Urban Planning
Javad khodaei; maryam Khazaei
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 5-20
Abstract
Mosques are one of the most obvious faces of Islamic societies and play a fundamental role at both the spiritual and superficial levels. Moreover, in the history of Islamic cities, the three basic elements of mosque, bazaar and mahala have had fundamental and determinative roles in the development ...
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Mosques are one of the most obvious faces of Islamic societies and play a fundamental role at both the spiritual and superficial levels. Moreover, in the history of Islamic cities, the three basic elements of mosque, bazaar and mahala have had fundamental and determinative roles in the development and evolution of cities. Amongst the different types of mosques that exist, local mosques, as public spaces with social, economic and political dimensions, have had a great effect in representation of cultural values and Islamic traditions. As in western cities- based on the Peri theory regarding the mahala units- schools have a determinative role in the center of mahalas and residential zones and the local mosque is on the same level of importance as cultural and religious centers. The other amenities and facilities, such as educational and commercial facilities are on a lower level in the center of mahalas. In addition, these local mosques have helped raise the identity of small as well as large mahalas. However, contemporary mosques have many shortages and negative aspects including their location in unsuitable areas and their omission in the identity structure of mahalas as places for residency. In the process of modernity, local mosques are considered to be on a lower level in comparison to the other elements. The scale and position of local mosques does not suit new conditions and does not respond to the diverse demands of users in such a way as to decrease the sense of dependency on its function.
This research attempts to assess mosque selection site of based on the locating index of efficiency, compatibility and comfort (these indexes are more suited to the aim of this research, and other location indexes are omitted) and the accessibility of mahalas to the identity structure as a residential place. ). Thus, a conceptual model based on the comparison between the locating indexes and criteria of creating identity in mahalas is proposed.
This paper can be categorized as applied – development research. The method of this research is descriptive – analytical and uses both primary and secondary data from a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology of research. The existing secondary data studied was based on two parts: firstly, the location of religious sites and mosques in the past and the effective indexes of creating identity in the residential contexts. The research is based on a case study approach focusing on the twelve zones of Mashhad city. The primary data gathered were firstly from direct observations via site visit of the case studies and secondly questionnaires completed by mosque users and local residents with a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. Then, the primary and secondary data was analyzed using SPPS, EXEL and ARC GIS softwares.
In the findings section, the selected local mosques was analyzed based on the conceptual model for each of the locating indexes qualitatively and quantitatively. This research demonstrates the degree of influence of the criteria of identity in locating local mosques by determining the level of consistency of selected local mosques with the conceptual model. In conclusion, the authors propose that in the contemporary period, mosque locating be based on the three mentioned indexes (efficiency, compatibility and comfort) .
Urban Sociology
masoumeh Hedayati marzbali; Mohamad Javad Maghsoudi tilaki
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 21-36
Abstract
As crime rates have rapidly increased globally, crime prevention has received a great deal of attention among scholars in recent years. Neighbourhoods play a significant role in the lives of those who live and socialise within their boundaries, and how they interact in the neighbourhood environment. ...
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As crime rates have rapidly increased globally, crime prevention has received a great deal of attention among scholars in recent years. Neighbourhoods play a significant role in the lives of those who live and socialise within their boundaries, and how they interact in the neighbourhood environment. Certain characteristics of the neighbourhood can affect residents’ perceptions towards neighbourhood problems. Both the social and physical conditions of the neighbourhood may affect the perception of the residents on the surrounding environment. The incivilities thesis posits that signs of incivilities contribute to an increase in the fear of crime. Despite the theory that management of incivilities can make safer communities, the empirical literature on examining the indirect effect of the incivilities thesis is limited. Interventions require a better understanding of the neighbourhood correlates of both cognitive (perceived risk) and affective (fear of crime) responses to crime. The affective dimension of fear of crime refers to the emotional responses to fear of being a victim of specific crime types, while the cognitive dimension refers to risk of crime victimisation. This study examines the associations between disorder, perceived risk and fear of crime by considering gender as a control variable in a sample of 160 residents in Penang, Malaysia. Five research hypotheses were put forward and tested using the structural equation modelling on a priori hypothesised theoretical model. The effect of perceptions of disorder on perceived risk and fear of crime was investigated. Of particular interest in this investigation was the possible contextual effect of gender on the residents’ perception of their neighbourhood. The results of structural equation modelling reveal that high disorder is positively associated with perceived risk and fear of crime. Likewise, perceived risk mediates the relationship between disorder and fear of crime. Consistent with prior research, women perceived higher levels of disorder, perceived risk and fear of crime. This would suggest that women perceived their immediate surroundings in negative terms and they are the gender more fearful of crime. This may presumably refer to a lack of physical strength, less mobility for this group of people and reinforced beliefs of vulnerability through communication, behaviour and interactions. In addition, over time, the results of the present study provide empirical support for the initial classic theory, incivilities thesis. In fact, lowering the level of crime is not the only way of alleviating risk perceptions and fear, particularly amongst women. Although we do not claim that fear is independent of direct victimisation, other factors such as environmental factors can play a significant role in mitigating fear of crime. Therefore, based on the study findings, we suggest that local planning authorities need to pay attention to such important matters in neighbourhoods as street lighting provision and maintenance, eliminating concealed spots, designing streetscapes to enhance visibility, and last but not least increasing the visibility of the police to citizens.
Urban Planning
Fateh Habibi
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 37-50
Abstract
In the twenty-first century, technological progress has given people more free time and wealth to spend on their leisure activities. In fact, the second half of the twentieth century should be called the era of the tourism industry. Nowadays, there is an intense competition between different countries ...
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In the twenty-first century, technological progress has given people more free time and wealth to spend on their leisure activities. In fact, the second half of the twentieth century should be called the era of the tourism industry. Nowadays, there is an intense competition between different countries to attract tourists. Furthermore, as a dynamic industry having unique features, tourism now accounts for a significant part of the economic and manufacturing activities of developed and developing countries. International tourism has developed rapidly in the last two decades and today tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing industries. The tourism industry has become a major economic sector that generates foreign exchange earnings in most countries. The number of international tourists in the world will increase to 1602 million by 2020, while revenues from tourism will reach approximately US$200 billion. The world travel and tourism council (WTTC) expects travel and tourism to continue to be one of the world’s largest industries. In 2015, the tourism industry contributed to 9.8 % of global GDP and accounted for 279 million jobs. Over the next ten years (by 2025), it is anticipated that this industry will account for 10.5% of the global GDP and 356 million jobs worldwide. Attracting tourists is one of the pillars of the tourism industry along with the elements necessary for the host society to provide the right conditions for attracting tourists. The behavior and attitude of the host society as revealed in its interaction with tourists are essential to the growth of tourism. As a business and service activity, tourism plays an important role in the economic development of a city. In terms of tourism destinations, investigating the tourism industry is important because it informs planners and policy makers about tourism destinations and their features. In this way, the management of tourism destinations will be able to equip the target market according to tourists’ needs. Due to the increasing arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists to Marivan, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the role of social capital of local residents in their tendency toward welcoming tourists. Over 90% of respondents had moderate to high tendency toward accepting tourists. An analytical-descriptive methodology has been applied in this study. The questionnaire contains 23 items on a 5-point Likert scale. 280 questionnaires were distributed among tourists in Marivan in 2015, from which 254 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to ensure the reliability of the research tool. The questionnaire showed a very good reliability of 0.78 percent. Descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, bivariate regression analysis) were applied to analyze the data using SPSS. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between the variables of social capital (trust, cohesion and participation) and people’s education and their tendency to accept tourists. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between sex and job status of people and their tendency toward accepting tourists. Multivariate regression analysis showed that independent variables explain 13% of the dependent variable (tendency toward accepting tourists).
Regional Planning
Hashem Dadashpoor; Nariman Jahanzad; Homa Jalili
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 51-62
Abstract
In the last few decades, city-regions have faced considerable changes. Mashhad metropolitan region as one of the most important development centres in the eastern region of Iran, has experienced great spatial changes which have brought about many spatial problems. This city alone has more than 75 percent ...
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In the last few decades, city-regions have faced considerable changes. Mashhad metropolitan region as one of the most important development centres in the eastern region of Iran, has experienced great spatial changes which have brought about many spatial problems. This city alone has more than 75 percent of the population of the wider Mashhad region as well as accounts for approximately 90 percent of the added value of that region. The explanatory indices used in this area indicate an intense imbalance and centralization of capital and power in the area. The logical consequence of this imbalance have led to urban sprawl and increasing accumulation of capital. This sprawl have had several consequences such as the destruction of green and agriculture lands, land speculation, increase in environmental pollutions, ecological destruction and mismatch of the developed land with the natural potentials of those lands. On this basis, it is necessary to identify the future spatial changes in this region. Accordingly, this study has two parts. The first part is based on the morphological dimension of spatial structure and simulates future land use changes for the years 2026 and 2041. In doing so, the CA model was associated with ANN algorithm. The simulation process was run in QGis 2.4 environment. In the second stage, by using distribution, clustering and concentration indicators and based on the predicted data of population and employment in the aforementioned years, the spatial configuration of the region was drawn. The results of distribution indices show that from 1996 to 2041 the value of entropy coefficient will decreased which indicates polarization of the population and employment in the region. The findings of the spatial changes analysis by K-Ripley function indicate that at short distances, population and employment distribution will change in a dispersing manner, and at long distances, concentration in population and employment will be intensified. Finally, concentration indices show that the Mashhad metropolitan area does not have any spatial concentration patterns, and population and employment will distribute randomly. The results show that the growth process in the region is proceeding in a devastating manner as vast amounts of agricultural lands and pastures will continue to be ruined. In the year 2026, 247 Km2 of these lands will be built on and green spaces will tranform into urban lands. This amount will be equal to 1004 Km2 in the year 2041.
In conclusion, the continuation of the existing growth will lead to irreparable consequences in the area.Future spatial changes will lead to consuming agricultural lands and grasslands and will deteriorate rural settlements. The continuation of the present development of urban settlements and land-use changes might cause environmental disasters such as a water crisis, increased air pollution and pressure on infrastructure which. in turn will lead to irreparable socio-economic damage and human crises like riots, crimes and vandalism. Thus, it is necessary that planning systems pay attention to reasonable management of growth.
Urban Planning
Mohamad Javad Noori; Kaveh Asadpoor
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 63-76
Abstract
Objectives: The “MEHR” housing project is one of the most recent projects undertaken by the Ministry of Roads & Urban Development. Despite the main aim of the project which is accommodating low income citizens, recent studies demonstrate that the living condition in these housing projects ...
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Objectives: The “MEHR” housing project is one of the most recent projects undertaken by the Ministry of Roads & Urban Development. Despite the main aim of the project which is accommodating low income citizens, recent studies demonstrate that the living condition in these housing projects is not satisfactory. The main aim of this article is to evaluate the satisfaction level of residents in Mehr housing project from residents’ perspectives through both qualitative and quantitative methods. “Exploratory Factor analysis” was used as the main method mainly due to its capability in analyzing the parameters which are affected by the context.
Findings: The findings of this article indicate that factor analysis causes a reduction in the number of satisfaction indicators from 71 to 22. Furthermore, application of “varimax rotation” in factor analysis method is due to its ability in correlating literature reviews with the result. In this article, KMO index was 0/611 which is considered in the standard range of factor analysis. Skewness & Kurtosis indexes was calculated to assess the normality of questionnaire data. Finally, normalization process show the various conditions of various factors. Eventually, cluster analysis presented the distribution of satisfaction in the study sample (150 households). In contrast to prior studies, this research identified a four-level structure for Mehr housing project satisfactory factors (housing units, housing buildings; housing site, surrounding area of the site)
Results: The results show that the most important factors in the residents’ dissatisfaction in “MEHR” housing project were the lack of access to primary civic services (educational, religious and security), lack of activity centers, the need for pedestrian-oriented and mixed use development, insufficient surveillance and low maintenance service on the interior spaces of housing units, high level of environmental pollutants and lack of recreational spaces. The findings of this article show that 76 percent of households were not satisfied with the quality of their life. The result of this article would help the executive agencies of “MEHR” housing projects, in considering the satisfaction level of residents. This article also demonstrates that "shelter making" alone cannot be considered a comprehensive satisfactory parameter for low income households because the essential needs of individuals is to live in a well-designed community and not just in a shelter. Therefore, this article recommends to first assess the future needs of residents prior to the development process. People who live in Dehaqan Mehr housing were found to be satisfied with having a shelter but the quality of life was not acceptable due to the factors discussed. The main factors causing serious problems in this Mehr housing project were identified to be related to its infrastructures and social and health issues as Finally, it is worth mentioning that the city management system of “MEHR” housing project has to invest on short term actions, first to build a school, a mosque and a police station and second to allocate the best places for communal activities (such as markets, green spaces and cultural centers).
Urban Design
Soran Mansournia; Fariba Gharaei; Bakhtiar Bahrami
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 77-90
Abstract
The primary audience of an urban space is its users; urban spaces are given meaning and can be considered a place by people. Therefore, success of every urban space is related to its responsiveness to users' behavior, user demand and the compatibility of the ‘Environment’ with the ‘Behavior’ ...
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The primary audience of an urban space is its users; urban spaces are given meaning and can be considered a place by people. Therefore, success of every urban space is related to its responsiveness to users' behavior, user demand and the compatibility of the ‘Environment’ with the ‘Behavior’ which lead to friendly urban spaces, maintain its number of users and encourage their presence in that urban space. Thus, a survey of the users of an urban space can be considered a valuable source in planning, management and designing of urban spaces. In order to analyse a public space’s responsiveness, it is considered a useful source to concentrate on user’s behavior which is a first step in this process of Behavior mapping. Behavior mapping utilizes a variety of behavior mapping types in different seasons, different months, different days and different hours of the day so as to obtain a clear vision of the current situation of urban spaces, diverse uses of urban space and measure the coordination of layout (Environment) and content (Behavior). Zrêbar lake Waterfront ambiance, which has a virgin nature, is the most remarkable recreational urban space for the inhabitants in Marivan. Furthermore, it is one of the most attractive destinations in Kurdistan Province for holidaymakers. In this article, behavior mapping was carried out in 36 days, in three seasons of 2015 (Spring, Summer and Autumn) and on all the days of the week in the aforementioned environment. This article briefly reviews the theories and methods of experts in environmental psychology and behavior mapping and categorizes these methods by taking the available facilities into account. Finally, consistent with existing conditions, various types of behavior mapping was applied including Stationary Behavior Mapping, Tracking, Tracing and Territorialization. Therefore, this research stems from fieldwork with a cross-sectional approach that was undertaken to measure responsiveness of the mention environment regarding activities and behaviors that occurred. Evaluation method used consisted of direct observation and presence in the environment. The data and quantitative indicators were analyzed by SPSS and the spatial data was analyzed by GIS. The results obviously indicate that users of Zrêbar lake waterfront are not satisfied with the current situation. Shortage of quality seating and sitting areas, the lack of time spent in the environment by users and also a lack of suitable conditions to support interesting activities and behaviors, ignoring needs of different ages in design (especially children and teenager age groups), lack of opportunity for users to touch the water and do water fights are examples of users dissatisfaction of the present condition and demonstrates that the current situation does not address users’ needs properly.
Urban Architecture
Mitra Ghafourian; Elham Hesari
Volume 5, Issue 18 , May 2016, Pages 91-100
Abstract
Residential Satisfaction is one of the most complex issues and the key criterion which has been studied by many urban scholars and also other scientific researchers. It is necessary since it contributes to individuals’ well-being and quality of life. Admittedly, the Residential Satisfaction concept ...
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Residential Satisfaction is one of the most complex issues and the key criterion which has been studied by many urban scholars and also other scientific researchers. It is necessary since it contributes to individuals’ well-being and quality of life. Admittedly, the Residential Satisfaction concept is based on a wide range of expectations, desires and tendencies in order to meet basic and transcendental human needs, and refers to the real experience of people's lives. Satisfaction with the residential environment is, in fact, people's quality of evaluating their living environment and many factors such as personal, physical and social factors influence its level. Hence, evaluation of these factors leading to satisfaction with the residential environment can be used as scales and standards by the city planners, urbanists and architects. It seems that by reviewing the research conducted on residents' satisfaction and its inductive conclusion, one can reach a systematic framework and a comprehensive model to explain the factors affecting this quality. This paper is in search of a theoretical framework to identify and assess background factors and variables affecting residential satisfaction, and to develop a theoretical model to analyze the relationship of each variable with the extent of residents’ satisfaction using a meta-analysis method by comparing the results of previous experimental research. This analysis was undertaken to achieve tangible and clear conclusions. Accordingly, on the one hand it deals with defining satisfaction with the residential area based on the views of experts in the field; and on the other hand, by looking at previous experimental studies, it deals with identifying and analyzing the factors affecting the satisfaction of the residents and offers the proposed model of the research. The results of the research identify that Satisfaction with residential space is a complex phenomenon and depends on multiple factors which includes personal, social and physical factors. Personal variables, independently, are known as the most influential factors affecting different levels of expectations, desires and tendencies of life. Social factors were identified and defined as emotions that are effective in the process of shaping the social dimension of satisfaction. It can be stated that the public's sense toward local community increases in places and is affected by people’s mental perception of the environment. in fact, people feel more satisfied with their local community when it seems supportive, reliable and friendly. The third level of commonality also showed that satisfaction is also influenced by the living conditions and physical environmental factors. If built environment was selected by people and it has a good quality, it will affect judgment of satisfaction of the residential environment. In addition, social and physical factors of residential environments form the real experiences of people from these environments. With respect to the objective of observing the physical environment and mental perception of the social conditions in which one lives, residents will have different actual experience in terms of the environment. Thus, if there is more convergence between individuals' expectations with their real experience of the environment, the satisfaction with the residential environment will increase.
Satisfaction, Residential Environment, Personal Factors, Social Factors, Physical Factors.
