Urban Planning
Hamed Ghadermazy
Volume 1, Issue 1 , March 2012, , Pages 61-76
Abstract
One of the most important results of accelerative urbanization is the spatial expansion of the city and gobble of their surrounding areas, swelling villages, and agricultural lands, which is noticeable in regional metropolitan. Sanandaj City as a regional metropolitan has experienced a rapid growth in ...
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One of the most important results of accelerative urbanization is the spatial expansion of the city and gobble of their surrounding areas, swelling villages, and agricultural lands, which is noticeable in regional metropolitan. Sanandaj City as a regional metropolitan has experienced a rapid growth in both population and plan during the recent three decades. Continuous sprawl in this city has merged eight villages including their agricultural lands, gardens, and pastures in the city. Moreover, discontinuous sprawl in this city has caused to protuberance population and extending of surrounding villages. The outcome of this process was extensive changes in Land use in those villages. The period of this study is 1976-2008, the statistical population includes 11 Surrounding villages of the Sanandaj City and Sample size is 315 households. The methodology of our research is based on extensive documentary and field study including household questionnaires, and identifying past and present land use. Our findings show extensive changes in land use of the villages studied. During 1976-2008, on annually averaging basis 104 ha and totally 3319 ha of the arable, garden and pastures of the villages studied have been converted to the other land uses. The abovementioned changes were made by different factors and agents of the Sanandaj city including discontinuous spatial expansion.
Urban Sociology
Volume 1, Issue 2 , June 2012, , Pages 71-85
Abstract
The process of gender-specification in public urban realms and the ignorance of different characteristics and needs of different groups in societies by urban designers have resulted in the loss of the real identity of these realms. Women are an example of the groups whose needs of attendance in public ...
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The process of gender-specification in public urban realms and the ignorance of different characteristics and needs of different groups in societies by urban designers have resulted in the loss of the real identity of these realms. Women are an example of the groups whose needs of attendance in public urban realms and their appointment in interaction with others in order to be efficient members in the society have been neglected. The current research has been formed to depict and present important features of the presence of women in public urban realms by emphasizing their needs. It has to be mentioned that descriptive, descriptive – analytic methods with some library research and also survey method in descriptive – analytic way with field studies as well as observations, interviews and questionnaires as data gathering procedure and SPSS and LISREL as analysis and assessment procedure have been applied in the current research. In the main article in addition to discussing the main topics, the results of them in case of the attendance of women in public urban realms have been presented. The results of this research indicate that designing aspects such as access, security, comfort, along with the phonetic nature, attractions and dynamics, event disclosure, ambiguity in urban public realms, are affective on motivating the presence of women in these realms.
Urban Planning
Volume 1, Issue 3 , August 2012, , Pages 44-49
Abstract
The paper tries to describe the role of municipal toll on house price in Mashhad City. The methodology adopted was analytical-descriptive to study the impact of municipality toll with emphasis on the effect of excess density franchising toll on house price. The study area is district 11 of Mashhad municipality ...
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The paper tries to describe the role of municipal toll on house price in Mashhad City. The methodology adopted was analytical-descriptive to study the impact of municipality toll with emphasis on the effect of excess density franchising toll on house price. The study area is district 11 of Mashhad municipality zones. The data required were gathered through literature survey, obtaining information from the district municipality, referring to websites and real estate centers, Mashhad City Urban Integrated System website, field works, and sampling. 250 samples were selected and analyzed using linear regression model through SPSS (Version 18). Our findings indicated that surplus density tax increases the price of new houses through increasing the cost of housing by 10 percent. Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.882) confirms that there is a positive and significant relation between price of new houses and surplus density tax. Therefore, it is proposed that the revenue system of municipality be based on stable financial resources. Moreover, it is necessary to reduce the tax on house construction and mutually the tax on house taking should be raised.
Urban Planning
Volume 2, Issue 5 , March 2013, , Pages 47-60
Abstract
In comparison with the past, the public awareness and public sensitivity have notably increased through sustainability. In this regard, different departments have discussed their problems via the approach of sustainability. Sustainable development considers economic, social and environmental dimensions ...
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In comparison with the past, the public awareness and public sensitivity have notably increased through sustainability. In this regard, different departments have discussed their problems via the approach of sustainability. Sustainable development considers economic, social and environmental dimensions simultaneously. The same is true with sustainable transportation whose sustainable development policies in transportation area seek ways to provide all groups of society with appropriate access, to adjust economic costs and ,more importantly, to reduce the negative environmental impacts. However, almost all indicators show that the current experience of the transportation in our country and the consistent trend in the world are not only in the wrong direction but are also unstable in the longer term. One of the most efficient approaches to achieve sustainability is the strategy of integrating transportation system. "Integrated transportation strategy" is suggested to provide a more sustainable model of transportation to achieve sustainability and address major concerns. This research will study the case study of metropolitan Shiraz which is located in the southwest of Iran, with a population of almost 1.5 million. Facing numerous problems in the domain of urban transportation, Metropolitan Shiraz's current trend is not stable due to the city's struggling with some specific problems such as low share of public transport usage and dependency on car, high level of car ownership, growing population and density in central districts, high level of fuel usage, and increasing pollution. Several actions and plans including some action plans , special and technical programs and software have been carried out to address the aforementioned urban problems in the hope of reducing these problems , but they had not achieved enough efficiency. This study investigates the current situation of the transportation system in Shiraz using information collected via an expert opinion survey, questionnaires and interviewing some managers and experts in public or private organizations, companies, and consulting offices using special method called Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to evaluate the system and define the priorities for future considerations. The results confirm that current set of policies undertaken by urban management and urban governance system in Shiraz almost fails to conform to the desirable criteria of Integrated Transport Approach. Although certain models have been recommended to achieve integration of transportation system, this article opted for a more comprehensive model by Potter and Skinner ( 2000 ). The finding of this research shows that, according to experts’ viewpoints, integration policies should be oriented to improving the public transport system. These policies include basic policies which will be presented as follows: the increase of the accessibility and efficiency of public bus system for potential demand areas; allocation of part of Municipality incomes to public transport sector; and establishment of separated bus lanes especially throughout the central district of the city.
H P; B F
Volume 3, Issue 10 , May 2014, , Pages 49-62
Abstract
Urban sprawl is a physical-spatial phenomenon. It is a kind of scattered, leapfrog, and low density horizontal urban growth far from urban centers and is usually followed by non mixed-use development. It can demonstrate resource and capital waste, threat to citizens’ health, environmental degradation, ...
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Urban sprawl is a physical-spatial phenomenon. It is a kind of scattered, leapfrog, and low density horizontal urban growth far from urban centers and is usually followed by non mixed-use development. It can demonstrate resource and capital waste, threat to citizens’ health, environmental degradation, change city centers to deteriorated urban areas due to peripheral suburban growth pattern. The causes, patterns, consequences, costs and benefits of urban growth and sprawl, have been discussed by several researchers. However, these experts have not operated in the same way in regards the causes, patterns, costs and mechanism in this case. Most of the literature concerning urban sprawl often confuses causes, consequences, the many conditions, and spatial patterns. The theoretical question of this research is as follows: what the dimensions of urban sprawl in the historical evolution of the metropolis are; what causes urban sprawl and by what mechanism does it work. In that regard, Isfahan was chosen as a case study due to its unbridled horizontal growth in the last few decades which has had social, economic, and environmental impacts such as dissipated agricultural lands, increased air pollution and its risks to citizen’s health, increased costs of transportation, social segregation, injured historical heritages because of increasing pollutions. Moreover, Isfahan plays a prominent role in the economy of Iran. On the one hand, it has a great economic potential in tourism and mass industries, and plays a leading role in regional agricultural economics due to its fertile lands and soil. Pathology of these suburban areas, process of urban sprawl, and its mechanism in Isfahan is the purpose of this research. It seems that the highest amount of urban sprawl has occurred at the outskirts of Isfahan municipality, in regions 7 and 14. The process of this sprawl can be determined by ecological-social processes of industrial establishment in the northern peripheral areas, formation of residential settlements for laborers, impact of cooperative housing activities, natural factors (water shortage), transportation network, rural to urban migration, and formation of Isfahan’s spatial pattern by industrial-agricultural-residential function. Urban Sprawl in Isfahan has challenged spatial policy-making. The greatest degree of urban sprawl has occurred in peripheral lands along the “Dolat-Abad” road; numerous villages that are near northern Isfahan villages like “Younart”, have become neighborhoods of the city. Car dependency has increased along with the duration of daily trips within the cit. Social segregation has developed as an informal settlement of “Hadi-Gol”. This is a challenge for the whole of Isfahan city and its metropolitan areas, not just for the north of it. In terms of economic and social policy making, segregation patterns, physical separation, structural-spatial order, the urban sprawl of Isfahan affects all further spatial policy making and planning. Systemic-historical analysis was used as a method of proving the aforementioned hypothesis and exploratory factor analysis was used to distinguish the suburban areas where the most sprawl has occurred.
Urban Design
Mehrdad Karimimoshaver; hasan sajjadzadeh; hossein troosheh
Abstract
This study addressed the relationship between high-rise buildings (as part of the urban environment) and mental health (one of the three major aspects of health: physical, psychological, and social), investigating citizens’ points of view on the high-rise Saeedieh Condominium in Hamadan, Iran. ...
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This study addressed the relationship between high-rise buildings (as part of the urban environment) and mental health (one of the three major aspects of health: physical, psychological, and social), investigating citizens’ points of view on the high-rise Saeedieh Condominium in Hamadan, Iran. The research sought to capture the influence mechanism and to help reinforce the insight of designers of such buildings into and their concern for features of the built environment from citizens’ perspective that can inadvertently affect their mental health. In recent decades, construction of high-rise buildings has been appealed to widely as a method of construction, replacing the horizontal growth of cities. However, it seems that vertical urbanism has paid little attention to citizens’ psychological aspects in urban spaces. Height is an intrinsic part of high-rise buildings and their most important formal feature, with a significant impact on citizens and their eventual perceptions and emotions, which makes it significant to scrutinize its influence. One of the most important issues is the impact of high-rise buildings on citizens’ mental health. Mental stresses constantly threaten human mental health, in part due to inappropriate urban environments and residences. This increases the significance of examining the urban environment to reduce the existing stresses. The purpose of this paper was to present better ways of designing high-rise buildings considering their impact on citizens’ mental health as well as to identify how the influence works. Therefore, the main questions of the study are as follows. What relationship is there between high-rise buildings and citizens’ mental health? How can height affect citizens’ mental health? In the present study, a qualitative approach was taken using the method of Grounded Theory. After in-depth interviews made in person with citizens, the transcripts were summarized and encoded in the three open, axial, and selective stages, and the grounded model was finally extracted by the MAXQDA data analysis software. The participants in the interviews included 24 citizens, 13 men and 11 women aged 17-65 years. Theoretical consecutive purposive sampling was used, where sampling would continue until adequacy (saturation) was achieved for theorization. It should be noted that saturation was achieved as felt by the researcher with comments from 8 men and 8 women—a total of 16 participants—, but the interviews continued, amounting to 24 with 8 additional ones, which served to ensure the achievement of saturation (although no changes were made in the eventual data). The findings demonstrated that high-rise buildings cause mental pressure in citizens due to issues such as improper enclosure, physical-visual consequences, sub-climate generation, landscape restrictions, social difficulties, overlook, urban area heterogeneity, and negative environmental effects and citizens’ long-term involvement in emotional reactions resulting from the mental pressure affects their mental health. With a frequency of 73, the issue of improper enclosure was found to be the most popular among citizens in the set of situational issues, playing a major role in the emergence of the interactive issues and the consequential ones as a result. It was followed by the issues sub-climate generation (with a frequency of 57), physical-visual consequences (with a frequency of 55), landscape restrictions (with a frequency of 30), urban area heterogeneity (with a frequency of 25), overlook (with a frequency of 22), and social difficulties (with a frequency of 12), in that order.
Slum Settlements
Volume 5, Issue 20 , November 2016, , Pages 53-64
Abstract
Urban slums have always been a challenge for urban managers in our country. In recent years, some problems such as rapid and continuous changes and emergence of new issues has led to planning and policy in this area to be solved with short-term and temporary measures. Transformation and change ...
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Urban slums have always been a challenge for urban managers in our country. In recent years, some problems such as rapid and continuous changes and emergence of new issues has led to planning and policy in this area to be solved with short-term and temporary measures. Transformation and change is a normal phenomenon in society and is a continuous and long process. Changes in all fields, past, present and future will be extended. What is needed is the revision of approaches to the management and use of new tools in planning. Foresight as a new approach is in fact the wise and prudent response to the challenges arising from changes and is a process that will lead to sustainable planning . I this study, the foresight approach is used to identify the drivers or effective factors that impact the future status of urban slums in Sanandaj and their effects on each other . In addition, the foresight approach is used to provide strategies, plans and policies to achieve the desired scenarios. The research methodology was based on new methods of foresight study and to gather the data library method and environmental scanning was used. Cross-impact / structural analysis was used to analyze the data using MICMAC software application. The results show that in the first stage, using environmental scanning, 54 factors in 6 areas were identified to affectthe future status of urban slums of the city. Based on the number of factors, the matrix size was 54 × 54 which was set in 6 different areas. The considered number of repetitions was 2 times and the matrix fill degree was 47/70 percent, indicating an average coefficient which seems to be normalbecause of the scattering of the variables affecting the future status of urban slums in Sanandaj. Amongst a total of 1391 relationships in evaluation of this matrix, 1525 had zero relationshipss, 1276 had one relationship, 102 had two relationships, and 13 had three relationships. . On the other hand, the matrix achieved 100% desirability and efficiency based on the statistical indicators with 2 times data rotation, indicating the validity of the questionnaire and its responses. In regards the scattered distribution of variables one can understand that it is due to system instability which shows that most variables are scattered around the diagonal axis and also apart from a few limiting factors that demonstrate a high effectiveness in the system other variables of conditions are similar to each other. Therefore, the five categories of factors (Effective factor, Two-sided factor, Regulation factor, Effectiveness factor, Independent factor) are identifiable. Finally, of the 54 factors mentioned after checking the amount and the degree of effectiveness the of factors in connection to each other and on the future status of settlements with direct and indirect methods, of the following 12 key factors were selected as having the greatest role in the future status of urban slums in Sanandaj: management style, development of the national economy, immigration, neighborhood-oriented approach, affordable housing policies, quality of space and place, social capital, the price of land and housing, educational permeability, land management, and ownership (security of tenure).
Urban Planning
Volume 6, Issue 23 , August 2017, , Pages 53-68
Abstract
District 1 of Ahvaz is one of the busiest and densest sites in the city due to the presence of many shopping centers, official departments, entertainment centers and inter-city connecting paths. Also, the worn-out urban fabric and Akhar Asphalt neighborhood has caused many problems in this area, such ...
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District 1 of Ahvaz is one of the busiest and densest sites in the city due to the presence of many shopping centers, official departments, entertainment centers and inter-city connecting paths. Also, the worn-out urban fabric and Akhar Asphalt neighborhood has caused many problems in this area, such as decreased sense of security, mostly for the local women. Therefore, the goal of this research is to study the sense of security in women living in the said neighborhood. This study is an applied research using descriptive and survey methods, including structural equation modeling, to collect data. Data collection was carried out by a questionnaire consisting of 7 indicators (supervision, social, behavioral, skeletal, furniture, environmental, and accessibility factors) and 35 items based on the answers of the local women with a sample size of 381. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS21 and smart-PLS software. The results show that supervision, both official (police supervision and CCTVs) and unofficial (citizens), has the most impact on the sense of security. Due to the warm climate of the city, some areas of Ahvaz become deserted during the hottest days making the city look like the city of the dead, an issue that causes the transportation to be done in a stressful atmosphere. For the same reason, most of the street usage in Ahvaz happens in the nighttime. After supervision, the skeletal factor has the highest impact on women’s sense of security. District 1 consists of the most worn-out urban fabric. It also encompasses Akhar Asphalt neighborhood with its inappropriate social and skeletal conditions. The accumulation of buildings and dense urban texture in this area has made the skeletal indicator one of the most influential ones on the sense of security. The next influential factor is social factor due to overpopulation of the area because of its migration opportunities, the multi-racial quality of the area, presence of stranger passengers who aim to shop, and presence of parks in which the young people hang out regularly. The next indicator affecting the sense of security of women in this district is the environmental factor covering such items as noise pollution, dirty streets full of trash and sewage, abundance of nuisance animals/pests, and buildings with inappropriate and scratched appearance, again due to the worn-out urban fabric, slum conditions, and usage of all free spaces by boards and traffic signs. Based on the research findings, the respondents believe that the high number of bus terminals and taxi stations, did not let the women feel safe and secure enough. Also, density, worn-out urban fabric, and lack of sidewalks has decreased the feeling of security in women. According to the respondents, external indicators, such as skeletal and environmental factors, have the most effect on the behavior of urban women. They believe that the behavioral indicator has less effect than the environmental one. As for the furniture indicator, aside from the brightness item, other items such as the quality of pathways, traffic signs, and the usage of colors have less importance according to the respondents. This makes the furniture indicator the least effective factor on women’s sense of security.
Urban Planning
musa pazhoohan; zahra poormoghadam
Abstract
The culture-led urban regeneration and cultural tourism are two sides of a coin in the renovation of valuable urban areas. The first is a comprehensive process for saving the deteriorated urban areas of the city from the destruction of physic and activity, and the latter is the most effective way of ...
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The culture-led urban regeneration and cultural tourism are two sides of a coin in the renovation of valuable urban areas. The first is a comprehensive process for saving the deteriorated urban areas of the city from the destruction of physic and activity, and the latter is the most effective way of promoting people’s participation, culture and art and mobilizing social and cultural forces for old urban areas. Culture-led urban regeneration is one of the most recent approaches to sustainable urban regeneration, which, after many years of experience, has proved its legitimacy not only as a theoretical approach, but also as a practical strategy for the modernization and improvement of the old neighborhoods. The contribution of the cultural and human heritage of valuable neighbors to the process of regeneration can be realized because the local economy and related businesses would be supported through tourism development and tourists’ interest in such neighborhoods. Therefore, the culture-led urban regeneration through tourism development can be considered as one of the most promising solutions for the sustainable regeneration of old towns. When tourism is considered as way of rehabilitation of the underlying culture, culture-based tourism is clearly intended. Cultural tourism is defined as a type of tourism whose main purpose is to spread the horizons of knowledge through the discovery of artistic heritage or architecture of a land. This article investigates the interaction of the two in the framework of strategic planning of cultural tourism development in the old fabric of Rasht, which covers the Zahedan and Sagharisazan neighborhoods. The research method is descriptive-analytic, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative tools, including a questionnaire, for data collection. The internal and external factors are evaluated through a panel of 30 local experts, including experts from the Municipality and Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department. The sampling method was snowball sampling due to the uncertainty of the population. The results show that, despite having its own cultural resources, the old fabric of Rasht has not been able to use local resources due to the weakness of the cultural tourism infrastructure and the lack of creativity in the use of art and culture in the process of culture-led urban regeneration. Prioritized strategies, executive policies and action plans were developed for mobilizing cultural and artistic sources in developing cultural tourism while actively protecting cultural heritage and identity simultaneously. Creating new and different tourist attractions through reviving ritual traditions, improving historic buildings by planning attractive activities for tourists and pedestrinization of Bazar-Khahar-e- Imam –Zarjub are among the most prioritized strategies designed for cultural-led urban regeneration through urban tourism in the old fabric of Rasht. Besides, the results of this article show that the plan for tourism development in the Iranian historical neighborhoods should be a long-term plan that prioritizes the provision of infrastructure and changes in short-term views towards urban management.
Urban Planning
Volume 1, Issue 4 , March 2012, , Pages 55-68
Abstract
Human beings are rooted in nature, and when we travel in greenery areas, we become more aware of this connection. As we are more immersed in nature, we become more relaxed and comfortable and likely to make generous decisions. But rapidly growing urban population and changing patterns of work and live ...
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Human beings are rooted in nature, and when we travel in greenery areas, we become more aware of this connection. As we are more immersed in nature, we become more relaxed and comfortable and likely to make generous decisions. But rapidly growing urban population and changing patterns of work and live have increasingly removed our societies from the natural world and allowed ourselves to be encapsulated in an artificial environment. This created a widening gap between people and natural settings in modern era. For this reason, urban greenery areas, in addition to the aesthetic values, can make a significant contribution to well-being, health and also improve the quality of life by providing a setting for people gathering and social life interaction. Urban parks, as part of urban greenery areas and open public spaces, can generate tremendous values by providing open space and recreational opportunities. In this regard, it further contributes to larger urban policy objectives, such as job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community building. Apart from this, urban parks in developing countries are generally facing great problems due to the poor urban management, rapidly urban growth which is almost geared towards the automobile and resource crunch for the maintenance of existing parks/gardens and for the creation of new ones. Considering these, Deedgah recreational complex (Mellat Park) located along Pasdaran Boulevard, as the main north-south corridor in Sanandaj and gateway to Kermanshah, has been selected as case study of the research. Due to its location, function and long historical background, it gained a symbolic identity in the collective memory of the people. In recent years, its social life of the park is threatening due to some improper management practices concerning two underpass bridges have been built to ease traffic congestion. To reach the main aim defined as the title of research, a kind of descriptive-analytical method has been used regarding the results of literature review and field survey conducted in autumn 2011. For more information regarding the users’ view, the questionnaire and interview with experts has been used. To evaluate the existing conditions and for strategies and prioritizing them, SWOT and AHP as a decision-making methods has been used regarding certain spatial elements. The results show that Viability, Environmental health and Permeability respectively fall into the high-priority strategies for maximizing Deedgah recreational park function. This means that the proposed action plans should be more in line with the prioritized strategies.
Urban Planning
m m; m sh; a s; m m
Volume 4, Issue 16 , November 2015, , Pages 55-66
Islamic- Iranian Cities
Alireza Mohammadi; Ebrahim Firouzi Majandeh
Volume 5, Issue 17 , February 2016, , Pages 55-66
Abstract
Objectives: The city of Ardabil, as one of the most important cities in the territory of the Islamic civilization, in recent decades, is faced with the problem of unbalanced distribution of mosques in the city. This uneven distribution can be dependent on such factors as population density, historical ...
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Objectives: The city of Ardabil, as one of the most important cities in the territory of the Islamic civilization, in recent decades, is faced with the problem of unbalanced distribution of mosques in the city. This uneven distribution can be dependent on such factors as population density, historical elements and the formation of city neighborhoods. The unbalanced distribution of mosques in the city, can lead to some problems such as congestion and overcrowding in some neighborhoods. The aim of this study is analyzing the spatial distribution pattern and frequency of mosques and its relationship between the population density and the historical elements and determination of the mosque distribution in the city areas and neighborhoods. The type of study is analytical-descriptive and the location of the 179 mosques has been extracted from urban documents. Methods such as Kernel Density, the closest neighborhood average and geographic Weighting Regression analysis was used in Arc GIS 10.3 software.
Findings: The results of using the mean nearest neighbor method, shows that the distribution pattern of mosque in Ardebil city with a coefficient of 99%, is a cluster type. Use of geographical weighted regression method and Kernel Density method, shows that the density and proximity of mosques in the central part of the city are much higher than within the old and median tissues and marginal or new neighborhoods of the city. The main reason for the concentration of mosques in central part of the city is the existence of places like the grand mosque, Bazaar, commercial spaces, the geographical center of the city and old neighborhoods. The use of spatial autocorrelation (Moran index) method showed that there is a significant positive relationship between the population density and distribution of mosques in the city area. New urban districts often face low-density point mosques. In the remainder of the city and in areas with high population concentration, the numbers of mosques are greater. New neighborhoods due to their short life and low population density lack completed mosques. Geographically weighted regression method results showed that there is a high positive and meaningful relationship between distance of the main urban spaces and symbols with the number of mosques. About 81 percent of the mosques are located in the service radius of zero to five minutes of the city’s main spaces and symbols. The buffering method and determination of the mosque coverage area and calculation of religious space per capita in urban neighborhoods showed that the distribution of mosques in neighborhoods of the city is often uneven. The central parts of the city have more mosques, but towns and new neighborhoods often have fewer mosques.
Results: The results of this article show that the spatial distribution pattern of Ardabil mosques is the cluster type and there is a significant relationship between the spatial distribution of mosques and population density and the historical elements of the city. The spatial distribution of mosques in Ardebil city neighborhoods is heterogeneous. Finally, based on the findings, recommendations are presented.
Urban Planning
mohammad mehdi Azizi; Reza Asadi
Abstract
Large shopping malls have been a popular phenomenon in recent urban development plans and projects in many developed and developing countries. In Tehran, the capital of Iran, these projects have been largely noted and developed in recent years. This phenomenon can have major effects in various aspects ...
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Large shopping malls have been a popular phenomenon in recent urban development plans and projects in many developed and developing countries. In Tehran, the capital of Iran, these projects have been largely noted and developed in recent years. This phenomenon can have major effects in various aspects that need to be recognized, analyzed and evaluated. One of the aspects of these projects is their morphology in terms of their scale, position and role in urban development (community or regional shopping malls). This paper aims to find the criteria and indicators for classifying these shopping malls. The main questions of the research for Tehran shopping malls are: “Which variables are appropriate to classify shopping malls in Tehran?” “How suitable are these variables to be used in shopping malls of the city?” “If shopping malls in Tehran cannot be classified in any global categories, what are the reasons? One of the well-known shopping malls constructed recently in Tehran is “Korush Shopping Mall”, located in the western part of the city, District 5, which was selected as the case study of this research. The related literature and experiences were reviewed to analyze physical, economic, management, and ownership aspects as well as the limitations of the project. Various criteria, variables and indicators were used for evaluation of data collected using questionnaire and field research. Among these are travel time and distance, shopping mall site and land area, types of commodities, employment opportunities for local residents, shops’ ownership, aims of shopping for consumers, and the extent of entertainment facilities. Classification of the case study was done according to indexes and variables. Two data sources were used to analyze the variables: first, data collected from the site and features of the shopping mall; second, data collected from 380 surveys filled out by consumers. The results showed that Korush Shopping Mall could not be classified into any specific type of shopping mall in the literature review and the global categories. It has various features from each type so it could not belong to any type of shopping malls, especially community or regional shopping malls. Specialized goods, the number of retail shops, tenants, and limited site area are the main factors in categorizing shopping malls, but Korush Shopping Mall lacks these features. One of the major results of the research was that most people visiting this shopping center aim for entertainment rather that shopping. The main reason for this is that most items in the shops are products of famous brands and their prices are much higher than what low and middle class people can afford. Furthermore, based on the results, the law and guidelines related to the construction of retail markets in the Master and Detailed Plan of Tehran are among the main reasons. There are not any special rules for shopping malls, an issue which allows for lots of mixed variable in any shopping center in Tehran. Although the area of regional shopping malls should be at least 4ha, the regulations in the Master Plan of Tehran clearly mention that 1 ha site area is suitable for retail centers on the city scale. As a final note, it can be claimed that shopping centers, such as Korush Shopping Mall in Tehran must be planned and constructed based on their roles, sizes and locations. It is thus recommended to conduct feasibility studies for their aims and effects in advance.
Urban Design
Yones Changalvaiee; Mostafa Behzadfar; Mahmud Mohhamadi; Zahra Sadat Saeideh Zarabadid
Abstract
As an interface between humans and their peripheral environment, urban form is the embodiment of formative and transformative flows of the built form. Energy flows of urban form production, operation and maintenance lead to the generation and transformation of built form which is the transmitter of information ...
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As an interface between humans and their peripheral environment, urban form is the embodiment of formative and transformative flows of the built form. Energy flows of urban form production, operation and maintenance lead to the generation and transformation of built form which is the transmitter of information flows, such as visual and perceptual flows, between humans as receptor and the built environment. On this basis, continuous and integrated interactions between humans and the living environment is considered as energy operational flows of environmental comfort (heating and cooling energy demand) and informational flows of perception, cognition and evaluation of the built form (focusing on visual interaction) which are the two generic flows of built form in relation with humans. These relations and interconnections between energy and information flows are excavated based on the Eco Efficient Urban Form (EEUF) model. The present research aims to explore the relationship between these two flows and the built form based on two distinct states of occlusivity factor: distribution of built elements in vertical plane (Adolphe occlusivity factor for operational energy flows), and Benedikt occlusivity factor for visual information flows which demonstrates the interconnections between the horizontal built elements perimeter map and visual sight flows. The analytical content of the study was chosen from the morphological aspects of Isfahan in the form of ten morphological types presenting general morphological trends of Isfahan. With regard to these, results indicate that there is an inverse correlation between the two states of occlusivity: occlusivity in vertical planes for energy performances and occlusivity in horizontal planes for sustainable visual information flows between built form and humans. The results reveal that the fabrics with organic morphological aspects and structure have a higher value in terms of energy performance occlusivisty factor, especially effective for decreasing heating energy demand in cold seasons, and a lower value in terms of isovist occlusivity factor, indicating higher value of isovist compactness leading to coherency in visual information flows. Hence, the results indicate that the integration between two generic flows of sustainable urban form is demonstrable for old tissues with old organic morphological patterns. The main contribution of the study is to confirm the relationship and interconnection between generic flows of energy and information as the key content of EEUF model.The research is focused on the operational mode of energy flows (indoor energy demand) and the visual interactions of information flows. Finally, future research should therefore concentrate on the investigation of the integrity between perceptional aspects of urban form and outdoor environmental comfort as the main characteristics of urban form environmental performance in the form of EEUF model. It is worth to mention that the study is mostly focused on the environmental performance and morphological configuration in hot and arid climate. Therefore, other effective parameters such as structures, visual proportion of vertical facades, aesthetic aspects, meaning of place, environmental preferences, sense of place, etc. necessitate further investigations in the future. Reanalysis of the study model according to the new types of morphological units and other climates as well as addressing perceptional aspects can provide valuable results for developing sustainable urban form frameworks.
Urban Architecture
Parisa Hashempour; ziba sami
Abstract
Housing is one of the most basic human needs. Failure in paying attention to multidimensional demands of human beings reduces the quality of life. Considering the various aspects of human needs, the study of environmental quality for the promotion of life has thus a profound impact on the livability ...
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Housing is one of the most basic human needs. Failure in paying attention to multidimensional demands of human beings reduces the quality of life. Considering the various aspects of human needs, the study of environmental quality for the promotion of life has thus a profound impact on the livability of residential complexes. The livability approach addresses the link between housing and human life and needs by paying attention to the quality of environment in residential complexes. A residential complex with the livability approach can be life-enhancing for human beings. Therefore, the attention to human behaviors and activities in different functional areas and the respect for environmental quality with such an approach in a stressful, difficult, boring and routine daily life multiplies the necessity of livability in residential spaces. Accordingly, when it comes to the place or architectural space, the term “livability” can be used as if it is supposed to encompass the factors for human life. Given the mutual effect of residential environment on the lives of residents, it is essential to determine the environmental quality which affects livability. This study aims to enhance the livability of residential complexes in terms of the effects of environmental quality. Three residential complexes – Aseman Tabriz, Shahid Chamran and Imam – which were constructed in different decades, were selected as case studies. This study is an applied research in terms of its objectives and employs a descriptive-analytical methodology. The data is collected through library and field research (observation, interview and questionnaire). The field data is obtained by distributing a questionnaire. The sample size was determined by the Cochran formula to be 300 people. The data is analyzed using the SPSS software. The SWOT matrix is also used to assess and analyze the samples. The components of livability are categorized into material and perceptual components by analyzing the levels of human life from the Islamic point of view. The results indicate that the environmental quality affects the livability of residential complexes in regard to the needs of human life. The environmental quality includes material (physical and environmental factors) and perceptual components (cultural, mental and social factors). The material components are the basic needs for living in a house and are necessary for human life, while the perceptual components are investigated in relation to meanings and human perception. Finally, it is found that mental factors have a greater impact on the livability of residential complexes. Given the investigations into the case studies (Aseman Tabriz, Shahid Chamran and Imam Residential Complexes) in terms of livability, the results suggest that failure to pay attention to material and perceptual components in residential spaces leads to the deterioration of residential complexes over time. Given the components of livability, Imam Residential Complex is vulnerable because of its failure in addressing some material and perceptual components. The livability of Chamran Complex is vulnerable due to the elimination of the role of perceptual components. Amongst the three case studies, Aseman Tabriz Complex has the components of livability. The livability of a complex can be observed through the presence within the space.
Urban Management
Malihe Taghipour; aliakbar heidari; maryam haghayegh
Abstract
The rapid population growth and transformation of apartments into the dominant form of urban residence have created new health issues in human life. The consequences, threatening residents’ health, include increase in vitamin D deficiency, overweight, decrease in physical health, social isolation ...
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The rapid population growth and transformation of apartments into the dominant form of urban residence have created new health issues in human life. The consequences, threatening residents’ health, include increase in vitamin D deficiency, overweight, decrease in physical health, social isolation and a variety of social injuries, decrease in personal space, and decrease in mental health. From the World Health Organization’s point of view, health involves provision of three dimensions thereof at the same time: physical, mental, and social. In addition to the above, however, it seems that the economic index has a direct, immediate impact on individuals’ quality of life and health. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate the three aspects of health in terms of the achievement of cooperation with the fields of architecture, medical science, psychology, and social sciences in the preferences of people with different economic conditions upon selection of apartments as housing and the priorities of the components from the three areas that influenced their selections. In this descriptive survey, SPSS 22 and AMOS 23 were used for data analysis, and Friedman test and ANOVA were employed to examine the hypotheses. The results indicated that individuals’ economic and livelihood conditions affected their preferences and concern for the three dimensions (physical, mental, and social) of health in the area of housing. It is noteworthy that economic conditions are considered today as a health-threatening factor, hence their great significance in health policies and disease prevention and intervention measures. Furthermore, the results obtained from the paper emphasized the need to consider the effects of the physical components of buildings on residents’ health, where a building could prevent the occurrence of disease in the residents and prevent an excessive amount of money from being spent for treatment. These findings can provide useful guidelines for policy-makers in the field of construction and social institutions influencing the promotion of modern urban living patterns. What is clear is that the current pattern of modern urban living and housing common in Iran is an obsolete model imported from other countries regardless of the psychological, physical, and social aspects of individuals’ lives. It therefore fails to meet the current requirements of the society, and can have harmful physical, psychological, and social effects in the long run. Modification of this model requires cooperation from medical and social scientists, psychologists, and architects and designers, development of regulations and construction standards, and cooperation from the relevant bodies (the municipality and engineering system) and medical, humanities, and social scientists. Based on the results of studies that have critically scrutinized the details of living in apartments, the organizations in charge of construction can also take important steps in establishment of laws and regulations that affect residents’ health to improve their quality of life. Based on the comprehensive dimensions of health, further achievements will hopefully be made in the construction industry and the design of residential units, so that people’s health will not be threatened by buildings, which can even have therapeutic properties.
Urban Planning
Mozhgan Sabet Teimouri; sajedeh baghban khiabani; ali alizadeh Zoeram
Abstract
HighlightsCulture and tradition have been the most important effect on development of tourism Destruction of agricultural lands threatens the sustainable development of tourism Destruction of traditional textures threatens the sustainable development of tourism Destruction of agricultural ...
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HighlightsCulture and tradition have been the most important effect on development of tourism Destruction of agricultural lands threatens the sustainable development of tourism Destruction of traditional textures threatens the sustainable development of tourism Destruction of agricultural lands is one of the negative consequences of tourismIntroductionTourism is a relatively new social activity that has recently emerged as a global phenomenon, and is considered as an important factor in social and cultural changes and development. Today, most experts recognize that the phenomenon of tourism can enrich all areas of human life in terms of speed and aspects of influence as the miracle of the century. Various effects of tourism development are observed in the city of Shandiz, Iran as tourists flood into the city. The development of tourism in Shandiz and its surrounding areas has led to positive physical and functional changes, such as the expansion of health care and accommodation facilities and increase in access to transportation. In general, factors including the desire to divide land and establish complexes as neighborhood settlements and sites equipped for gardening and residence (temporary residences), consistent with the development of tourism in the city, cause the location and construction processes to neglect the natural environment, the requirement for infrastructures and relevant services, and the impact on existing settlements, resulting in widespread intrusion on physical properties and their destruction. Given the positive and negative effects mentioned in regard to Shandiz, this research sought to make an expert analysis of the future trends in the city in order to mitigate or eliminate the negative effects and promote the positive ones based on the model of sustainable tourism development. The study was focused on identification of scenarios for addressing the physical and functional effects of the development of the Shandiz tourism destination and on specification of the optimal scenario in this field.Theoretical FrameworkThe tourism industry can have significant effects as an important form of human activity. It is quite clear how tourism affects the destination area, where tourists interact with the local environment, economy, culture and society. It should be noted that tourism issues are generally multifaceted, and their categorization is not as straightforward as often stated. In other words, the effects of tourism cannot be classified simply as social, environmental, or economic, as they tend to exhibit many interrelated dimensions, and may change over time with the development of destination areas.MethodologyFor achievement of the purpose of the study, descriptive-analytical investigations, documentations, and questionnaires were applied in the framework of the Delphi model and software analyses. After an enumeration of the key driving forces using the Delphi method, the method of future research was used to explain the various conceivable conditions for the future of Shandiz. Therefore, different conceivable states for each of these variables were discussed in expert panels, where the participants presented the pros and cons of each of the proposed scenarios. Then, the experts were asked to judge the effect of each possible situation on others on a qualitative scale from -3 (strongly restricting effect) to +3 (strongly promoting effect) according to the conditions prevailing in the study area. The expert judgments were incorporated into the ScenarioWizard software environment for presentation of system-compatible scenarios, ranging from the most favorable to the most catastrophic on a continuum involving moderate as well as favorable and catastrophic scenarios.Results and DiscussionThe findings of the study forecast three possible scenarios out of 39366 for Shandiz in the 2029 prospects, of which one was evaluated as favorable and two as unfavorable, although the results of similar studies have indicated the importance of land use change in the process of sustainable tourism development in cities. The findings of this study, however, demonstrate that culture and tradition have been the most important determinants of sustainability in the development of tourism in Shandiz. In an analysis of such results, it can be stated that the most effective assumptions here involve an enhancement of the traditional features of the fabric in the favorable scenario and their destruction in the unfavorable scenarios. However, destruction of agricultural lands was identified in this research as a negative consequence of tourism development, unlike in other studies. The findings indicate that moderate construction of buildings of residential use and enhancement of the traditional features of the city will effectively contribute to credibility of the favorable future of Shandiz in 2029. It is therefore suggested that the above factors should be focused on for achievement of a favorable future in the city in the field of tourism. Moreover, it will bring about greater stability in the favorable scenario to change the architectural pattern from traditional to postmodern, whereas the destruction of the traditional fabrics and agricultural lands in the unfavorable scenarios will lead to other destructive effects and threaten the sustainable development of tourism in the city.ConclusionThe findings demonstrate that the destruction of traditional fabrics in the unfavorable scenarios of tourism development in Shandiz exhibits greater stability than the other assumptions. Overall, the optimal scenario for the future of the city is more stable and robust. For establishment of a sustainable space for tourism, therefore, it is suggested that the preservation of the traditional urban space and proper management of land use changes be emphasized. Thus, sustainable development of tourism in Shandiz can be achieved if the favorable scenario proposed in this study is adopted, which emphasizes the enhancement of traditional features in a context consistent with the culture, balanced distribution of constructions with residential, commercial and tourist reception, and accommodation and recreational uses, preservation of agricultural lands and gardens, improvement of the quality of communication services, connection of the new and old fabrics, improvement of architecture in accordance with the local culture and materials, and modification of the architectural pattern from traditional to postmodern.
Urban Design
mona mehranfar; Jamaleddin Soheili; reza afhami
Abstract
Highlights- The graphics used in the urban furniture in District Two of the city of Qazvin, Iran have created a sense of place in the citizens.- Seats, sitting areas, and square elements play the most important role in creation of a sense of place through urban furniture.- Visual structure and architecture ...
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Highlights- The graphics used in the urban furniture in District Two of the city of Qazvin, Iran have created a sense of place in the citizens.- Seats, sitting areas, and square elements play the most important role in creation of a sense of place through urban furniture.- Visual structure and architecture play the most important role in creation of a sense of place, environmental graphics, and urban furniture. IntroductionLittle attention has been paid in the current era to the field of environmental graphicsand the creation of new experiences to induce a sense of place, which has caused environmental graphics to encounter stability and inactivity. This is due to ignorance and insufficient concern for it in strategic research. Today, architects and designers have tried to crystallize the aesthetic aspects of these elements besides the functional aspects in the study of urban graphics, and what they create involves aesthetic meanings and creates a sense of place in the audience. Moreover, the issue of creating a sense of place, one of the most important factors in environmental quality in Iranian cities, has been largely forgotten in the field of environmental graphics in the current era. Today’s urban space is sometimes left open even in response to performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the urban graphics in District Two of the city of Qazvin, Iran in order to improve the sense of place in citizens and then to achieve a model of urban graphics reading.Theoretical FrameworkThe visual quality of the urban environment involves an area with two systems of esoteric and external existence that must be understood simultaneously in order to improve the promotion of a sense of place for the audience. Cities with favorable visual environments are capable of expanding citizens’ aesthetic experience, promote their mental image of the society, and strengthen their civic pride. Meanwhile, the visual environment of a city emerges through the complex system of signs and the social, economic, and cultural characteristics of their communities. In the process of human-urban interaction, the visual environment provides the conditions for citizens’ and visitors’ perception, cognition, and environmental evaluation as a common interface. Man’s main perceptions from the environment depend on visual perception and visual factors. Thus, visual data provide man with the possibility of communication with the environment, because they play an effective role in promotion of the reading of urban spaces and visual perception of the environment. If we fail to consider the visual principles, graphic works, and visual representations in urban spaces, chaos and visual pollution will be created in urban environments, and these visual inconsistencies will intensify people’s psychological unrest. Therefore, environmental graphics can contribute to the organization of the visual system, improvement of the visual qualities, and enrichment of the sensory-visual features of urban spaces and consequently provide visual and mental peace and particular effects to the audience. As a part of the performance of environmental graphics, urban furniture has an important role in beautification and quality improvement along with creation of a sense of place in urban environments. Therefore, it can be stated according to earlier studies that architects and designers have tried to crystallize the aesthetic aspects of urban furniture besides the functional aspects of these elements in their current studies, and what they create involves aesthetic meanings and a sense of place.MethodologyThe present qualitative-quantitative study is considered as a survey in terms of purpose. In the collection of qualitative data, library tools were used for a review of the studies conducted in the field, and the obtained data were evaluated using the method of content analysis. In the quantitative part of the present study, field tools (observation and questionnaire) were used. The researcher-made questionnaire of the present study, which was prepared according to the data obtained from library studies and the theoretical framework of the present study, was distributed to one hundred citizens in District Two of Qazvin, who were selected using simple random sampling. The Friedman test was first used to rank the criteria and indicators concerning the respondents to the present research questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using the method of content analysis in the following step.Results and DiscussionThe results indicate that the physical structure of urban graphics in District Two of Qazvin involves a balanced quality of significant signs that attract the audience’s attention, and specify the sense of place in the area depending on the form, color, and materials. Among the components of environmental graphics reading in District Two of Qazvin, the components of visual structure and architecture exhibit the greatest roles, where they have created a sense of place in the residents of this district proportionally to their contexts and the types of color combination used, because there is a strong mutual relationship between the components of proportion and color combination and the reading of environmental graphics.ConclusionAccording to the data extracted from the questionnaire and the opinions collected from the residents of the district, it can be stated in general that seats and sitting places and square elements are ranked highest according to the conducted Friedman test, while elements such as trash cans and murals are ranked lowest.
Urban Planning
rasoul Babanasab; asghar zarrabi
Volume 4, Issue 13 , February 2015, , Pages 57-70
Abstract
Objectives In recent decades, a concept that has been comprehensively investigated is the concept of E-city. In a lot of developed countries and societies, E-city has been successfully implemented and recently the global approach is towards constructing E-societies. Nowadays, societies that have rapid ...
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Objectives In recent decades, a concept that has been comprehensively investigated is the concept of E-city. In a lot of developed countries and societies, E-city has been successfully implemented and recently the global approach is towards constructing E-societies. Nowadays, societies that have rapid access to information and have expertise in exchanging information are more developed. E-city is a new form of urban life which can be formed along with a real world and in complete adaptability with it. It can solve many challenges including traffic, air pollution, administrative corruption, and social inequalities faced by real cities. Furthermore, in addition to presenting a new model in cities, it can provide citizens’ and managers’ access to the wants of a developed, creative, and knowledge-based urban society. Findings The present study aims at analyzing the indices of e-citizen from the perspective of citizens in Tabriz City. This study is an applied-developmental one in terms of objective, and a descriptive, analytical, and survey research in terms of nature and method. To collect the data, documentary and field (questionnaire) methods were employed. The sample population included citizens living in 10 areas in Tabriz City. Using Cochrane’s formula, the sample size was determined as 322 individuals and for a higher confidence rate, the number of participants was increased by 10 percent bringing the final sample size to 354 participants. To determine the required questionnaire of each region, weighting method based on the proportion of the population of each area was used. To analyze the data SPSS, Pearson correlation coefficient and one sample t-test were used. The findings indicate that in terms of the quality of citizens’ access to ICT facilities and centers of E-servicing, after administering one sample t-test, the mean scores and t-value were 3.19 and 5.13, respectively. These figures indicate relatively acceptable levels of access to these facilities. The current mean scores of the indices of e-citizen (2.79) by considering infrastructure are at an acceptable level. In addition, from citizens’ points of views, the optimized use of ICT and electronic services, in the case of Tabriz City, will have a positive effect on the different social, economic, environmental, and physical dimensions of sustainable urban development. After conducting one sample t-test, the mean scores and t-value were 3.71 and 19.03, respectively. In regards to the degree of citizens’ experiences in using ICT, the results reveal that more than 79% agreed with the necessity of expanding the use of ICT and creating an E-city. There is a significant correlation between citizens’ electronic preparedness and acceptance of the effects of using ICT and the expansion of e-city. The magnitude of the correlation as r=0.433 indicates a positive and increasing correlation between these two variables. Results Based on the results, information and communication technology and electronic city can have an impact on different economic, social, environmental and physical dimensions. This means that optimal use of ICT results in urban sustainable development. Since Tabriz is the capital city of East Azerbaijan Province, the largest city in the north western region and the fifth most populated city of Iran, it has many problems such as air pollution, sound pollution, traffic, energy wastage, low citizen cooperation, and providing services to citizens. Despite such problems, novel instruction methods, contents and experiences in use of IT are required to be offered to citizens; role of ICT and creation of an electronic city is considered as a valuable movement toward experiencing a better life. Therefore, in addition to paying attention to the necessity of training with modern methods and contents, citizens consider the function of ICT as a valuable application for experiencing a better life.
Urban Design
Azin Mostofi; Hadi Sarvari
Volume 5, Issue 19 , August 2016, , Pages 57-68
Abstract
Abstract
This research attempts to shed light on land use impact on activities and pedestrian behavior. Furthermore, this paper aims to analyze the influential factors on urban street livability and vitality in order to provide a favorable basis to improve behavior diversity in urban public space. Daneshjou ...
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Abstract
This research attempts to shed light on land use impact on activities and pedestrian behavior. Furthermore, this paper aims to analyze the influential factors on urban street livability and vitality in order to provide a favorable basis to improve behavior diversity in urban public space. Daneshjou Street is a case study in this article. This street is located in western Mashhad. Mashhad is the capital of Khorasan_Razavi Province. According to pervious research, all actions undertaken to respond to human needs is considered an activity but behavior is how we do these activities. In this article, the category of Jan Gehl (necessary activities, optional activities, social activities) is used for studying behavior. According to investigation toward land use planning, we can consider frequency of use, the purpose of visits, and functional scales as essential land use properties. All these land use properties have a variety of sub-criteria. The purpose of the visit are a response to secondary needs and primary needs. Land use functional scales have neighborhood scale, regional scales, and district scales. Frequency of use includes once or more visits in a day, once or more visits in a week, once or more visits in a month, once or more visits in a year and visits at uncertain times. In this case study, we determined 5 types of land use:Commercial, Office, Open space (park), Mix-use residential and general service (gas station). This article is trying to answer the following question: "How do different land uses cause different behaviors? It seems that most urban design literature and text books have focused on the effects of different land uses on people‘s activities, and behaviors in urban public space is not studied or only narrowed to pedestrian walkways. This is a qualitative and descriptive analytic research study. The chosen methodology for the study behavior was direct observation and behavior pattern analysis and the methodology for studying land use comprised of observations and questionnaires. The sample size was 138. In Daneshjou Street, there are diverse activities and behaviors; for instance, it was possible to consider Walk to shops, Walk to do something, Transit, Walk to do a job, stand to do something or stand to wait as necessary activities and stroll, sit to eat and drink, sit to read, sit to rest and stand to eat and drink as optional activities. In addition, social activities observed included 2 people or more talking to each other, Cultural events and buying from venders. In Daneshjou Street, Mashhad, the frequency of necessary activities, optional activities and social activities were 29.5%, 33.7% and 36.8%, respectively.. Thus, social activities occurred more frequently than others activities in this case study. Pearson correlation test and chi square test were used for analyzing the information In conclusion, this study proves that land uses with a district functional scale, land uses with more than once a week visit frequency, and land uses responding to secondary needs could provide more variety of pedestrian behaviors in Daneshjou Street.
Slum Settlements
Saeid Alitajer; Pooria Saadativaghar; Mohammad Bashir Robati; Ahmad Heydari
Abstract
In recent years, for reasons such as population growth, increased rural migration, and the migrants’ financial inability to afford housing, the host cities are facing the problem of illegal settlements that are built densely without observing the principles of construction. These are usually known ...
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In recent years, for reasons such as population growth, increased rural migration, and the migrants’ financial inability to afford housing, the host cities are facing the problem of illegal settlements that are built densely without observing the principles of construction. These are usually known as informal settlements which face many problems. One of the problems is the lack of social spaces that could act as the pillar of urban life. The issue of socialization and social interactions has been neglected in marginal and informal urban contexts, but it is more important that than in other contexts. It is because these contexts are in fact one of the most prominent manifestations of urban poverty in most Iranian cities with migration inflow. The promotion of socialization in these informal settlements, which are a part of the city’s body, is one of the main goals for increasing public welfare and citizens’ peace through the provision of their social needs. In recent years, hybrid studies have considered the relationship between cognitive maps and spatial configuration in assessing the shape of the constructed environment, but few studies have focused on adapting the findings of space layout approach by comparing cognitive maps when studying and measuring social behaviors of citizens in one of the most problematic urban contexts, i.e. informal settlements. This is an innovation in this research, an applied area and a step forward in the field of urban psychology, which can help urban planners and decision makers to identify and improve the morphology of more sociable urban neighborhoods. The present study seeks to investigate the effect of the physical-spatial characteristics of these settlements on sociability by examining the neighborhoods of Hesar and Dizaj in Hamedan. In the first step, the related literature and theoretical concepts were reviewed by library research and consulting with valuable sources on spatial configuration, socialization, and informal settlements. In the second step, the maps of the two neighborhoods were simulated in the Space Syntax software and analyzed formally and morphologically as follows. In the analysis of research data, in line with the natural motion theory, the role of spatial configuration was examined in the formation of behavioral and social patterns (in particular, socialization behavior). In fact, this applied study is based on a mixed methodology. In the first step, quantitative techniques were used along with the theory of natural motion, the theory of space syntax, as well as Arc GIS and UCL Depth Map software packages to analyze spatial configuration and its role in the social behavior of citizens with the aim of specifying the physical-spatial factors which influence sociability in urban spaces. The next step aimed at determining the validity and reliability of the results. In this step, the quantitative results were reconsidered by means of the qualitative method of cognitive maps. According to the findings, spatial configuration may affect the sociability of informal settlements through five indicators, namely, control, connectivity, integration, depth, and legibility. It may also affect people’s attendance, motion, face-to-face contact, and conversations (which are the major prerequisites of the formation of social interactions). Our analysis of the abovementioned informal settlements shows that the maps of the quantitative method of space syntax almost overlap with the qualitative cognitive maps. A comparison between the two neighborhoods indicates that the tree-like and continuous space configuration of Dizaj creates a motion pattern that leads to social interactions in the middle parts of the neighborhood whereas the shrub-like configuration in Hesar distributes the patterns of motion and social behavior all over the neighborhood and leads to more desirable social effects.
Urban Planning
Mohammad Mehdi Azizi; Bahare Bahra
Abstract
Highlights In the process of urban regeneration, the establishment and strengthening of decision-making should be through evaluation. The article has tried to achieve a generalizable structure for evaluation after the implementation of flagship development at neighborhood scale. In flagship development ...
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Highlights In the process of urban regeneration, the establishment and strengthening of decision-making should be through evaluation. The article has tried to achieve a generalizable structure for evaluation after the implementation of flagship development at neighborhood scale. In flagship development at the scale of neighborhood, more important notice should be given to the residential parameter. Introduction. Urban development through development of internal neighborhoods is an attempt to restore urban life to the deteriorated areas of cities. In order to facilitate this process, planning and implementation of flagship development has been considered as one of the policies used for urban neighborhood regeneration and provision of the requirements for the residents’ presence and concern for different dimensions of development.Regeneration of the historical and deteriorated areas in cities has been addressed in the recent literature on urban planning worldwide. Inefficiency is a major problem in historical and deteriorated urban areas, where automatic update and change is no longer possible.As in many other countries, the current process of extension of deteriorated urban areas in Iran indicates that problems will be complicated if no precautionary measures are taken, and no appropriate policies or operating plans are adopted.Implementation of flagship development has been considered as a solution.A main purpose of flagship development is to help achieve urban regeneration goals, an approach taken up as a comprehensive strategy for making positive changes in a place with signs of deterioration. This strategy is aimed at quality improvement, with integrated economic, social, and physical goals. Flagship development is applied in order to improve a place that is in the process of decaying and deteriorating, and its advocatesare agreed that an urban area will not achieve regeneration without such projects, since it causes a series of reactions that will lead to regeneration of the urban fabric. On the other hand, it is not the case that we hope to achieve development over a vast urban area simply by relying on this project, as many projects all around the world have failed to achieve their main purpose, i.e. to regenerate a decaying fabric. Theoretical Framework. Evaluation is possible throughout the urban regeneration process, from the stage of problem identification to the implementation of projects and the review of the decision-making process. Through presentation of mobility and development indicators, therefore, the present study has developed into an appropriate, generalizable structure for assessment of the impact of flagship development and catalyst projects after implementation at the neighborhood scale. It evaluates the effects of an example of these projects in the Gowdal Mosalla neighborhood in the historical city of Yazd, Iran. The theoretical framework of the research involves three main parameters based on the overall literature and practical experience: the physical parameter, the residential parameter, and the activity parameter. The activity parameter includes the indicators of dependency burden, percentage of active population, percentage of commercial use, active commercial use, employment rate, and men’s rate of immigration. The physical parameter includes the indicators of access to infrastructure, access to parking space, population density, residential renovation, percentage of non-arid land, sustainable buildings, new buildings, percentage of administrative use. The residential parameter includes the indicators of percentage of indigenous population, percentage of tenancy, active housing, single-family housing, home access to primary schools, access to local parks, access to sports venues, youth population, number of students, level of education, and coefficient of residence. Methodology. A research method based on the quantitative methodology, regression analysis was used in this study to analyze the effects of each indicator on each factor, and the matrix of impact assessment, known as Leopold Matrix, was used for evaluation after the implementation of the flagship development and the neighborhood regeneration. The final results were obtained after 25 evaluation indicators pertaining to urban regeneration and flagship development were extracted from the established overall literature and practical experience, and secondary data on 93 urban blocks of the Gowdal Mosalla neighborhood were analyzed in SPSS 21. Results and Discussion. The research findings demonstrate that the project performed at the Faculty of Arts and Architecture of Yazd has the greatest effects on the physical parameter, followed by the residential parameter and, eventually, the activity parameter at the scale of the Gowdal Mosalla neighborhood, and it can be approved as a positive flagship development through provision of modification options. The results indicate the closest relationships between the indicator of native quality and the residential status of the fabric, between the indicator of access to services and the status of the residential environment, and between the indicators of population at the age of activity and percentage of commercial land use and the activity and economic status of the neighborhood. Population density, administrative level, and the stability of buildings affect the mobility and physical development of the neighborhood. Conclusion. In future planning, it is necessary to consider indicators that focus on improvement of the residential parameter, especially through consolidation of the existing indigenous population and absorption of the young population. Moreover, the extracted theoretical framework will be effective for planning flagship developments and evaluating them in future practice and research.
Urban Sustainability
AmirHossein Pourjohari
Abstract
Highlights- The great part of the construction sector in national investment affects the achievement of urban efficiency.- Destruction of durable buildings is in conflict with optimal use of capital.- Destruction and reconstruction of buildings without rights is an obstacle to achievement of life quality. IntroductionManagement ...
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Highlights- The great part of the construction sector in national investment affects the achievement of urban efficiency.- Destruction of durable buildings is in conflict with optimal use of capital.- Destruction and reconstruction of buildings without rights is an obstacle to achievement of life quality. IntroductionManagement of the demand for destruction and reconstruction has been known as a challenge to preserve durable buildings which are still available for use as places to live in or perform activity. It is also effective on urban productivity, a general concept that contains all the urban functions. Buildings make up the main factor in specification of the economic and spatial structure in a city. They have a determinative role in urban management and development, and their productivity is interpreted as the use of all the physical and structural capacities. Therefore, it can be claimed that buildings are important in urban productivity.Buildings are a priority in the investment made in cities, particularly in our country. However, managerial patterns and legal system are not established based on the roles and rights to manage the demands for destruction and reconstruction. This results from the readily-available benefits of destruction and reconstruction, which conceal the costs. Due to the importance of buildings as a national value and given the concept of sustainable development, it is necessary to analyze the statistical trends and study the different factors which impact the public tendency to destroy and reconstruct buildings.Theoretical frameworkAn essential approach to protection of durable buildings concerns infill development. This approach, which originates from sustainable development, includes one of the most serious activities performed to preserve durable buildings: adaptive reuse of buildings which exhibit the capacity to be preserved (based on their forms and functions). In other words, adaptive reuse of buildings is based on their capacities and characteristics. Therefore, the main approach to durable building preservation stems from sustainable development. Return to life cycle is the relevant pattern which can increase the efficiency period of a building. Urban efficiency is a way to improve urban management.It is worth mentioning that urban land, as a basis for creation of buildings, has a remarkable role in the attempt to achieve urban efficiency. The city and the functions which are created there are defined on that basis.MethodologyIn this research, statistical information on destruction and reconstruction permits granted in a twenty-year period has been analyzed. In addition, 4526 cases have been selected as durable buildings using random sampling. Moreover, an evaluation of the income codes of Tehran Municipality in the defined period has been considered. Therefore, this research has studied the public and managerial trends concerning the preservation of durable buildings and the relevant side effective factors.Result and discussionThe results of this investigation revealed that the value added due to destruction and reconstruction is the most important factor that encourages people to make such demands. However, an analysis of urban management income shows that destruction of durable buildings has no great impact thereon. It seems that a number of modifications in urban terms and restrictions need to be considered in durable building preservation. In this case, one must consider definition of new methods for creation of value added to satisfy the owners of durable buildings in order to preserve them.ConclusionThe factor that distinguishes this study from others is that it has focused on legal principles in management of the demand for destruction and reconstruction. Moreover, failure in supervision and administration and management inconsistency have been identified as the most important factors in the decision to destroy buildings which have the capacity to be preserved. In other words, urban management does not provide appropriate techniques to manage the demand for destruction and reconstruction.In conclusion, the tendency to destroy durable buildings could be explained in terms of the following.A. Economic and Social FactorsThe lack of balance in urban economics and uncertainty of investment in productive departments have been recognized as parameters that increase the tendency to destroy and reconstruct durable buildings.B. Legal Factors- There is no definition for durable buildings and the importance of their preservation as a national value.- Economic policies such as reduction of interest on bank deposits have facilitated investment in construction.C. Cultural FactorsThere is conflict between individual and public benefits which stem from culture. Therefore, people’s priorities are defined by their own benefit. In addition, the importance and priorities of individual benefits over public ones result from legal documents. Thus, the public tendency to give priority to individual benefits has been affected by laws and rights. Moreover, the poor sources of supplying sustainable income in urban management make up another factor that increases managerial tendency to construct.In other words, urban management benefits from the added value of destruction and reconstruction. However, there are no facilities or techniques to modify the tendency.
Urban Design
m. r.; m. p.; A. T.; A. S.
Volume 2, Issue 6 , June 2013, , Pages 59-74
Urban Planning
ش ش; ش ش
Volume 2, Issue 8 , December 2013, , Pages 59-69
