نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار، گروه شهرسازی، دانشکده معماری و هنر، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران.
2 دانش آموخته دکتری، گروه شهرسازی، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران.
3 دانشجوی دکتری، گروه شهرسازی، دانشگاه گیلان، رشت، ایران.
چکیده
در دو دهه اخیر، رویکرد راهبردی مبتنی بر ترسیم چشمانداز مشترک برای شهرها در نظام برنامهریزی شهری ایران مطرح شده است. در این راستا، پژوهش حاضر به بررسی«رویداد مردمی؛ رشت 1422» و اهمیت رویدادپذیری شهرها در شکلگیری این چشماندازها پرداخته است. از اینرو با اتخاذ روش تحلیل سیاست در یک مدل گستردهتر که شامل تحلیل متنی است، چهار گام در فرایند ترسیم چشمانداز و برگزاری رویداد مردمی؛ رشت 1422 طی شد و مورد تحلیل قرار گرفت. گام نخست شامل مرور مبانی نظری بود. در گام دوم با تدقیق مدل مفهومی برای شکلگیری رویداد مردمی شهر رشت و اهمیت کنار هم قرارگیری سهگانه فضا و مکان، شهروندان و نهادها و مدیریت شهری در شکلگیری فضای زبانی و تعاملی در ترسیم چشمانداز تبیین شد. سپس در ادامه این گام، مروری کیفی و دستهبندی از اسناد تولید سیاست با استفاده از تحلیل متنی صورت گرفت. پس از مرور اسناد، در گام سوم پیشتعریف شکلگیری رویداد شامل تکمیل و تحلیل پرسشنامهها و مصاحبههای عمیق از شهروندان، جلسات کارگروهی و مصاحبه با ذی نفوذان و در نهایت اتخاذ نظرات نخبگان و تأثیرگذاران در شهر رشت انجام شد تا با توجه به ماهیت مشارکتی بودن چشماندازسازی، محورهای اصلی چشمانداز در حضور اکثریت ذی نفعان و ذی نفوذان ترسیم شود. سپس در گام چهارم و نهایی، رویداد اصلی برگزار شد و با تکمیل سه فعالیت اصلی در رویداد، 29 محور اصلی چشماندازها تکمیل و اولویتبندی شدند و بیانیه چشمانداز تکمیل شد. این پژوهش با پیادهسازی گامبهگام رویداد مشارکتی، الگویی عملی برای افزایش مشارکت شهروندان و کلیه ذینفعان و ذینفوذان در فرآیند ترسیم چشماندازهای شهری ارائه کرده است.
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
The Role of Events in Shaping Collective Urban Visions: A Case Study of the 'Rasht’s Civic Event 1422'
نویسندگان [English]
- Aliakbar Salaripour 1
- Sara Nikmard Namin 2
- Mohammad Nouripour sedehi 3
- Zahra Ahmadi 3
1 Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art & Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
2 Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art & Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
3 Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art & Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
چکیده [English]
Highlights
Events as an operational mechanism: Public events function as core methodological instruments in strategic-operational planning, rather than mere symbolic gestures.
A practical step-by-step model: The study introduces a scalable, procedural model for integrating public events throughout the urban visioning process.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
In recent decades, Iran’s urban planning system has faced persistent criticism regarding the inefficacy of conventional master and detailed plans. These top-down frameworks have largely failed to address the dynamic needs of contemporary cities or meet the expectations of citizens, practitioners, and policymakers. Consequently, strategic planning—centered on formulating a shared, long-term vision—has emerged as a compelling alternative. While numerous studies have addressed participatory planning theoretically, few have examined the empirical, step-by-step implementation of participatory visioning in a real-world context. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing ‘Rasht’s Civic Event 1422’, a public initiative designed to formulate a shared vision for the city of Rasht within its strategic-operational planning framework. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the stages of ‘event-readiness’ in achieving a shared vision, thereby offering a replicable practical model for other Iranian municipalities.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical foundation of this research rests on three interconnected pillars: participatory strategic planning, collaborative visioning, and event-based public engagement.
Participatory strategic planning asserts that effective urban strategy must originate from an inclusive visioning process involving municipal management, the private sector, civil society, and the general public. Participation legitimizes decision-making, broadens perspectives, and enhances social capacity. However, the literature warns that participation remains tokenistic unless it actively empowers citizens and fosters robust stakeholder networks.
Collaborative visioning is defined as a collective process through which community members identify their current identity, core values, and future aspirations. Successful visioning requires two essential elements: a comprehensive baseline assessment of present conditions and genuine public engagement. Without these, visions remain bureaucratic exercises rather than living social contracts.
Events and festivals (including public gatherings and carnivals) are proposed here as strategic catalysts for engagement. Events create unique socio-linguistic spaces where citizens, institutions, and urban environments converge. They facilitate dialogue, foster a sense of belonging, and amplify diverse voices, including those of marginalized groups. Based on this synthesis, the study developed a conceptual framework (Figure 1) positing that effective visioning occurs when citizens, urban institutions, and physical space interact through event-driven dialogue. This interaction generates a shared language and a mutual understanding of collective values.
(Figure 1. Conceptual Framework)
Methodology
This research employs a policy analysis methodology within an extended framework that incorporates qualitative textual analysis. The study followed a four-step process:
Step 1: Literature Review: Examining the theoretical foundations of participation, visioning, and event-based planning.
Step 2: Textual Analysis: Refining the conceptual framework and conducting qualitative content analysis of national, regional, and local strategic documents, alongside international case studies.
Step 3: Pre-event Process Analysis: Collecting multi-dimensional data through:
900 structured questionnaires across Rasht’s five districts (Cochran’s formula, 0.08 margin of error).
30 in-depth interviews with citizens.
50 semi-structured interviews with experts, elites, and city council members (snowball sampling).
Consultations with 102 thematic working group participants and 25 district-level stakeholders.
Step 4: Event Analysis: The primary public event, ‘Rasht’s Civic Event 1422’, was held on July 16, 2023, in the pedestrian zone of Rasht’s Municipality Square. The event engaged approximately 500 adults and 100 children through: (a) interactive mapping of local challenges and assets; (b) a children’s drawing workshop titled ‘My Lovable City’; and © a ‘fingerprint voting’ system for prioritizing vision themes.
Results and Discussion
The findings demonstrate that event-based visioning is both feasible and effective, provided that participation is embedded throughout the entire planning cycle rather than treated as a final validation step. Key results include:
Divergent Priorities: A significant gap was observed between elite and citizen priorities. While experts emphasized smart governance and integrated management, citizens prioritized tangible, everyday concerns: river restoration, efficient public transport, waste management, and family-friendly public spaces. This divergence underscores the necessity of early-stage citizen involvement.
Synthesized Vision: The final vision statement (Horizon 1422/2043) successfully synthesized 29 strategic axes prioritized by the public.
Creation of ‘Language Spaces’: The event transformed the pedestrian square—a site of collective identity—into a platform for face-to-face interaction between planners and the public. Children’s drawings added a crucial intergenerational dimension, revealing desires for safety and nature often overlooked in formal technocratic documents.
Structural Barriers: Despite the event’s success, deep-seated challenges remain, including bureaucratic centralization, lack of managerial stability, and historical mistrust. Some citizens’ reluctance to participate in ‘fingerprint voting’ highlighted a lingering skepticism regarding whether their input would manifest as tangible change.
Conclusion
This research provides an empirically grounded model for utilizing public events as legitimate policy instruments that bridge the gap between technocratic planning and lived experience. The study concludes that:
Genuine participation requires citizen involvement from the earliest stages of problem identification, not just during final prioritization.
Sustainability of Participation: The effectiveness of public events is contingent upon their continuity. Consistent follow-up and oversight mechanisms are essential to enhance participatory capacity and strengthen citizens’ agency. Without such continuity, participation risks being reduced to a superficial, one-off exercise.
Institutionalization: ‘Event-readiness’ must be institutionalized within municipal frameworks through dedicated budgets, transparent feedback loops, and continuous reporting to the public.
Structural Reform: Without addressing the underlying pathologies of urban governance—such as bureaucratic resistance and systemic distrust—even the most well-designed events may remain symbolic gestures rather than drivers of participatory democracy.
کلیدواژهها [English]
- Event-Readiness
- Policy Analysis
- Civic Event
- Shared Vision
- Strategic Planning
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