Urban Sustainability
mojde erfani; Hossein Bahrainy; Manouchehr Tabibian
Abstract
Abstract Lack of attention to the “dynamic” concept of the landscape, the “holistic” approach to it, and the use of conventional methods in the study of urban development projects has shaped an urban landscape that is unable to meet the demands of its inhabitants over time. Therefore, ...
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Abstract Lack of attention to the “dynamic” concept of the landscape, the “holistic” approach to it, and the use of conventional methods in the study of urban development projects has shaped an urban landscape that is unable to meet the demands of its inhabitants over time. Therefore, considering the ineffectiveness and divergence of the study method in the urban development plans of Iran and given the variability of today’s city, it is necessary to adopt an appropriate approach to today’s urban conditions. Landscape Urbanism theory, with a general approach to the concept of landscape and accepting the uncertainty of the evolving city, has raised a new field in the global literature. This theory, with an approach to confronting the complexities of the contemporary city, sees the “landscape” as an active phenomenon over time and emphasizes functional dimensions beyond its purely aesthetic aspects. At present, there are criticisms about putting the theoretical aspects of this approach to practice. Since the highest application of this theory is in the field of landscape architecture, most of its criticisms relate to the field of urbanism knowledge, the application of its theoretical framework to the city scale and the lack of executive instances. In this regard, the correct understanding and analysis of the theoretical issues of urban planning and its adaptation to the concept of sustainability, as a basis for thinking, can reveal its hidden dimensions. It is clear that further research on the application of this theory, along with the formulation of design principles, is an important factor in reducing the gap between theory and practice, solving structural problems and identifying the potential of this new approach to urban planning. The purpose of this research is to describe the theoretical framework of “landscape urbanism” theory as a new approach in urban design that aims at achieving a sustainable landscape. This study tries to emphasize the “procedure” and “substantive” dimensions in the design of sustainable urban landscape while developing the theoretical framework of this approach based on sustainability concepts. In this regard, the present paper seeks to confirm the following statements: - Understanding the dynamic concept of landscape and its “holistic approach” in today’s urban conditions leads to the formation of a landscape that can be “sustained” on a time scale. - The “stability” of the city’s main structure, along with the “flexibility” of open urban areas and urban neighborhoods against the changing conditions and needs of the community, can provide the ground for the formation of a sustainable landscape in the present situation. - The approach of “landscape urbanism”, as an efficient approach in the studies of urban development projects in Iran, in addition to “substantive dimensions”, needs a “infrastructure” for realizing its theoretical framework in the field of action. Based on the results of the research, the concept of sustainability in the theory of landscape urbanism includes the “stability” of the main structure of the city and the “change” of activities and programs proportionate to the changing conditions over time. Thus, the theoretical framework of landscape urbanization, with the features of “uncertainty” and “change”, can be used to design “open spaces” within and around the city as well as “urban neighborhoods” that are more “adaptable” and “flexible”. In this regard, the emphasis is on participatory planning from the bottom up, the design of the process-oriented with an integrated approach from regional to local scale in the urban landscape, and on the local identity.
Urban Planning
sepideh taban tarashkar; parvin partovi
Abstract
Uncontrolled urban development in the present age has caused many problems that cannot be solved by traditional management and requires the participation of all citizens in the administration of urban affairs. Today, citizen participation and its application in urban planning, as one of the characteristics ...
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Uncontrolled urban development in the present age has caused many problems that cannot be solved by traditional management and requires the participation of all citizens in the administration of urban affairs. Today, citizen participation and its application in urban planning, as one of the characteristics of the development of a country, is considered by designers and urban planners. Citizen participation is effective in the success of local development plans, so it has become one of the main issues of urban planning today. The role of children, who make one third of urban population (citizens), is neglected in many cases. In recent years, there has been much research on children’s participation, but it can be said that, in practical terms, this concept faces many obstacles. Many of the issues we are facing today, such as leaving the neighborhood, lack of security, etc., are due to neglecting all citizens, especially children, in the city and, at a smaller scale, in the neighborhood. Accordingly, it is essential that children participate in local development planning. Undoubtedly, children’s participation needs a thorough perception of the concepts related to child. It requires a full understanding of the concepts of the child and the benefits and challenges of children’s participation. Finally, it is necessary to answer the question of what the methods of children’s participation in the process of preparing and implementing local development planning are. The theoretical foundation and global experiences related to children’s participation is presented to answer this question. Then, the case study of Sarshoor neighborhood is introduced and the results are presented. Finally, the conclusions are made based on the analysis of theoretical concepts, answering the main questions by Delphi method, and experts’ opinions. The results indicate that contextualization is the most influential factor in the planning process, as compared to other factors including culture-building, institutionalization and durability of participation. The two factors of institutionalization and participation control are the most influential factors in the implementation of plans. When these factors are realized, children tend to become more involved in the development process of the neighborhood because (1) their abilities focus on themselves in this process, (2) they are provided with an opportunity in this process, (3) participation methods become available to them, and (4) they become aware of their rights. At the end, the cycle of the process of neighborhood development projects is proposed based on the components of children’s participation in the Sarshoor neighborhood. The findings of this study will not only help planners and designers to better understand the way children are involved in planning and designing processes, but also provide an appropriate framework for using effective factors on the participation of children in local development projects. It is suggested that the factors proposed in this paper be applied according to the specific conditions and characteristics of each neighborhood.
Urban Design
Leila Rahimi; Islam Karami
Abstract
Existing experience suggests that the perceptual environment of citizens plays an essential role in the perception of the quality of urban environments. Given the wide variations in urban life, in particular urban life in Tabriz as a metropolis, it is particularly important to recognize the quality of ...
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Existing experience suggests that the perceptual environment of citizens plays an essential role in the perception of the quality of urban environments. Given the wide variations in urban life, in particular urban life in Tabriz as a metropolis, it is particularly important to recognize the quality of urban and neighborhood environment. Therefore, Golshahr and Parvaz neighborhoods are considered as newly designed neighborhoods (less than 30 years old) with appropriate architectural and urban spaces and a high level of facilities and services. This paper presents an instrument for measuring perceived residential environment quality in urban environments. This instrument consists of 11 scales categorized into four criteria including spatial aspects, human aspects, functional aspects, and contextual aspects. The spatial aspects include three scales: architectural-planning space, organization and accessibility of roads, and green space. The human aspects involve one scale: people and social relations. Functional aspects include four scales: welfare, recreational, commercial, and transport services. Contextual aspects cover three scales: pace of life, environmental health, and upkeep. The paper aims to identify and measure perceived residential environment quality and improve the related psychometric qualities. Cognitive psychology is the conceptual framework of this research that focuses on environmental perception. This paper attempts to answer the following questions: 1- What level is the residents’ perceived quality of Tabriz neighborhoods (Golshahr and Parvaz regions)? 2- What factors affact residents’ perceived quality of Tabriz neighborhoods? The research method is descriptive-experimental and the data collection instrument is a questionnaire including 11 scales based on different dimensions of the research variables. The questionnaire comprised of 62 questions in the form of a five-point Likert scale. It was clustery distributed among 250 residents of Golshahr and Parvaz regions in Tabriz. The data was analyzed using the one-sample t-test, paired comparison, multiple regression analysis and path model analysis in SPSS software. Results confirm the factorial structure of the scale and indicate that, among the individual factors, sex and ownership affect the residents’ perceived quality of the neighborhood. Among the four main components, the social and then contextual components have a greater impact on the perceived quality of the neighborhood, while these two dimensions have the lowest score among the inhabitants of the neighborhoods. Among the scales, the green space scale from spatial aspect, discretion and civility from the human aspect, transportation services from the functional aspect, and upkeep and maintenance from the contextual aspect have the highest impact on the residents’ perceived quality of the neighborhood. Thus, the impact on the perceived quality of neighborhood increases when moving from the physical to the social-psychological-mental space, but the emphasis of the decisions of urban planners are more on the spatial and functional dimensions. Another interesting result is that, in addition to the social dimension, attention should be paid to the contextual dimension of the neighborhoods in order to promote inhabitants’ perceived quality of the neighborhood.
Passive Defense
Mohammadreza Pourmohamadi; Rasoul Ghorbani; Ghafour Alizadeh
Abstract
The main objective of this research is to identify and provide a solution for the vulnerable infrastructure of Tabriz city from the perspective of passive defense. Therefore, this research is a type of applied-developmental study with a descriptive-analytical method. Data was collected using library ...
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The main objective of this research is to identify and provide a solution for the vulnerable infrastructure of Tabriz city from the perspective of passive defense. Therefore, this research is a type of applied-developmental study with a descriptive-analytical method. Data was collected using library sources and a supplementary questionnaire filled by 20 experts in the fields of architecture, urban planning and passive defense. The findings of the research indicate the desirable condition of passive defense safety considerations in providing suggestions. The research planning process is as follows: 1. The quantitative model for determining the levels of the centers of gravity of the Metropolis of Tabriz shows that, from the total 32 infrastructures, 17 infrastructures are classified as vital and critical infrastructures and 15 are classified as important and maintainable centers, representing the significant number of vital and critical centers. Creating a large number of vital and critical centers instead of a single critical center and increasing the distribution of important centers in the city to promote the security of the city against military attacks are regarded as key issues in the discussion of damages and threats in passive defense. 2. According to the quantitative threat model in Tabriz metropolitan area, the threat of missile and airborne strikes were selected as the base threat: 20 centers of gravity out of the total of 32 centers are at stake of this threat, indicating the predominance of this threat on the assets of the city. Therefore, missile and airborne strikes were considered as a major threat in the modeling, network analysis and layer standardization in the GIS environment. 3. The final map of the vulnerability of the metropolitan areas of Tabriz drawn using fuzzy overlapping functions in the ARC_GIS environment with 22 effective indexes in the form of five criteria (vital arteries, crisis management centers, military and police centers, urban facilities and support centers), the basic threat of airborne and missile attacks and coefficients of the criteria and indexes obtained from the Super Decision analysis software model show that the vulnerable zones of Tabriz are classified into five levels: The area with very low vulnerability is 13.7%, the low vulnerability area is 9.5%, average vulnerability area is 23.5%, high vulnerability area is 32.3%, and extreme vulnerability area is 21% of the total metropolitan area of Tabriz, which is in contradiction to the principles of passive defense and increases the spatial vulnerability of the city. It is therefore necessary to develop a strategy based on passive defense principles to reduce the vulnerability of the city. 4. According to the average model, the nearest neighbor, the average expected distance between infrastructures of Tabriz metropolitan area is 455 meters, but the average infrastructural gap is 264 meters. The ratio of the nearest neighbor is 58%, showing the cluster distribution of Tabriz city centers. This ratio is in contradiction to the principles of passive defense and exacerbates the spatial vulnerability of the city. It is thus necessary to apply the principle of dispersion of passive defense regarding centers of gravity in Tabriz. 5. According to the SWOT model, the results of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of internal factors by studying and identifying critical centers in Tabriz metropolitan area indicate that the city’s weaknesses are more than its strengths. Therefore, drawing on the strengths, some strategies must be used to reduce vulnerabilities caused by the weaknesses and threats of the city.
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 Design
Abstract
Urban design involves the arrangement and design of buildings, public spaces, transport systems, services, and amenities. It is the process of giving form, shape, and character to groups of buildings, neighborhoods, and the city in whole. Urban design is about making connections between people and ...
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Urban design involves the arrangement and design of buildings, public spaces, transport systems, services, and amenities. It is the process of giving form, shape, and character to groups of buildings, neighborhoods, and the city in whole. Urban design is about making connections between people and places, movement and urban form, nature and the built fabric. It draws together the many strands of place-making, environmental stewardship, social equity and economic viability to create places with distinct beauty and identity. On the other hand, implementation tools offer different mechanisms for the delivery of quality urban design outcomes, and are used by a range of professionals to manage, motivate and organize urban design projects. While being disparate, these tools focus on the means of building quality urban design projects. Implementation can therefore be considered throughout all stages of an urban design project. A number of these tools focus on discussing and resolving design issues before the execution of a project. They can help clear roadblocks in the design process, provide collaborative management structures, and develop creative design solutions. Also, project implementation (or project execution) is the phase where visions and plans become reality. This is the logical conclusion after evaluating, deciding, visioning, planning, applying for funds and finding the financial resources of a project. After careful planning of the project, one will be ready to start the project implementation phase, the third phase in the project management life cycle. The implementation phase involves putting the project plan into action. It is here that the project manager will coordinate and direct project resources to meet the objectives of the project plan. As the project unfolds, it is the project manager’s job to direct and manage each activity, every step of the way. That is what happens in the implementation phase of the project life cycle: you follow the plan you have put together and handle any problems that comes up. The implementation phase is where you and your project team actually do the project work to produce the deliverables. The word “deliverable” means anything your project delivers. The deliverables for your project include all the products or services that you and your team are producing/performing for the client, customer, or sponsor, including all the project management documents that you put together. Along with the rapid growth of urbanization and the formation of urban development plans, urban design experts try to improve the quality of the environment. However, the field of urban design is a young and emerging field in the world, especially in Iran where it is considered as a fledgling discipline. The findings show that, in the current situation of Iran, the power-related criteria (political, administrative, economic and knowledge) attract the highest attention and the criteria related to dialogue, participation and interaction (public participation, legal interaction) are with the lowest levels of attention. An interactive model based on a reasonable balance between top-down and bottom-up approaches, drawing from Foucault’s theory of power and Habermas’s theory of communicative action, is suggested to better realize urban design projects in Iran.
Regional Planning
Motahhareh Moghiseh; Esfandyar Zebardast
Abstract
In regional planning, it is very important to adopt a spatial approach that takes into account all the settlements in the area. In Iran, there is often a one-dimensional look to urban and rural settlements so that the mutual influence between urban and rural settlements is disregarded while, in reality, ...
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In regional planning, it is very important to adopt a spatial approach that takes into account all the settlements in the area. In Iran, there is often a one-dimensional look to urban and rural settlements so that the mutual influence between urban and rural settlements is disregarded while, in reality, both of them have a direct and tangible effect on each other and generally on the regional development. Taking this point into account, the following outcomes could be expected: More realistic planning, reduction of the problems of large urban centers, strengthening peripheral settlements and paying more attention to villages as food production centers and as future cities. Mashhad metropolitan area is a place of pilgrimage in Iran. As a result, this region has accepted a considerable number of immigrants from other urban and rural settlements. It thus well demonstrates the rural-urban linkage and the effect of rural and urban regions on each other. This paper employs two types of theories: size-based and network-based hierarchical theories. Regional indexes are first defined using the first type of theories. Then, using the factor and cluster analysis method, the villages and cities will be ranked using more indexes. The second theory provides us with a different type of information that plays a role in rural-urban relationship. These indexes involve: 1- Financial flows (essential and non-essential goods, income, labor and manufacturing relations) 2- Services (educational, health care, technology and banking relations, infrastructure, transport and communication network) 3- Physical flow (distance from the city( 4- Organizational and population indexes. The data was collected by interviewing the residents of rural regions. Members of the village council generally had more complete information. Afterwards, the different layers of the flows were put together and analyzed by the GIS software. The final score of each flow was calculated. Three results were obtained in this research by analyzing the collected data: 1- The development type in Mashhad metropolitan area was determined. Consequently, the relationship between this kind of development and rural-urban linkage, present in this region, was explained. The result shows that there is often a unilateral relationship between Mashhad and other settlements, which represents the polar and central spatial structure of the area. 2- Moreover, the features of different villages were determined according to their position towards Mashhad metropolis. These positions involve: A- Located near the city of Mashhad B- Located on the main road leading to the metropolis or a small town. C- None of the above conditions This division shows that the first type of villages have the highest people, goods, services, capital, and information flows. These flows are less in the second type of villages. Immigration becomes permanent in the third type of villages. 3- Finally, this research determines the cause of efficient urban-rural relationships. These contain: A- Capacity and accepted capital B- How capacity and capital is distributed C- The amount of effort and ability settlements centers to benefit from others These factors can be useful in formulating the principles to achieve balanced regional development strategies.
Urban Design
sajjad zolfigol; mehrdad Karimi moshaver
Abstract
A quick view of the public spaces in each city would reveal the role of the square as a built environment. Assessment of “city life” involves a qualitative evaluation of different activities and the way different people perform them (group or individual activities, state of activities, the ...
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A quick view of the public spaces in each city would reveal the role of the square as a built environment. Assessment of “city life” involves a qualitative evaluation of different activities and the way different people perform them (group or individual activities, state of activities, the time of each activity). An environment that plays the role of an urban node in cities is recognized as the place of presence of different social groups and the physical realm of sustainable social interaction. The latest urban developments, expansion of cities and increased number of vehicles make squares act as a node to solve the traffic problem of cities while the first-made squares were intended for the presence of humans and social relationships in urban realms. In fact, prior to addressing the effect of humans and environment (separately without considering their relationship) on urban design and urban space, it is essential to understand their relations, the ways they are related, and the causes and effects of such relationships. Indeed, human, environment and their relationship should be considered in the urban design process. The relation between humans and environment is a process that connects them and provides the possibility of social interactions. Urban space is full of actions and reactions of people with specific behaviors and behavior settings. People’s presence in public spaces and social communities, the dynamic behavior of users, increased people’s spirit and appropriate use of public space are helpful in having a prosperous and dynamic society. Therefore, human activity, as a determining factor in improving the form and meaning attributes of a place, can result in vitalizing and diversifying the place. The behavior setting theory announces that it can be considered as a basic unit for an environment that simultaneously includes physical and social factors in the whole frame and affects user behavior. Behavior settings are real units of environment that naturally occur and are identifiable for people inside those settings because they have relationships with their daily life. The significance of the relationship between humans and urban environment, especially squares that have a vital role in urban spaces, reveals the importance of this research. The primary goal of this research is reviewing the relationship between users and environmental quality in order to improve intelligent designs for people. This practical research applies such techniques as documentary review, non-participant observation and survey. Field notes were obtained through observation and perception of users’ behaviors. The obtained data was analyzed in SPSS22 software. The analyses, conducted for several distinct purposes, overlap to some extent, while, at the same time, leaving many other possible applications behind. While a design framework is often cited as the reason for conducting these analyses, a still more systematic way to approach behavior analyses in urban design is required with the potential to supplement and extend the traditional methods with new layers referring to temporary and spatial behavior. The result points out that people are equally involved with social and physical aspects of Bu Ali Sina square. The users prefer behavior settings that provide the grounds for gathering, creating social behaviors, visiting friends and strangers, and doing different activities with a unifying meaning.
maryam farash khiabani; Pooyan Shahabian
Abstract
Many measures are being taken to bring peace and contentment to the citizens of today’s cities in weird and costly ways. However, little attention is paid to modest places that can satisfy the neglected needs of urban dwellers with lower costs. Paying attention to these places is a reflection on ...
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Many measures are being taken to bring peace and contentment to the citizens of today’s cities in weird and costly ways. However, little attention is paid to modest places that can satisfy the neglected needs of urban dwellers with lower costs. Paying attention to these places is a reflection on a circle that has an important relationship with freedom, satisfaction and peace of mind. The current research seeks to introduce one of the most attractive and influential types of such places. In this regard, it is essential to review the related principles from a philosophical point of view in order to understand the nature of these spaces.The most important basic concepts in this review are the third space (introduced by Edward Soja, the postmodern geographer and Homi K. Bhabha, the post-colonial cultural theorist), the third place (introduced by Ray Oldendburg, American urban sociologist) and heterotopia (a concept developed by Michel Foucault, the French philosopher, for the purpose of classifying space). A dissenting model, combining the features of these spaces, creates a new concept called “Other Space”. One of the typical examples of these types of spaces, which is less regarded by the experts in the field of urban studies, is cafe. Although cafes are semi-public spaces, identifying their nature and functionality due to their customer attraction can provide informative lessons for urban designers and planners. This research is based on qualitative methods, interpretive and case study approaches. It uses 20 cafes in the city of Karaj as sample. Documents about the three basic concepts were presented in order to define the types of cafes used for implementing the conceptual model of heterogeneous spaces. The final 5 main categories offered for cafes’ typology are: 1. Cafe Galleries and cafes with friendly atmosphere, where artists and art lovers are their main owners and customers. 2. Luxurious cafes, having more expensive menus and more affluent customers. 3. Old cafes whose identity is based on their age and history, and nostalgia is their main attraction. 4. Cozy cafes with diverse customers, have been existed from the very beginning of cafe in Iran and endure in the same way, despite the diversity in the business sector. These cafes can be found in each neighborhood. 5. Chain cafes, a newer generation of cafes in Iran based on the global models. According to the results of this study, these cafes, especially those with more cultural-artistic tendencies, have a close relationship with the features mentioned in the theoretical basics of the conceptual model of “Other spaces” such as the third space, third place and heterotopia. They have many lessons for urban planners and designers. With their capacity, their characteristics and optimized usage, these cafes can be considered as “other spaces” in various theoretical and practical urban studies. In fact, understanding that “Other Spaces” have been able to create small utopias in the commotion of today’s city can help to reconsider specialized decision making about other urban spaces.
