Urban Design
yasaman Ghaderi; Seyed Mahdi Khatami
Abstract
HighlightsThe five human senses are known as the window of human communication with the surrounding environment.Perceptions caused by sensory stimuli play an important role in the improvement of the quality of urban space and creation of an atmosphere of memory.In the theoretical foundations and research ...
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HighlightsThe five human senses are known as the window of human communication with the surrounding environment.Perceptions caused by sensory stimuli play an important role in the improvement of the quality of urban space and creation of an atmosphere of memory.In the theoretical foundations and research background section, the library method was used, along with the two methods of sense-walking and sensory notation, used in the section on field studies.The sense of sight exhibits the greatest sensory stimulation, and the sense of taste has the least stimulation.Greater attention is paid to the visual dimension of the environment in today’s designs of commercial spaces. IntroductionThe variety in sensory perceptions creates a quality for the urban space that is known as sensory richness. In other words, sensory richness causes different sensory experiences to take shape and the space to be more responsive ultimately (McGlynn, 2013). The study demonstrates that the sense of eyesight and perception based thereon has received greater attention than the other senses with the emergence of the modern age. Meanwhile, the other senses provide a deeper understanding of space (Khoury, 2006). Therefore, it can be stated that the missing link between urban space and sensory richness involves sufficient attention to all the five human senses. On the other hand, the larger the number of sensory organs involved in the perception of space, the greater its impact and the more complete and more profound the understanding thereof. This will also increase the possibility of the attractiveness, role-playing, and evocativeness of the space and the presence of all members of the society therein. Therefore, it seems that the perceptions caused by sensory stimuli have received less attention from urban designers and scape architects so far in spite of their important role in the specification of the quality of urban space and the creation of a space of memory.Theoretical FrameworkThroughout history, many philosophers have emphasized the need to pay attention to sensory experiences and have challenged the excessive superiority of the sense of eyesight over the others and addressed its pathology. In his book entitled Responsive Environments, Ian Bentley introduced the importance of senses in the specification of the quality of sensory richness in urban spaces and emphasized the need to address non-visual senses. Considering all the senses except eyesight has been an important principle of visual research such as that conducted by Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Bently et al., 2003). Juhani Uolevi Pallasmaa believes that the sense of eyesight separates us from the world, while the others connect and unite us therewith (Pallasmaa, 2012). Mónica Degen uses the term sensory scape in regard to the interdependence of human senses and the simultaneous presence of different sensory experiences in the urban space. This term is derived from the term olfactory scape, which was first mentioned by Porthos (Degen, 2008). Paul Rodaway, who is an expert in the science of human geography, has expressed the concept of sensory geography to regard the structure of the human body as a general positioning system that relies on four sensory groups: eyesight, hearing, smell, and touch (Rodaway, 2002). In the research conducted in the field of scape, various theorists have mentioned three additional senses to the five included in the classical classification, initially made by Aristotle. These include the senses of direction, familiarity, and time. For example, Kevin Andrew Lynch has emphasized the sense of spatial orientation in his book entitled Image of the City. Thinkers such as Wunderlich and Podvin have assumed urban space to involve four dimensions, the fourth being time. They believe that spaces turn over time into places where life flows. These spaces are given more meaning by time-dependent parameters.MethodologyThe method used in this research is descriptive-analytical. In order to collect information and meet the required criteria and metrics, the methods of sensory richness and library information collection were used along with the available books and articles. To carry out field experimentations, the methods of observation and interview were used along with extensive oral questions about the quality of sensory richness, photography, and compilation. The sense-walking and sensory notation methods were used as data collection tools. At first, the library information collection method was used in order to achieve different quality dimensions of sensory richness. The two case studies considered in this research involve Tehran Grand Bazaar and Bamland Shopping Center in Tehran, Iran.Results and DiscussionThe sense of eyesight won the first place in both study areas, although it could be said to be more affected in Bamland Shopping Center than in Tehran Grand Bazaar, with a difference of 3 points. The remarkable point about Tehran Grand Bazaar is that the senses of eyesight and hearing have been given equal points there. This means that the two senses are equally involved in this area, while the second priority in Bamland Shopping Center concerns the sense of touch. The sense of smell, with 18 points, is the second priority in the study area of Tehran Grand Bazaar. The third priority in Bamland Shopping Center pertains to the sense of hearing. The senses of taste and touch are ranked third in Tehran Grand Bazaar, with a score of 14, while the senses of smell and taste are ranked fourth and fifth in Bamland Shopping Center, respectively.ConclusionAs stimulating elements, the five senses affect human perception and behavior in the urban space as well as its quality so that the use of different senses leads to a deeper relationship between man and space. As a result, a better perception of the environment is obtained. The qualitative levels of the components of sensory richness were examined and compared to answer the main question of the research, i.e. what changes have been made to urban designers and planners’ concern for the qualitative components of sensory richness in the design of commercial spaces in Tehran. It can be stated that better sensory richness with greater variety has been provided in Tehran Grand Bazaar, but the concern for sensory richness has not continued in all dimensions in a modern complex such as Bamland Shopping Center. In both cases, the sense of sight is ranked first, and most environmental stimuli pertain to this sense. There is greater variety in sensory stimuli in the study area of Tehran Grand Bazaar, and more attention than to the other senses is paid to sight and hearing, which are ranked almost equally. In the study area of Bamland Shopping Center, however, the second most involved sense after sight is the sense of touch, and fewer senses are involved overall. It is also noteworthy that the sense of sight has received a higher score in Bamland Shopping Center than in Tehran Grand Bazaar. This problem can be interpreted in terms of the idea that the visual dimension of the environment has received greater attention in today’s designs, and the other senses have been neglected to some extent by architects, landscape architects, and urban designers.
Urban Architecture
Ali Akbar Heidari; maliheh taghipour; maryam bagheri
Abstract
Highlights
People’s attendance of bazaars is one of the most important factors increasing the efficiency and prosperity of these places.
The permeability of the edges, especially in the entrance sections, is one of the most important factors affecting attendance in bazaars.
The quality of permeability ...
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Highlights
People’s attendance of bazaars is one of the most important factors increasing the efficiency and prosperity of these places.
The permeability of the edges, especially in the entrance sections, is one of the most important factors affecting attendance in bazaars.
The quality of permeability in the entrance section of the bazaar is affected by the three factors of accessibility, the quality of neighborhoods, and the spatial connectivity of the entrance and the lines leading thereto.
Introduction
The quality of permeability is a physical indicator that is significant in the formation of a successful place, especially in the field of public spaces. On the other hand, given that this research considers the issue of attendance of a traditional bazaar, the quality of permeability at the edges, especially the entrances and the rows leading to them, can play a significant role here. The entrance of a space is the first place where many of its features are discovered. Accordingly, the issue of quality of permeability is considered in this research as an independent variable, and its role in people’s presence in the space of a traditional bazaar is examined as a dependent variable. This concept of permeability has been proposed in the existing literature in three forms: neighborhood quality, spatial continuity, and accessibility.
Theoretical framework
According to the existing literature, the factors affecting permeability, especially in connection with urban contexts, can be examined in three areas, as follows.
- The quality of neighborhoods. The quality of neighborhoods in a spatial configuration means the functional compatibility of the uses that form that space so that the performance of one does not disturb or hinder that of another.
- Spatial continuity. Spatial continuity means the formal and functional connection of spaces with each other so that the environment is perceived by an external observer in a unified manner. This concept can be analyzed in an urban environment using indicators such as integration and connectivity.
- Accessibility. In the literature on architecture, the issue of accessibility can be examined in two areas: visual accessibility and physical accessibility. Visual accessibility means the ability to view a space from neighboring spaces. Physical access pertains to people’s ability to move within the space.
Methodology
The current research adopts a combination of the qualitative and quantitative methods in data analysis. In the data collection section, the methods of documentary study, direct field observation, and interview with businesses and bazaar users were used, and in the data analysis section, the content analysis method and the space syntax software were used.
In regard to the edges (independent variable), the three indicators of access quality (including physical access and visual access), spatial continuity, and the quality of neighborhoods were measured separately for each of the entrances. In the analysis of the quality of visual access, indicators were used such as the visibility of the entrances, the variety of uses in the bazaar that can be viewed from the entrance areas, and the amount of details on the space that can be viewed from the entrances. In the measurement of physical access, the degrees of enclosure and isolation of entrances in the bazaar were analyzed. In relation to the quality of neighborhoods, indicators such as the diversity and density of neighborhoods and the degree of their compatibility and interdependence were examined.
Results and discussion
No research has been conducted on the issue of attendance of the bazaar and the effect of the quality of permeability thereon, hence the attempt to answer the research questions about how the quality of permeability affects people’s attendance of the bazaar.
- How does visual access affect attendance in the bazaar?
The more visible the details from inside the bazaar to the user through its inputs, the more widely people choose those inputs to penetrate the bazaar and, therefore, the greater the attendance of the bazaar. The results of this research demonstrated that the difference in level between the passage and the space inside the market and the increase in the visible surface due to the presence of linear geometries along the lines leading to the entrances raises the range of visibility before entry into the bazaar space.
- How does physical access affect attendance in the bazaar?
The first feature for people to identify about the entrances is their visibility from the surrounding roads. If people can see inside the space before entering it, they can choose whether they want to enter the space or not.
The second factor effective on physical access to the bazaar is the users’ willingness to use different entrances. In some cases, this increases the attendance of the bazaar, and in others, it decreases people’s desire attend it.
- How does the quality of the neighborhood affect attendance in the bazaar?
The existence of diverse uses and their density in those respects provides the possibility of meeting a greater range of client needs, which ultimately increases their attendance. Moreover, because they complement each other, users increase related nearby users’ attendance. However, the necessary conditions concerning the quality of neighbors are compatible with one another. This means that when incompatible users are placed together, they prevent people from attending the space due to the nuisance that they cause, besides their negative effects on each other’s functions.
- How does spatial continuity at the entrances of the bazaar cause attendance thereof?
The degree of spatial continuity at the bazaar entrances can be evaluated using the two indices of integration and connectivity. The values of these two indicators are directly related to the geometric and spatial qualities of the inputs and the lines leading to them.
Conclusion
The most important results of the current research can be presented as follows.
- The quality of access to bazaar inputs is considered as the most important factor affecting permeability, thereby increasing bazaar attendance. This quality can be examined in the form of the two concepts of visual access and physical access.
- The quality of neighborhoods can increase attendance in the bazaar in the form of the compatibility of and dependence between the uses of different bazaar lines and their density and diversity.
- Spatial continuity at the entrances and the rows leading to them in the form of their geometric and spatial features (increasing the widths of the entrance and the rows leading thereto, connecting the entrance with public open spaces and main passages, using linear geometry, reducing the depths of the rows, and integrating and connecting the lines leading to the entrance with other spaces) can increase bazaar permeability and therefore its attendance.
Urban Sociology
Amir Ebrahimi Hasanakloo; بنیادی Bonyadi; Atoosa Modiri
Abstract
Highlights- This research seeks to investigate the factors affecting the levels of residents’ place attachment.- The results demonstrate that place attachment consists of four dimensions: spatial identity, spatial affect, spatial dependence, and spatial social bonding.- Of all these four dimensions, ...
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Highlights- This research seeks to investigate the factors affecting the levels of residents’ place attachment.- The results demonstrate that place attachment consists of four dimensions: spatial identity, spatial affect, spatial dependence, and spatial social bonding.- Of all these four dimensions, spatial social bonding was identified as the most powerful predictor of place attachment.- The method of validation factor analysis validated the place attachment structure as a quadratic component consisting of four dimensions. IntroductionMany urban planners and designers have considered the topic of the quality of the emotional relationship between man and their place of residence, or place attachment, in recent years. In the past, the relationships between neighborhood residents who knew each other and were aware of each other’s circumstances contributed to healthy, familiar emotional relationships among them. In other words, neighborhoods, being familiar social units, involved profound cultural roots, pursued certain traditions and customs, and even continued the rites and ways of life and the norms and customs inherited from the past. In modern cities, however, kinship, shared religious beliefs, and moral values give way to anonymity and individualism as the emotional bonds of the local community weaken. Over time, neighborhood connections have lost some of their function. Lack of familiarity with people in the neighborhoods, lack of joint activities, and lack of ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural ties as firm as before have reduced people’s levels of emotional connection, i.e. their senses of place attachment with their residential neighborhoods. Therefore, this article aimed to provide structural modeling to investigate the aspects effective on attachment to residential areas.Theoretical FrameworkIn recent years, many researchers have examined the aspects of place attachment through structural equation modeling, providing a framework for their classification. Understanding the dimensions of place attachment through structural equation modeling allows researchers to better explore the potentials of this concept and its complexity, which makes up the objective of this study along with identification of the dimensions. The construct of spatial attachment consists of spatial identity, spatial dependence, spatial social bonding, and spatial emotion.MethodologyThe development of a valid, trustworthy method to measure and evaluate the dimensions of place attachment has been the focus of numerous studies in recent years, with quantity-oriented academics highlighting the multidimensionality of the construct. However, no one, simple scale of measuring is agreed upon by academics and researchers in the field due to the diversity of the methodologies used in the operationalization of the idea and the levels of relevant multi-dimensionality. Because of this significance, this research sought to investigate the dimensions affecting the level of residents’ place attachment. Since this was not easily possible, the indexing technique was used for examination. In this technique, indicators were considered to identify the dimensions, and questions were asked in the questionnaire to measure them. For assessment of the respondents’ opinions about the research topic, their responses were measured with a 5-point Likert scale. Moreover, a simple random sampling method was used to select the sample in the Haft Chenar neighborhood. The sample size was 687, and data analysis was made using the SPSS software version 22. For this purpose, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used. Results and DiscussionThe findings demonstrated that the level of attachment of the Haft Chenar neighborhood residents is high. On the other hand, the results of the analysis of the structural model of the research supported the hypothesis that place attachment is a quadratic component consisting of the four identified dimensions of spatial identity, spatial affect, spatial dependence, and social connection with the place. It is noteworthy that among all these four dimensions, social connection with the place was identified as the most powerful predictor of place attachment in the research, indicating that the level of social connection in a neighborhood is high, which can directly increase the level of residents’ attachment to the place. Meanwhile, spatial identity received the lowest score for the Haft Chenar neighborhood. Therefore, it seems that residents’ identity to place can be expected to increase due to the experiences formed in the context given that this factor has won the lowest score among the residents, who can realize this by planning and designing an active node and center in the context of these residential neighborhoods and by creating attractive, pleasant places for socializing and embedding community places in the long run. Moreover, a number of solutions were provided for urban planners and designers to increase attachment in the Haft Chenar neighborhood given that these four dimensions of convergent narrative for the structure indicated spatial attachment.ConclusionThe spatial attachment model was experimentally tested given spatial attachment as a secondary component and the claim of this research that spatial dependence, spatial identity, spatial affection, and social connection with place constitute different primary dimensions of place attachment. Hence, the validation factor analysis method confirmed the validity of the spatial attachment structure as a quadratic component consisting of four dimensions. As demonstrated by the fitness indices of the model, it is suitable for research data. AcknowledgmentThis article is taken from Amir Ebrahimi Hasanakloo's Master's thesis entitled "Investigation and evaluation of factors affecting the increase of residents' attachment to residential neighborhoods (with an approach to Haft Chenar neighborhood - District 10 of Tehran)" which was supervised by Dr. Naser Bonyadi and Dr. Atoosa Modiri in the urban planning department of the Islamic Azad University of Central Tehran branch.
Urban Planning
Roghayeh Heidary; Esmaeil Aliakbari; Ahmad pourahmad
Abstract
Highlights
The trend of spatial dynamics in the city of Rasht, Iran has been intensive and based on rapid transition.
Rasht has experienced many spatial reflections in the process of transition to a metropolis.
Rasht has been influenced by various forces and factors in its transition to a metropolis.
Introduction
It ...
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Highlights
The trend of spatial dynamics in the city of Rasht, Iran has been intensive and based on rapid transition.
Rasht has experienced many spatial reflections in the process of transition to a metropolis.
Rasht has been influenced by various forces and factors in its transition to a metropolis.
Introduction
It is believed that the city, a living, dynamic entity influenced by internal-external factors through time and space, is subject to change and transformation, and its growth and development are affected by different aspects. Therefore, given the pattern of growth and expansion of the city, continuous monitoring and forecasting of land use changes and land cover in large cities is critical for management of the growth and sustainability of the urban ecosystem. Accordingly, the present study aimed to analyze the spatial dynamics of regional cities in the process of transition to a metropolis, focusing on the city of Rasht, Iran.
Theoretical Framework
Urban development is a long-term process of interaction between human activities and land. During this process, numerous changes may be brought about from various fields, such as ones in land use conditions, road network upgrades, population migration, and industrial structure optimization. Since the needs of societies and human groups are constantly changing and transforming due to their inherent dynamics, the built spaces are also subject to gradual change as spatial systems. Therefore, urban dynamics are representations of changes in urban spatial structures over time, which embody a myriad of processes at work in cities on different but often interlocking time scales ranging from life cycle effects in buildings and populations to movements over space and time as reflected in spatial interactions. City formation and development have occurred in different ways in different regions of the world and at different times, driven by diverse political, economic, social, and cultural processes )Bruns-Berentelg et al., 2020: 2( and technological changes (Pacione, 2005). Technological innovations have allowed flows of information, knowledge, and money to circulate across the world quickly, helping to intensify the ongoing, but previously slow, process of compression between time and space (Harvey, 1989). This has supported the processes of economic decentralization and globalization, enabling the emergence of new geographies where physical and political boundaries are not as important as before (Sassen, 1991; Castells, 1997). These shifts have contested usual concepts such as scale and territoriality, resulting in new forms of spatiality )Borges, 2010). According to Berg et al. (1982), cities evolve in a clearly defined sequence of stages that can be conceptualized in a model of urban development based upon population changes in urban regions as a whole and upon shifts of population within these regions )Clark, 2003: 61(.
Methodology
The research method was descriptive-analytical. Therefore, it sought to answer the following questions. What is the process of the spatial dynamics of Rasht in the transition to a metropolis? What are the forces and spatial reflections of this city’s drive to join millions of metropolises? In order to answer the research questions, the research data were collected using the documentary method and Landsat satellite images. The main data were extracted from US Geological Survey (USGS), taking into account MSS, TM5, and OLI sensor images of the Landsat satellite with a resolution of 60 by 30 meters from 1993, 2003, 2011, and 2019 (June, July, and August without clouds). Land use maps were generated in the four uses of urban and built-up areas, water and paddy areas, forests and agricultural lands, and gardens. In this research, the cycle and spatial dynamics of Rasht were studied, and demographic information was collected from statistics, censuses, and the website of the Statistics Center of Iran using historical data and the Davis model. To investigate the trend of land use change (1993-2019), spatial metrics were used through preparation of a time series of land use maps and land cover in Rasht and measurement of its urban sprawl.
Results and Discussion
The findings demonstrated that the trend of spatial dynamics in Rasht has been intensive and based on rapid transition. Unlike what the general model of urban life cycle stated, this city has experienced population and land use and cover instability in the growth stage, like other large cities. These dynamics are constantly evolving and exhibit repercussions and consequences under the influence of various factors such as natural forces and capabilities, political components, economic policies and development plans, infrastructure and communication system developments, peripheral spatial phenomenon integrations within the physical boundaries of the city, informal settlement expansions, and immigration flows. As far as the objective characteristics and reflections are concerned, one can point out the changes in the land use system and land cover, urban sprawl, imbalance in the spatial organization of the network and urban hierarchy, service-rendering, and expansion of the city’s economy foundations. The outcomes of the above reflections are evident in the rise in urban land use levels and disastrous effects of land and cover resource instability, the increase in the growth of urban areas and vulnerability and rupture of agricultural lands and paddy fields, the gaps in the urban network, and the ever-increasing service-rendering, political-administrative, and physical-spatial development of Rasht. Overall, the results on the changes in land use and land cover confirmed the rise in urban land use levels from 4915 hectares in 1993 to 9960 hectares in 2019. Along with the growth of land use in urban areas, agricultural land coverage has experienced a declining trend in the same period. The results on the spatial metrics also demonstrated that urban areas have increasingly grown, and numerous urban plots have been developed. Concurrently, agricultural lands and paddy fields have lost their spatial cohesion and integrity and have been disintegrated into numerous plots, which implies the fast-paced urban spatial dynamics into physical dispersion.
Conclusion
The city of Rasht is in the process of transition to a metropolis and has undergone fundamental changes in its spatial-physical boundaries along with the instability of land cover resources, the disastrous consequences of which are also the main concern about the city and the urban ecosystem today. Thus, spatial urban management through short-term land cover transformation, on one hand, and infill development policy strategies, i.e. redevelopment and new development, on the other hand, are very important to stabilize growth and slow down transition into a metropolitan area.
Acknowledgment
This article is derived from the doctorate thesis of the first author with the guidance of the second author and the advice of the third author who defended the thesis in September 2020.
Urban Sustainability
Ali Riahi Dehkordi; Mahdi Montazerolhodjah
Abstract
Highlights
In general, the difference between this research and others lies in the different time period and the type of perspective of this research, as detailed below.
This research was conducted during the Covid-19 epidemic, adopting a detailed approach to the research ...
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Highlights
In general, the difference between this research and others lies in the different time period and the type of perspective of this research, as detailed below.
This research was conducted during the Covid-19 epidemic, adopting a detailed approach to the research problem.
Among all the dimensions of the quality of life, only the physical dimension and its variables were addressed.
The research adopted a mental approach to measure the physical quality of life of people living in the relevant neighborhoods during the epidemic.
Introduction
A new type of global bio-experience was formed following the spread of Covid-19, and this emerging phenomenon is considered as the biggest challenge and international problem of mankind since World War II. This epidemic also affected and changed people’s mental images of their cities and residences. If the history of epidemic diseases is a guide for urban officials, the outbreak of this disease can also involve a series of important urban policies adopted to improve people’s quality of life in cities and their places of residence. Due to the changes in citizens’ lifestyles and their exile from public urban spaces to spend most of their times in their residences, these neighborhoods could play an important role in the battle against the virus by raising the residents’ quality of life. Among the factors that affect people’s quality of life in the localities, the body exhibits a tremendous impact by getting involved in the organization of the environment in order to break the chain of virus transmission.
Theoretical Framework
Epidemics of infectious diseases have always been part of the history of cities. By reviewing the history of epidemics, one can gain more insight into the consequences of changes in the design of cities, urban zoning laws, and the primary concepts of quarantine. The Covid -19 virus has also been added to a long list of rapidly spreading infectious diseases in the current century, such as tuberculosis in Southern Africa in 2006 and Ebola in Western Africa in 2014.
Generally, actions taken against urban crises can be divided into the short-term and medium-term categories in terms of response time. The former deals with functional interventions, and the latter involves basic interventions in the structure of a city. Short-term functional measures include planning to make cities more flexible, considering the role of neighborhoods and their function in satisfaction of the residents’ needs, raising the quality of housing, etc. On the other hand, medium-term actions attempt to reconstruct the healthcare systems, take urgent health measures, etc.
The term quality of life (QoL) originally meant good life, and was limited to the notions of having or not having common consumer goods, being rich, owning a car, and owning a house. The concept gradually evolved to include life satisfaction. In the classification of quality of life, two objective and subjective states can be noted. Objectivity concerns the degree to which a life conforms to the correct standards of good life and is evaluated using objective criteria that can be collected, recorded, and visualized from relevant statistical data in an accessible data platform. The mental state pertains to self-evaluation based on implicit and subjective criteria and includes feelings, individuals’ or groups’ opinions, and satisfaction with life, which is a function of pleasant and unpleasant experiences. The quality of life, however, can include dimensions such as social, economic, and physical ones. The physical dimension is one of the most important aspects that exhibit great impacts in the field. The components of the physical dimension are numerous and can include the quality of the surrounding neighborhood landscapes, lighting, air and noise pollution, access to facilities in the neighborhoods, etc.
Methodology
This research is considered as an applied quantitative study. The survey and descriptive research methods were used in the sections on the research background, theoretical framework development, and data extraction, and the causal-comparative method was used in the analysis phase. The present study sought to compare the differences in the physical factors affecting the mental quality of life from residents’ perspective in the contemporary residential areas of Iran during the current pandemic crisis (Covid-19 virus) in three urban scales: metropolitan areas (with populations over 1 million people), medium-sized cities (with populations from 500 thousand to 1 million people), and small towns (with populations of 200-500 thousand people).
Since the quality of residential environments is a subjective concept and is retrieved from the subjective perspectives of people, the approach adopted in this research is also subjective.
The research data were collected through distribution of an online questionnaire to measure the relationship between people and their surrounding environments. The questions were designed based on 38 indicators in 6 categories: environmental health, lighting, mental health, accessibility, and environmental and residential design.
Discussion and Results
The most seriously involved urban element in the crisis of Covid-19 pandemic, urban neighborhoods have played a key role in the attempt to cut the chain of virus transmission. The results obtained from this research indicate that the residents of metropolitan neighborhoods believe in the physical quality of their lives in these neighborhoods as higher in the areas of mental health, environmental design, lighting, and housing. This lies in the category of environmental health in medium-sized cities and in the category of accessibility in small cities. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the categories of environmental health, lighting, access, and environmental and residential design and their relevant indicators do not exhibit a significant difference between the three urban groups, and it is only the category of mental health that does. This difference points out that greater attention is paid to people’s psyche than to the environment physics in such crises.
Conclusion
The results of this research suggest that future studies can be conducted to investigate issues such as the role of maintaining mental health in epidemic crises, the effect of environmental design in the improvement of people’s mental health in epidemic crises, and the effect of the quality of public spaces in the control of factors harming people’s mental health in crises.
Finally, suggestions such as the following can be made given the priority of the residents’ perspective in all the three urban scales toward the stability and responsiveness of the neighborhoods during the viral disease epidemic crisis:
1- to increase the psychological security of pedestrian paths during public quarantines due to reduced attendance by adapting side street paths and those away from residential environments through placement of monitoring kiosks
2- to organize the pedestrian access network in order to facilitate access to residential houses in the epidemic crisis by making access paths more legible, considering lighting, doing environmental design, and placing visual signs therein
3- to design appropriate vegetation to reduce the noise pollution of vehicles and prevent the transmission of traffic noise into residential spaces in order to keep people calm during the period of illness.
Urban Sociology
parastoo mohammadyan; Nasibeh Zanjari; Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz; Ahmad Delbari
Abstract
Highlights
Among the examined variables, economic status and then health status exhibited the greatest impacts on satisfaction with the place of residence in the elderly.
The elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence.
There are different sources of residential ...
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Highlights
Among the examined variables, economic status and then health status exhibited the greatest impacts on satisfaction with the place of residence in the elderly.
The elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence.
There are different sources of residential satisfaction or dissatisfaction among older people in different societies.
Introduction
With the advancement of technology and health and medical sciences, the population of the elderly is increasing all over the world, in such a way that the population of people aged sixty years or more is estimated to reach 2.03 billion by 2050 (Nations, 2015; Zhao & Chung, 2017). The elderly are among the valuable capitals of any country and a symbol of the development of societies. As a result, understanding the needs of this part of the society and planning to meet their needs can improve their quality of life and life expectancy (Moghimi & Momeni, 2019). In most epidemiological studies, the factors affecting the health of the elderly have been studied, one of which is satisfaction with their place of residence, with a great impact on the performance and well-being of the elderly (Balfour & Kaplan, 2002). Satisfaction with the place of residence is an important issue in environmental psychology because it is one of the most prominent environments in human experience, especially for the elderly; For those with physical and financial limitations, their homes and places of residence often make up the focus of their daily lives, which makes it very important to understand and identify the factors affecting satisfaction with the place of residence (Rioux & Werner, 2011). Satisfaction with the place of residence is a factor with great impacts on the health, performance, well-being, and quality of life of the elderly. In Iran, however, there have not been enough studies in the field of environment and aging. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the level of satisfaction with the place of residence and the relevant factors in the elderly in the city of Sanandaj, Iran.
Theoretical Framework
In the present study, the theoretical framework of Rioux and Warner’s research was used. This framework includes two parts of satisfaction levels: residence and predictive factors. The examined levels of satisfaction with the place of residence included the assessment of the dimensions of the neighborhood (beauty, safety, etc.), access to services and shopping centers (transportation and conditions of sidewalks), social relations with neighbors (mutual, positive respect and respect for privacy, and internal features of the house (desirability, comfort of accommodation, absence of coercion, etc.). The investigated predictive factors included the convenience of the physical environment (properties of the residence, distance from shopping centers, and distance from green spaces), social environment (meetings, visits, and transition in the neighborhood), self-perceived well-being (self-perceived health, self-perceived economic status, etc.), and demographic characteristics (age, gender, household size, etc.) have been investigated (Rioux & Werner, 2011).
Methodology
The present research is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study that was performed on 280 older people in the city of Sanandaj, Iran in 2021. The population included all the residents of Sanandaj aged 60 years or older. In this study, the multistage cluster sampling method was used. The data were collected using a questionnaire measuring satisfaction with the place of residence, and the SPSS software version 24.0 was used to analyze the data.
Results and Discussion
The mean age of the older adults in the present study was 68.34 with a standard deviation of 7.26, and 55% of the participants were men. The mean score of satisfaction with the place of residence in this study was 3.65 with a standard deviation of 0.54, the lowest mean score pertained to the quality of the surrounding environment (mean = 3.51, sd = 0.90), and the highest mean concerned the facilities (mean = 3.85, sd = 0.78). Significant relationships were found between satisfaction with the place of residence and the following according to the results of bivariate analysis: gender (t = 2.47, p < 0.01), marital status (t = 4.52, p < 0.001), academic degree (f = 22.62, p < 0.001), employment status (f = 10.96, p < 0.001), economic status (f = 60.81, p < 0.001), length of stay in the neighborhood (r = -0.29, p < 0.001), general well-being (r = 0.60, p < 0.001), economic well-being (f = 60.10, p < 0.001), and self-perceived health status (f = 32.58, p < 0.001). According to the multilinear regression model, controlling the simultaneous effects of the predictor variables demonstrated that the participants with better general well-being, economic well-being, and health status were more satisfied with their places of residence. Moreover, the elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence than those who lived in houses. Overall, the regression model explained 59% of the changes in satisfaction with the place of residence among the participants.
Conclusion
According to the results, there was a significant relationship between satisfaction with the place of residence and well-being (general well-being, self-perceived health, and financial well-being). These results are in line with those of Rioux’s study. The elderly who considered themselves more active and healthier reported the highest satisfaction with their places of residence, because the more capable and active people are, the more easily they can match and adapt themselves to their residential conditions and places of living (Rioux & Werner, 2011) The results of the present study also demonstrated that the elderly who lived in apartments were more satisfied with their places of residence than those who lived in houses. In James’s study, however, different and even contradictory results have been expressed. In some of the studies mentioned in this research, dissatisfaction has been reported with life in apartments because of overcrowded buildings; dissatisfaction has been stated with houses, on the other hand, as the residents may be far from each other in terms of location, leaving the residents less capable of establishing social connections (James, 2008). The results of this research also indicated that there is moderate satisfaction with the residence among the elderly. The findings can help policy-makers in the field of housing and urban planning to pay attention to the level of satisfaction of the elderly and their health and well-being.
Urban Sustainability
mehrab mehrabi; Majid Ansari; MOHSEN RAFIEAN
Abstract
Highlights
The foresight is very important in the preservation of the valuable heritage of a city and its transfer to the next generation.
The connection of the TOPSIS method and the fuzzy model is a realistic composition, which analyzes complex issues and relationships correctly and simply at the ...
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Highlights
The foresight is very important in the preservation of the valuable heritage of a city and its transfer to the next generation.
The connection of the TOPSIS method and the fuzzy model is a realistic composition, which analyzes complex issues and relationships correctly and simply at the same time.
Scenarios and scenario planning make up an essential part of the future research process.
The world heritage of the city of Yazd, Iran is a unique testimony of a cultural tradition or a living or lost civilization of human-environment interaction.
Up-to-date tourism services, development of identity-oriented employment, and balance in the migration process are very important in the sustainable development of the world heritage area.
Introduction
Various issues have threatened the stability of cities. The application of the concept of sustainable development in the modern urban environment can be very effective in the solution of these problems. In the meantime, the study of the sustainability of cities with cultural and historical heritage such as Yazd is different from that of other cities. The presence of precious historical and cultural heritage has made this city unique, and it has also made its studies and management more sensitive. Therefore, given that the Yazd contains a valuable heritage that has been inherited from generation to generation and based on the perspective of sustainable development, it is necessary for the present generation to make efforts to preserve and transfer it to the next generation. Thus, the ever-increasing changes in the historical areas of the city make it necessary to be aware of the future of this valuable area and overcome its future transformations based on this knowledge. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the driving forces affecting the process of sustainable development and to provide the future scenarios of the world-heritage area of Yazd with an emphasis on sustainable development.
Theoretical Framework
Urban planning and future studies are both primarily future-oriented. They both deal with ambiguous, multifaceted, controversial issues with uncertain outcomes. Their common goal is to provide a better future. The responsibility of future researchers is to help people express beautiful dreams, and the responsibility of planners is to help make these dreams come true. The previous studies and observations of the process of formation and construction of the world heritage of Yazd and the stability of this valuable treasure from the past up to now indicate the conscious connection made by the people of that age between efficient and futuristic urban planning. By learning from our predecessors, developing plans and future research techniques, and understanding the importance of connecting these two fields, we must preserve this lasting heritage by understanding future changes and planning intelligently.
Methodology
The current research is practical in terms of purpose and a document survey in terms of data collection. An initial study of the relevant documents helped to identify the drivers of the process of sustainable development of the world-heritage site of Yazd. Then, the key drivers were identified and ranked based on experts’ opinions using the fuzzy method of TOPSIS. Finally, optimistic, intermediate, and critical scenarios were provided for the studied area based on the different states of the engines in the Scenario Wizard software.
Results and Discussion
The findings of the research demonstrate that of the 24 variables affecting the process of sustainable development of the historical area of Yazd, 7 drivers play leading roles in the future state of the area population, participation of residents, migration, competitiveness, tourism services, protection of the area (physical-functional), and employment. Moreover, the findings indicate the prominent role of social indicators compared to others in the process of sustainable development of this area, which shows the importance of these indicators in regard to preservation and sustainable development. In the interpretation of the thematic layering of the seven identified drivers, the three drivers of population, migration, and employment are defined as the components of the concept of sustainable development of the historical area. This means that changes made in these drivers considerably affect the area. Eight powerful scenarios were developed based on the results of the analysis matrix of the mutual effects of the assumptions made in the three optimistic, intermediate, and critical situations for each of the identified drivers. One ideal scenario, two optimistic scenarios, three pessimistic scenarios, and two critical scenarios were evaluated.
Conclusion
In the analysis of the scenarios, it can be pointed out that the existing historical conditions of Yazd are far from the ideal scenario, and the city is heading towards a critical scenario, facing ups and downs in order to maintain the stability of operation. Let us assume the planning scene as a spectrum from critical conditions to full optimality and consider the former as the longest distance from the ideals and the latter as the shortest. It should be stated that the historical context is currently not in the right direction, and there are not proper conditions. Therefore, in order to become closer to the ideal scenario based on the identified drivers, it is suggested that service conditions should be considered based on the needs of today’s residents and fair distribution in line with the increase in the population along with the preservation of the original and native population. Moreover, priority should be given to the enhancement and revitalization of the area with an emphasis on tradition, culture, and the use of local materials. In the meantime, particular attention should be paid to the prosperity and diversity of compatible jobs due to the important role of economic issues in development.
Urban Architecture
mohammad taghizadeh kordi; Mahmoud Reza Saghafi; Mohsen Afshari; Saeid Safaei Movahhed
Abstract
Highlights
- Neighborhood (community) schools cannot be standardized. Their only common philosophy is to respond to the needs of their neighborhoods (communities).
- The participation of the educational ecosystem components, including experts, users, and stakeholders, will make the plan successful.
- ...
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Highlights
- Neighborhood (community) schools cannot be standardized. Their only common philosophy is to respond to the needs of their neighborhoods (communities).
- The participation of the educational ecosystem components, including experts, users, and stakeholders, will make the plan successful.
- The most important action in the design of quality schools is to meet the users’ needs.
- A school should function as the educational center of the neighborhood and a place to gain educational experiences.
- A successful neighborhood (community) school should hold the original values of respect, diversity, equality, and justice in its architecture.
Introduction
In the current educational system, the physical environment is considered less seriously as an educational puzzle. The school, as a component of the neighborhood, will have the possibility of accepting different roles therein and interacting with it due to its potential capacities. In the current educational system of Iran, the school has no interaction with the neighborhood, and these capitals remain unused, while such interaction was established in the traditional architecture of Iran, where the school space was not limited to lessons and discussions but used by the residents of every city and neighborhood on special days and occasions. Since communities are different, their schools are all different; their only common philosophy is to respond to these differences, which are identified with the participation of users and stakeholders. Therefore, the research conducted in other countries is not applicable to Iran. Thus, the present study intends to answer the following main question: what are the architectural requirements for realization of the school as the center of the neighborhood?
Theoretical Framework
This research is guided by the ecological approach, according to which students’ success is influenced by an interactive process between them and their surroundings on the one hand, and all the components of an ecosystem act as a single whole on the other, where a change in one component can have serious, unpredictable effects on others. In the planning of community schools, therefore, attention should be paid to larger, smaller, and external systems firstly; secondly, one should move from the whole to the parts in order to coordinate them with one another, according to Duerk’s method.
The most desirable learning environments will be created with the participation of the educational system hardware (architecture) and software (philosophy of education, learning theories, etc.). To design the architecture of an educational space, therefore, one should start from the educational philosophy, because every educational philosophy considers the physical educational environment in a special way, and the architecture is the result of that philosophy’s view.
Although the basic purpose of current school facilities is to provide the students of the community with a sound educational program, the objective of education is not achieved until the school facilities are provided to serve the overall community. Because learning can also happen beyond the school walls, most countries welcome the interaction between the school and the community, so that a learning ecosystem is created, through which all the people and organizations that are involved in the students’ learning can also participate in the school activities. For this reason, the community school or the interaction between the school and the community is explicitly or implicitly mentioned in various parts of the Fundamental Reform Document of Education (FRDE), where it has been stated that the school should function as the educational center of the neighborhood and a place to gain educational experiences.
Methodology
According to some studies, the learning ecology approach, and the FRDE, the architecture of each period is the product of the philosophy of that period; to design a school, therefore, one must start from its educational philosophy, which is essentially concerned with aligninment of pedagogy and space, and can be referred to as the psychosocial pedagogy of space.
This applied research was conducted in the framework of a qualitative approach of document analysis, also using the ecological approach of learning and planning with Durek’s method. Thus, FRDE was first examined to extract the mission, foundations, principles, and relevant goals. The necessary data were then collected through document mining and informal semi-structured interviews with the informants. The informants consisted of 23 teachers who were purposefully selected using the criterion-based snowball sampling strategy with maximum variety to ensure data credibility. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data, and the triangulation and peer debriefing strategies were used to validate the findings. In order to ensure dependability, the data analysis process was described in detail.
Results and Discussion
After the data were collected using the literature review and interviews, initial coding was performed on them, where 137 initial codes were identified. A number of these codes were removed and combined to reduce them to a final set of 32. Finally, the identified architectural requirements were divided into three themes and nine categories, including the characteristics of the physical environment (functionality, flexibility, diversity, and favorability), satisfaction of user needs (physical and physiological, psychological and social, and participation), and organizational characteristics (cultural and holistic views).
Conclusion
Although the process adopted in this research (starting from the foundations and principles) is similar to that in the previous studies, there are similarities and differences between the presented and previous architectural requirements since FRDE, forming the foundation of this research, is similar to and different from other frameworks in different respects. According to the source of data collection, these requirements were divided into three groups: those stated only in interviews (due to the influence of the Islamic-Iranian culture and civilization on Iranian architecture), those available only in previous documents (including the needs at the higher levels of Maslow’s Pyramid), and those mentioned in both sources (including the needs at the lower levels of Maslow’s Pyramid). The final aim of school architecture, as the center of the neighborhood, should be to create a suitable physical setting for the realization of various activities to provide and expand justice in all aspects, the most important principle of which is diversity and flexibility in all its dimensions, including architecture.
Acknowledgment
This article has been extracted from the Ph. D. thesis entitled "Participatory architectural planning for community school (case study in the Andiseh New Town and selected area of Tehran)", written by the first author under the Supervision of the second and third authors and the advice of the fourth author in the Department of Architecture at the Art University of Isfahan. Also, the thesis as a research project has the financial and spiritual support of Civil company Andiseh New Town.
