enhanced (Roberts & Sykes, 2000; Tsenkova, 2002; McDonald et al, 2009). In fact, participation, strategic planning and sustainability form a triangle and provide a basis for actions in urban regeneration. In other words, participation (public, inter-organizational and participation among organizations, people and other stakeholders), strategic planning (combating urban decline, problem solving and involvement of all stakeholders) and taking into consideration sustainability goals (socio-economic, environmental and sustainability of acts in planning) are the main elements in urban regeneration (Nourian and Ariana, 2013). The essence of urban regeneration projects is very different from other urban development projects due to their complexity, in particular from the perspective of uncertainties because there are various actors and stakeholders such as local government, private developers, public organization and local communities who are involved in planning of these projects. For example, it is possible when one policy needing actors' participation is running, then several conflicts can occur amongst stakeholders due to the complexity of relationships. The results of these conflicts will increase costs, lowering efficiency and delaying implementation schedule (Carley, 2000; Yu & Lee, 2012). One of the complexities of participatory urban regeneration projects is to bring the key actors and stakeholders together to participate. This will need cooperation between local government, public organizations, private developers and local residents (Carley, 2000; Ball and Maginn, 2005). Therefore, one of the main reasons for the failure of urban regeneration projects is the occurrence of conflicts of interest amongst various key stakeholders in order to implement its participatory-oriented policies of the project. To this end, the present research seeks to assess participatory policies of an urban regeneration project and then prioritizing them based on the rate of possible conflicts-risk among stakeholders via offering a method of risk assessment. This method is a combination of FMEA and VIKOR methods in fuzzy environment with a proposed process. Applying this synthesis method to assess five participatory policies has shown that, based on the Q index, the low conflict-risk policies are desirable and they can be prioritized for implementation. Additionally, based on the Q index, the high conflict-risk policies are undesirable and they need to be corrected. Consequently, the combined method has been shown that the projects or the policies facing less risk can be prioritized for implementation.
Urban Planning
Hossein Maroufi; Goldis Vahidi Borji
Volume 4, Issue 16 , November 2015, , Pages 5-14
Urban Planning
Mostafa Toghi; Meisam Akbarzadeh; Ali Sabuhanian
Volume 5, Issue 17 , February 2016, , Pages 5-14
Abstract
Today, factors such as lifestyle, work and shortened distances, populations mostly live communally and in high densities. Everyday, the number of old, single family houses decrease while the number of apartments ...
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Today, factors such as lifestyle, work and shortened distances, populations mostly live communally and in high densities. Everyday, the number of old, single family houses decrease while the number of apartments and towers increase. An increase in the number of floors of building causes an increase in the number of people residing in them, and thus increases the probability of error and incident - for example - fire. Furthermore, evacuation of a large number of people from the narrow corridors and steps during a short period of time is unlikely. Therefore, determining a safe and quick evacuation plan through direct observation of real situations, carrying out controlled experiments (maneuver) and simulation methods for the collection and analysis of pedestrian behavior in different situations is of great importance. In crisis mode, direct observation is rarely possible. Maneuver, in addition to being time-consuming and costly, is more likely to have behavioral errors. Moreover, atsmall and sparsely populated sites, maneuver can be assessed in terms of evacuationby holding practices . However, t such experiments at the more populous and larger sites is not feasible and simulation is used to forecast the effects of various emergency evacuation scenarios. Meanwhile, obtaining real data in this field requires costly and time consuming maneuvers and it is impossible to assess projects that have not yet been implemented. Hence, in this study software and simulations are used as is the norm at present for undertaking research in this field. In this study, first, different models and approaches used for simulation are introduced and discussed and then a software based on these models was used. Then, an office building in Isfahan was studied to determine the most likely threats and hazazards through surveying experts in the field. According to a survey regarding the probability of damage to electricity rooms, gas and powerhouse facilities on the most vulnerable and the radius of destruction plants, gas plants, machine rooms, electrical rooms, will be the most pathogenic.[H1] In the following seven scenarios, possible risks were defined and simulated in the software. By carrying out the shortest path analysiscurrent exit doors of the building were evaluated, and taking into account that a greater number of people used the east side of the building, an emergency exit door on this side was put forward. Furthermore, this study identified six critical corridors (bottleneck at evacuation). Solutions presented in this study include widening doors of the building, installing emergency exit signposts, maintaining and making regular safety checks of facilities keeping relief supplies in the building (such as high pressure valves for firefighters), reducing the number of fixed barriers ( such as gates, fences and chains at private parking lots ) and replacing them with interrupted plastic barriers. , Marginal car parks should be better managed to create enough space for rescue vehicles to pass through and control parking on the main walkways near the main entrance .
Urban Planning
Javad khodaei; maryam Khazaei
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, , Pages 5-20
Abstract
Mosques are one of the most obvious faces of Islamic societies and play a fundamental role at both the spiritual and superficial levels. Moreover, in the history of Islamic cities, the three basic elements of mosque, bazaar and mahala have had fundamental and determinative roles in the development ...
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Mosques are one of the most obvious faces of Islamic societies and play a fundamental role at both the spiritual and superficial levels. Moreover, in the history of Islamic cities, the three basic elements of mosque, bazaar and mahala have had fundamental and determinative roles in the development and evolution of cities. Amongst the different types of mosques that exist, local mosques, as public spaces with social, economic and political dimensions, have had a great effect in representation of cultural values and Islamic traditions. As in western cities- based on the Peri theory regarding the mahala units- schools have a determinative role in the center of mahalas and residential zones and the local mosque is on the same level of importance as cultural and religious centers. The other amenities and facilities, such as educational and commercial facilities are on a lower level in the center of mahalas. In addition, these local mosques have helped raise the identity of small as well as large mahalas. However, contemporary mosques have many shortages and negative aspects including their location in unsuitable areas and their omission in the identity structure of mahalas as places for residency. In the process of modernity, local mosques are considered to be on a lower level in comparison to the other elements. The scale and position of local mosques does not suit new conditions and does not respond to the diverse demands of users in such a way as to decrease the sense of dependency on its function.
This research attempts to assess mosque selection site of based on the locating index of efficiency, compatibility and comfort (these indexes are more suited to the aim of this research, and other location indexes are omitted) and the accessibility of mahalas to the identity structure as a residential place. ). Thus, a conceptual model based on the comparison between the locating indexes and criteria of creating identity in mahalas is proposed.
This paper can be categorized as applied – development research. The method of this research is descriptive – analytical and uses both primary and secondary data from a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology of research. The existing secondary data studied was based on two parts: firstly, the location of religious sites and mosques in the past and the effective indexes of creating identity in the residential contexts. The research is based on a case study approach focusing on the twelve zones of Mashhad city. The primary data gathered were firstly from direct observations via site visit of the case studies and secondly questionnaires completed by mosque users and local residents with a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. Then, the primary and secondary data was analyzed using SPPS, EXEL and ARC GIS softwares.
In the findings section, the selected local mosques was analyzed based on the conceptual model for each of the locating indexes qualitatively and quantitatively. This research demonstrates the degree of influence of the criteria of identity in locating local mosques by determining the level of consistency of selected local mosques with the conceptual model. In conclusion, the authors propose that in the contemporary period, mosque locating be based on the three mentioned indexes (efficiency, compatibility and comfort) .
Urban Planning
Isa Piri
Volume 5, Issue 19 , August 2016, , Pages 5-14
Abstract
Extended abstract
Modernization is the basic theme of the modernity project and is the reason of enlightenment in the different fields of thought, art and aesthetics. Two primary processes of the modernity project were the beginning of modern urban planning: ‘destructive creativity’ and ...
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Extended abstract
Modernization is the basic theme of the modernity project and is the reason of enlightenment in the different fields of thought, art and aesthetics. Two primary processes of the modernity project were the beginning of modern urban planning: ‘destructive creativity’ and ‘creative destruction’. Perhaps the best literary example of physical renovation and modern urban planning is Goethe’s Faust and it is the best tragedy of growth and development. Physical quality of a city and socio- cultural relations have mutual correlation with each other. Modern urban planning caused by instrumental rationality and economic profit – oriented view enters the city land as a valued commodity in supply and demand circles. Thus, physical urban planning is replaced with social urban planning. Spatial development of Tabriz like most other great cities of Iran is rooted in modernist epistemology and ontology. The most basic tragedy of modern urban planning is the destruction and renovation of neighborhoods and historical districts, and also the replacement of population and human groups. Modern urban planning is a type of spatial action and rooted in socio- economic changes which from the 16th century has attempted to replace liberation rationality with traditional myths. Therefore, if we define urban planning as an action similar to other social fields it involves two types of action. Max Weber in his analysis of social actions discusses two types of action named instrumental rational action and value rational action. Social capital involves the dimensions of social structure that facilitate public action and supply some resources to people to achieve their goals. Three dimensions of socio- spatial dialectic is : 1- social relations formed by space; 2- social relations limited by space; and 3- social relations mediated by space. “Friction of distance” causes diverse social experiences involving routine life patterns. Physical renovation which occurs in the center of a metropolis through instrumental spatial action causes the reinforcement of physical capital of central quarters. A tragic dimension of physical renovation is produced through dialectical logic. In other words, although with widening the streets and modernization of quarters, widespread public spaces have been created for greater human interaction, by damaging previous Gothic and Baroque spaces, using modern urban planning designs, replacing of communities and neighbors has led toa reduction in neighborly relations. The research hypotheses are as follows: 1- there are meaningful correlations between physical renovation and destruction of communities in central districts of Tabriz, 2- connecting social capital in central districts of Tabriz is greater than in more modern districts. 3- the interconnectedness of social capital in central districts of Tabriz is greater than in modern districts. The research method used was descriptive – analytical. Physical renovation is the independent variable and the quality of social capital is the dependent one. This phenomenon was clearly observed to have occurred through extensive physical renovation projects in the historical districts of Tabriz. Therefore, on the basis of social capital theory, a survey was conducted regarding social relations quality of replaced social groups in new districts and suburban areas. The conclusion shows that with rising density and physical renovation in districts like Raste Kuche, Darayi, Bazaar, and Amin most population groups relocated to new districts such as Manzariyeh, Valiasr, Roshdiye, Mirdamad and Zafaraniye. Physical renovation has caused the replacement of the central district's values with modern values. In other words, widening of streets and boulevards has in fact caused the reverse action of limiting and destroying of place based and historical social capital and communities. Assessment of community destruction, bridging and bonding social capital in old and central districts of Tabriz exposed to significant physical renovation has resulted in geographical and spatial movement from the old districts to new ones as well as lesser social capital in new modern districts compared to older ones.
Urban Sustainability
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 ...
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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
Volume 6, Issue 21 , February 2016, , Pages 5-16
Abstract
The tourism destination image (TDI) is considered an effective element in destination selection and tourist behavior . The importance of tourism destination image is clear for all practitioners in the tourism industry and researchers. This importance mainly lies in tourists’ mental image of a destination ...
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The tourism destination image (TDI) is considered an effective element in destination selection and tourist behavior . The importance of tourism destination image is clear for all practitioners in the tourism industry and researchers. This importance mainly lies in tourists’ mental image of a destination image and the resultant behavior that lead to choosing a favorable destination. The importance of the tourist destination image is universally acknowledged since it affects the individual’s subjective perception and consequent behavior and destination choice. Thus, this study investigated effective elements in the formation of these mental images. First a model was developed based on theories and literature review and then data of tourists’ mental images of Urmia city in Iran was collected by survey method in the form of a questionnaire. Then, the hypothesis was tested. The study population consisted of all domestic tourists who travelled to Urmia between March and August, 2014 (a period of six months) . Objectives This research attempted to identify the relationship between tourists’ mental images, their decisions and behavior and the importance of destination image. Destination image is investigated as an effective element in tourism behavior and market. Thus, the inferred vision of tourists of Urmia and effective elements in creating and changing this image was first studied. Then, proposals for creating and improving the positive and extraordinary images of tourism was put forward. Western Azerbaijan province is the only province in Iran which has common boundaries with three countries and thus has an eastern and western corridor into and out of Iran. This fact could lead to an increase of tourism in the area. Urmia, like other cities in the province has an ancient civilization, rich historical places and various cultural and natural attractions which means it has great potentials for tourism. Finding and Results Data for this research was obtained by library studies and literature reviews which led to the design of the questionnaires. Questionnaires included 29 questions (4 question for travel satisfaction, 7 question for perceived value, 7 question for Trip quality, and 11 variable question for field variables and other issues for tourism travel). In this research, in order to analyze data and mental images of Urmia, travelers were questioned regarding attractions, availability, safety, services, hosting indexes before and after their travels. Results indicate that the perceived value has a direct effect on tourist destination image and is due to the coefficient of determination in the regression model. It can be said that 43 percent of the dependent variable (the destination image) can be obtained by changing the variables in the model's quality and perceived travel value. The results of the second hypothesis confirmed that image before and after traveling to the city of Urmia as a tourist destination is different in some indicators. A third hypothesis suggested the relatively strong correlation (75/0) between the two variables of perceived image of the city of Urmia and tourists willing to travel there again. Moreover, the Spearman test showed that relationship satisfaction and willingness to travel were 95 percent significant. It can therefore be concluded that by improving the image of tourists will also increase the willingness of tourists to travel again.
Urban Planning
M.M. Azizi; M Bornafar
Volume 1, Issue 1 , March 2012, , Pages 9-22
Slum Settlements
Volume 6, Issue 21 , February 2016, , Pages 17-28
Abstract
Informal settlements or slum dwellings is a general concept referring to urban residents who live in extremely poor and unsuitable living and housing conditions. Various theories regarding these kinds of settlements and how to deal with them in Iran have been proposed but none have been instrumental ...
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Informal settlements or slum dwellings is a general concept referring to urban residents who live in extremely poor and unsuitable living and housing conditions. Various theories regarding these kinds of settlements and how to deal with them in Iran have been proposed but none have been instrumental in seeking to deal with this phenomenon at root level and to allow integration with the rest of the city. The organization and empowerment of informal settlers is the most effective solution and best global practice in dealing with this problem. Organizations and governments through land acquisition ,improvement of living conditions of citizens, participation of legal residents in giving recreational facilities to these areas in order to formalize and legalize them primarily and secondly to exploit the degree of power and ability of residents to create a better living environment. The rapid growth of urbanization and physical expansion of cities has caused new areas and areas under development to house rural migrants and the city poor without any urban planning or council management in the suburbs of cities and this phenomenon is called suburbanization. The city of Zabol has faced irregular migration of villagers and tribes because of successive droughts and the resulting devastation of their agriculture and animal husbandry stocks in rural areas of Sistan. These migrants have selected the suburbs and main entrances to Zabol city for settling because of low income and not having sufficient literacy and job skills and have thus created the new suburbans of Zabol. The number of Zabol suburban areas has increased from 2 to 14 from 1971 to 1986. At present, many problems have been created for urban management with the linkages of these areas to villages around Zabol city In this article, scores of main indices for rehabilitation of suburbanites such as scio- economic characteristics of the head of the households,housing conditions , the main problems existing in the suburban areas and suburbanite participation in improvement of their areas was first calculated. Rapid urbanization growth of Iran with rural to urban migration has caused wide suburbanization. The first destination of rural migrants and border towns are larger cities in the region. Zabol city as a major city in Sistan has faced the growth of suburbanization particularly in surrounding roads and nearby villages in recent years. The purpose of this study was to examine the sociological factors of suburbanization and approaches for empowerment and a descriptive and analytical research method was used. Questionnaires were distributed in 14 suburban districts of Zabol and randomly among 316 suburbanites. The data was analyzed by Spss and Excel software. The results show that the main causes of suburbanization is massive migration from rural and small urban districts Zabol (92/09 percent) due to low income (21/52 percent), drought (19/30 percent) and unemployment. From the point of view of urban experts, trustees and residents of such communities to create empowerment, generating jobs through lending (42/85 percent) is the most important priority.
Urban Planning
Volume 1, Issue 2 , June 2012, , Pages 23-39
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. ...
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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, devoluting 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 Planning
Kyoumars Habibi; Jahede Tekyehkhah; Mohammad Azad Ahmadi
Volume 1, Issue 3 , August 2012, , Pages 13-23
Abstract
Natural tourism planning is the first step in tourism approach natural resource management in which prone areas for recreational planning is zoned. Aimed to identify the different forms of tourism zoning in Abidar natural forest park in Sanandaj City, a systematic analysis method was used. We produced ...
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Natural tourism planning is the first step in tourism approach natural resource management in which prone areas for recreational planning is zoned. Aimed to identify the different forms of tourism zoning in Abidar natural forest park in Sanandaj City, a systematic analysis method was used. We produced a recreational potential map using systematic analysis model in GIS. The results of this evaluation indicated that the study area lacks first class concentrated recreation potentiality and the maximum surface area of the study area has been consisted of the second class potentiality. To evaluate the impact of factors affecting tourists, 450 questionnaires were distributed among the tourists. The survey results indicated that most tourists have selected the area because of the access to water resources. The buffer map of water resource was prepared to promote the systematic analysis model and to assess the effect of water resources on different recreation classes of the model and it was integrated into a recreational potentiality map of system model and the final map of the recreational potentiality was prepared. The evaluation results showed that 6% of the area has first class concentrated recreational potentiality, 28 percent of the area has second class concentrated recreational potentiality, 35 percent of the area has first class discrete recreational potentiality, and the rest 31% of the area has second class discrete recreational potentiality. Comparing two recreation potentiality maps showed hat in systematic analysis model, the region does not have first class concentrated recreation place. However, scoring the water resources factor made 6% of the region earn first class concentrated recreation potentiality. The results of this survey indicated that water resources, herbal coverage, accessibility ways, and physical factors (gradient and direction) have the most effect on the evaluation process of recreation potentiality in the region as they are mentioned in order of effectiveness. While the effective parameters in recreation potentiality evaluation in systematic analysis model are gradient, soil, direction, water, plant, and climate. Based on our findings, it was found that recreational activities expected in broad zones include things like walking, trekking, visiting landscapes and snow skating, etc., which do not need to deploy and service of recreational trails, except in designing walking routes in certain circumstances. But, in areas having concentrated recreation zone, activities such as camping, family picnics, etc., require suitable facilities for establishment of tourism.
Urban Planning
Volume 1, Issue 4 , March 2012, , Pages 13-22
Abstract
Considering tourists’ viewpoints and motives for traveling to a given tourism destination is very important in terms of its significance on tourism developmental planning and marketing. Influenced by their motives, tourists have different expectations of travel products; so their motives are very ...
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Considering tourists’ viewpoints and motives for traveling to a given tourism destination is very important in terms of its significance on tourism developmental planning and marketing. Influenced by their motives, tourists have different expectations of travel products; so their motives are very significant in determining developmental strategies and also in making the planners and policy makers aware of the major tourism destinations and their characteristics. Accordingly, the present study aimed to identify the tourists’ motives in order to attain a suitable pattern for marketing and providing developmental strategies for the products in Mahallat, Iran. With respect to the importance of effective factors in tourists’ motives, the impact of gender and income were considered. To test the hypothesis, the results of 185 questionnaires were analyzed through factor analysis, t-test, and ANOVA. The results of the analyses indicated that tourists’ motives can be classified into four categories - that accounted for 58.1% of the total variance. Examining the presumed concepts of the first factor (tranquility-recreation) by 15.8% of the total variance suggested tourists’ inclination for spiritual peace, being away from the worries of work and life, visiting the family and friends, enjoying the hobbies and exciting entertainments and the weather in Mahallat. Therefore, with these factors in mind, planning tourism activities must be based on the development of entertainment facilities. The second factor is the "ecotourism" accounted for 15.54% of the total variance. In this case, the tourists’ inclination to use the recreational space of Sarcheshmeh Park was to see and enjoy the natural scenery, visiting the flowers and plants, and having fun. In brief, these two factors represent a perspective of the attitudes of the respondents that is the most common one among them. In other words, most tourists visit Mahallat with recreation and ecotourism motives. In this regard, the infrastructure and facilities planning activities should focus more on these two motives. The third and fourth factors presumed as "historic - investigatory" and "pilgrimage - culture" respectively, accounted for 13.86% and 12.88% of the total variance. The mean of tourists’ viewpoints in response to the items related to the above mentioned factors revealed the importance of more consideration and planning in relevant areas with these motives. Among these, peace-recreation factor won the highest percentage of variance. Hypothesis test results also indicated significant difference between income and tourist motivation. Regarding to the fact that Mahallat has numerous ancient historical works and arts related to various historical periods, it needs the development of required tourism infrastructure.
Urban Planning
Volume 2, Issue 5 , March 2013, , Pages 13-26
Abstract
The post-industrial revolution era is characterized by increasingly global urbanization with the resulting problem of the shortage of housing. In fact, housing has become not only one of the desperate needs but also an ever-growing concern of human being who has always been preoccupied with finding ...
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The post-industrial revolution era is characterized by increasingly global urbanization with the resulting problem of the shortage of housing. In fact, housing has become not only one of the desperate needs but also an ever-growing concern of human being who has always been preoccupied with finding a solution to this issue. Maskan-e-Mehr is deemed to be the greatest national project in housing. Due to the wide scope and newness of the project, an evaluation of the results is necessary. Generally, housing satisfaction as one of the widely studied issues along with housing environments proves to be a part of the life satisfaction. As a matter of fact, satisfaction means the amount of individuals’ accessibil -ity to the intended objectives. The identification of the effective factors responsible for the satisfaction and dissatisfaction rate of the residents can be helpful both in the analysis of the existing living conditions and in the future decisions to improve the quality of the housing environments and to avoid the same defects in the future locations. This study can assist the policy-makers and planners in designing an effective architecture for Maskane-Mehr projects to meet the needs of the residents. The present article undertakes to evalu-ate the satisfaction level of the residents in Fatemieh site of Maskan-e-Mehr in Yazd city. Although the adopted methodology in this study is largely descriptive, the data collection includes documentary and survey carried out via distributing questionnaires and inter -viewing the residents. A formula-based sampling of 367 subjects residing in kokran was taken as the statistical sample which was, for the sake of more accuracy, raised to 400 sub -jects. To assess the extent of satisfaction of the Maskan-e-Mehr project, the questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part dealt with the independent variables such as age, sex, marital status, education, income, occupation and a medium designed to investigate the variables on the level of perception of the satisfaction of residents. The second part was devoted to the dependent variable pertinent to the satisfaction of the Maskan-e-Mehr project. These variables include integrated facilities management and maintenance, light-ing, ventilation, landscape and views, arrangement, neighborhood relations, economic, environmental dimensions, transportation, accessibility and security. The analysis of the data has been done via the SPSS20 software. According to the descriptive results obtained from applying the Chi-Square test, there is a meaningful relation between independent variants such as gender, occupation, marital status on the one hand and the satisfaction level on the other hand. Based on Pearson Correlation Coefficient, the results show that there is a meaningful and direct relation between the age variable and that of satisfaction, whereas the education and the average income variables have a meaningful but indirect relation. The evaluative results of this research indicate that the overall satisfaction level of the residents of Fatemieh Condo is average. The residents of Fatemieh Condo are dis-satisfied with the economic condition of the condo while the neighboring residents are satisfied with criteria such as security, lighting, ventilation and the physical status of the complex. They, however, expressed an average satisfaction about the other study criteria. Taking into account the complex of Maskan-e-Mehr Fatemieh city of Yazd, it is possible to raise the level of satisfaction of the residents through provision of a range of facilities and reduction of the problems in their residential location. Finally, some solutions have been proposed for the improvement of the project, the facilities and the services for our case study.
Urban Ecology
ش ش; ش ش; ش ش
Volume 2, Issue 8 , December 2013, , Pages 13-30
Urban Planning
mohammad ghaffari; mohammad nematpour
Abstract
Market segmentation is a prerequisite of tourism planning success. Tourist segmentation based on psychological variables is in turn one of the most important, most operational methods in tourism market segmentation. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive-analytical applied study was to segment the ...
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Market segmentation is a prerequisite of tourism planning success. Tourist segmentation based on psychological variables is in turn one of the most important, most operational methods in tourism market segmentation. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive-analytical applied study was to segment the tourism market of Tehran, Iran through identification of the travel incentives and lifestyle characteristics of inbound tourists visiting the ancient Grand Bazaar of the city. The research population consisted of inbound tourists who visited Tehran Grand Bazaar from March 2017 to May 2018. A sample of 394 tourists was selected from the population through convenience sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire composed of 67 questions. To assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, content validity and Cronbach’s alpha were used. Data analysis was made in SPSS using factor analysis, cluster analysis, and K-square. To specify the number of samples required for factor analysis, the model presented by Everrit was used. In this study, fifteen incentive and lifestyle factors were identified, and four segments of inbound visitors were demonstrated. Based on the results of the analysis, the four clusters appeared to be appropriate, significant, and interpretational. To interpret and name the clusters, mean values were used. In accordance with the employed five-point Likert scale, mean values above or below 3.00 indicated the significance and insignificance of tourist incentive and lifestyle. The results demonstrated that the 394 respondents could be classified into four clusters: ideal seekers, behavioral fundamentalists, moderators, and special seekers. The cluster analysis indicated that the mean values for the factors relationship orientation, accessibility, special-seeking, self-valuation, conservativeness, cultural heritage, and occupational attachment were higher than 3.00 in all the clusters. This demonstrated that visitors in all the four segments were highly interested in interaction with other people, exploration of the local culture and the way of life therein, and visit to sights that their friends had never seen when traveling abroad. Specifically, ideal seekers would like to visit cultural and historic sites, to socialize with people, to do interesting activities, or to go the movies, the theater, an amusement park, a common party, or a festival or to a restaurant to have local cuisines. Behavioral fundamentalists included sociable, optimistic people interested in healthy, safe routines when traveling. Moderators exhibited moderate tendency to everything, but were unmotivated, careless buyers in their selection of products and services and their shopping behavior. Special seekers, who made up the second largest cluster in this study, were highly motivated and interested in exploration of different culture-nations, exposing themselves to different situations and interacting with other people. The results also indicated a significant positive relationship between demographic variables and clusters.
