Housing and Rural Environment
Year:2014 | Volume:33 | Issue:147|Papers Count:8

In recent decades, monetary policy, especially in developing countries, has been one of the most important governmental strategies to achieve sustainable rural development. In Iran, the formation and payment of micro-credits monetary funding is one of the most important approaches considered in local societies with various aims such as poverty alleviation; expansion of social justice; the expansion of income-increasing activities for low income people; improving the standards of living conditions; building resistant houses and simplifying the rural development process; increased quality of life in rural area; improving the viability and vitality of rural settlements; enhancing the resilience of rural housing against natural disasters such as floods and earthquake; creating a pleasant rural environment; beautification of the architectural features of houses and physical spaces in rural areas; and finally achieving sustainable rural development.In Iran, the monetary credits for housing construction in rural area are paid to the inhabitants of villages under support of the government developmental actions, which are performed in framework of rural development process at national, regional and local scales. This plan started with the Fourth Economic, Social and Cultural Development Program of Islamic Republic of Iran by the Housing Foundation of Islamic Republic of Iran and has been executed for nearly seven years.The present research, with reference to the objectives reviewed earlier, attempts to identify and analyze the influential factors on demand for rural housing credits with focus on physical-spatial factors in the settlements of Varavi district, Mohr Township, Shiraz province. The research uses a descriptive-analytical methodology and is based on quantitative and qualitative data. Hence, firstly, the housing conditions of eleven settlements of the district are identified through field data and conducting plans which are then compared with the numbers of the applicants for housing credits in each village. Then the indexes of central location, population, population growth rate, distance, and access system in demand for housing credits are investigated. The results indicate that there is a big difference between the village inhabitants’ needs for housing loans and their demand for loans in central and adjacent settlements, so much so that nearly 80 percent of the applicants for rural housing credits are located in the two settlements of Varavi (the center of the district) and Khouzi (the center of the rural district). The correlation coefficient for receiving housing credits with the central location rate index is 0.0981 and the index for the number of the settlements is 0.0954 indicating the meaningfulness of these indexes with demand for housing credits. But in the index, the population growth rate is -0.183, the condition of old and dilapidated houses is -0.531 and the index of access to focal centers is -.0577 which indicates the lack of a meaningful correlation with the demand for credits.

Considering the importance of resistant and low-cost buildings in sustainable development while preserving the history and tradition, a research on 400 wooden structures in Northern provinces of Iran was conducted. The results show that in different areas according to the pattern of dispersion of various species of wood, buildings can be catagorized. At altitudes above 400 meters, the oak timbers are used in beams, columns or ceilings. In the foothill areas of Gilan state, rare types of Cupressus Sempervirens trees are used in foundation. For beams and columns, timbers of stronger trees like Boxwood - Oak - Beech are used. In the walls and floors we find alder tree like Zelkova Carpinifolia which are highly resistant to weight, humidity and insects. Types of foundations, walls, and ceilings, have been structurally studied. With reference to the importance environmental issues and earthquake, the best and the most favorable light wooden pattern for a residential building is proposed. The model was subsequently retrofitted, restructured and optimized in the university workshop. The obtained results from structural software analysis indicate that this pattern has a suitable performance against earthquakes, owing to its lightweight and proper bracing. Also, due to the use of wood in foundations, beams, columns, roof and mud walls, it is the best structure in terms of the environmental considerations. This is added to its benefits of appropriate speed of construction and reduction of the construction costs in comparison to concrete and steel buildings. Overall, the results suggest a perfect pattern for ideal residential buildings in the area the suggested pattern also shows acceptable standards of acoustic and thermal insulation. Taking into account both economic and environmental consideration, the use of fast growing trees, pine wood (Abies, Noel) in beams and columns are suggested It is also possible that by combining the pine wood in composite and strengthened profiles the increased compressive resistance would allow the construction of multi-storey structures.

Cultural Landscape is defined as an area whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors. These regions are recognized as a part and parcel of the natural, historical, cultural, and scientific heritage. The rural and urban context of these landscapes are particular patterns due to cultural characteristics. They are considered sustainbale landscapes which are often developed over a long period of time. Since ecologic and socio-economic of landscape relationships are important factors in sustainable development, the understanding of relevant changing processes in the past, the rationale and the interactions of these processes are essential.This article is a review and analysis, which addresses an extended and much debated subject through a broad survey of research results, journal papers, landscape books, scientific databases and presentations during related conferences relevant to landscape dynamics and driving forces in Europe. The transformation in cultural landscape is an active study field in Europe and there are ongoing discussions about pertinant subjects. Therefore the present research is a full survey of analysis and planning methods, selected aspects of transformation processes, underlying forces in Landscape change, the perception of the people of multicultural European societies, assessment of the transformation processes, vulnerability of rural-urban landscape systems, the techniques and methods for Monitoring of the transformation processes and Strategies for sustainable development of rural urban landscape in Europe.The most distinct characteristic of European landscape is its richness of flora and fauna, abundance of settlements and and other features created by nature and human over hundreds and even thousands of years. In recent years, nations and governments have recognised the fact that landscape is a major element of their national and European heritage, and that it embraces both natural and cultural features, in an integrated way. But they also recognise that many of Europe's landscapes have been gravely damaged in recent years by loss of natural features, by neglect, erosion and other factors.Due to the novelty of recent research about landscape transformations, some critical research questions are left to future studies. The results show that the most repeated subjects of landscape transformation articles and their emphasis in this field includes: the identification of driving forces behind landscape transformation, the processes, and the relevant analysis methods in landscape planning and management. The main focus of these studies has been on physical and technical aspects of landscape and less attention has been paid to the social and economic impact of human behavior, therefore more interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and integrative approaches are essential for the development of rural-urban cultural landscapes. The scale of further researches should be varying from local to regional and global, toaddress the targets of sustainability. There is a new determination to protect and revitalize landscapesto stop further exploitation.

Although various aspects of passive defense have been studied in recent years, it appears that the architectural and urban design issues have not been considered thoroughly. The Underground Cu Chi Tunnels which were constructed gradually is known as the most effective measure of architecture and urban planning in passive defense activities. The tunnels were built over a period of 25 years that began sometime in the late 1940s. The Viet Minh built the first dugouts and tunnels in the hard, red earth of Cu Chi (ideal for their construction) during the war against the French. The excavations were used mostly for communication between villages and to evade French army sweeps of the area. In addition Cu Chi was used as a base for infiltrating intelligence agents and sabotage teams into Saigon. The stunning attacks in the South Vietnamese capital during the 1968 were planned and launched from Cu Chi.To deal with the threat posed by Vietnamese control of an area so near the capital, one of the USA’s first actions was to establish a large base camp in Cu Chi district. Unknowingly, they built it right on top of an existing tunnel network. It took months for the 25th Division to figure out why they kept getting shot at in their tents at night. To deny the Vietnamese cover and supplies, rice paddies were defoliated, huge swathes of jungle bulldozed, and villages evacuated and razed. The Americans also sprayed chemical defoliants on the area aerially and a few months later ignited the tinder-dry vegetation with gasoline and napalm. But the intense heat interacted with the wet tropical air in such a way as to create cloudbursts that extinguished the fires. The Vietnamese remained safe and sound in their tunnels.This paper consists of three sections. The first deals with reviewing literature on the relationship between urban design and passive defense by introducing instances of underground spaces. The second section includes a theoretical conceptual framework and research methodology based on qualitative data collected through careful observation and in-depth interviews with local people. The remainder of the paper explores the process of tunnel construction in the war and reverse engineering in making equipment and urban passive defense. The paper concludes that the resistance effort in Vietnam was not only achieved due to the faith and courage of its people but also owed its success to the local tropical climate, the traditions of rural lifestyle, and the ability to use architectural and urban planning defensive measures within the underground Cu Chi Tunnels. Through the use of such intellectual defense models, the Vietnamese people proved to be the ultimate winner of the war.

Concern over agreeable appearance of the living environment has a history as long as the formation of primary human settlements. People’s desire to live in pleasant environments has increase the importance of attention to the quality of life in urban and rural areas. The current paper aimes to assess effective factors influencing citizen’s satisfaction with the quality of life in urban-rural area of Aslanduz.Accordingly, after reviewing theoretical literature of environment quality, the conceptual framework consisting of 15 factors was established and analyzed. The methodology of the study is a combination of descriptive-analytic survey with the aims of producing applicable results and executive strategies.Different variables including age, gender, education level, economic satisfaction and marital status were tested for correlation with15 dependant factors in order to analyze their impact on the resident’s quality of life. The sample size was estimated 384 respondents based on Cochran’s formula. The members of the study sample were chosen by random sampling method regarding population of study sub-communities of Aslanduz. One-way ANOVA test (for multiple independent variables) and T-test (for independent bi-variables) was used to compare the average degree of the subjective quality of environment declared by the respondents in different stages. To analyze data, the statistical methods such as: Frequency distribution, T-test- Spearman correlation coefficient, Phi and Cramer were used using SPSS software. In addition, for completion of the analyzes, fuzzy multi-criteria and cluster analyzes were used.The results show that the overall satisfaction of citizens’ with their quality of environment is low. The obtained results which was evaluated in 5 levels (Very low, low, relatively high, high, very high Satisfaction) using cluster analysis, indicates Behdari alley has the best situation. Kamp is placed at second level and other alleys are in middle level. Also, the obtained results demonstrate that there is no significant relationship between gender and main variables of Quality of environment. In addition, the relationship between age and main variables of quality of environment is non-significant. In terms of marital status and main variables of quality of environment, no significant relationship exists that is vice versa with the economic status and main variables of quality of environment. Ultimately, there is no meaningful relationship between education level and main variables of quality of environment.

In recent decades, urban settlements across the world have been rapidly growing and turning into the large cities. This expansion is more severe in developing countries, in that one of the most salient features of urbanism in such countries is inappropriate spatial distribution in urban settlements. The velocity and intensity of population growth in cities and its concentration in specific and limited areas together with its reflection on corporeal and physical structures of cities are among the issues that pose serious challenges for many governments and planners in recent years. The lack of attention to urban system and distribution pattern of the urban centers on the one hand, and rapid-growth of urbanism on the other hand will lead to fragmentation and incoherence of the spatial structures. The estimates show that although urban population will have 72% growth between the years of 2000 and 2030, the constructed urban areas with the population of over 100000 will face a growth rate of 175%.While, slowing down the growth of metropolises has been considered as the main factor in balancing activities and population by most of the 5-year economic, social, and cultural development plans after the Islamic Revolution, investigating the Iranian urban system clearly illustrates the tendency towards population concentration and accumulation in the capital and large cities in recent decades. In 2006, fifteen million people (32% of urban population of Iran) were living in six Iranian megalopolises. In addition, there were 7 cities with 500.000 to 1 million populations in the country, which together with megalopolises' population accounted for 43% (about 20 million) of country's urban population, leading to numerous issues and problems. The process of urban growth and centralization in Iranian urban system not only has unbalanced habitats' population, but also has resulted in environmental pollution, destruction of orchards and agricultural lands, informal settlements growth, and shortage of per capita public spaces and services in the cities, which all have been comprehensively explored in the present articles.In the present article, spatial-physical dimensions of centralization of urban system in Iran have been investigated through analytic-descriptive research, using the results of population and housing censuses and Zipf's model, urban primacy index, four-city index, and Gini index.Paying attention to small and medium cities and land-use plans is essential for urban system reform and achieving balanced urban system.

Rural areas should include various functions and uses in order to fulfill the needs of their population. To establish different activities in appropriate places and favorably organize their relations with one another, it is necessary to develop a plan to evaluate the success rate of the proposed organization, thus the Land-use Plan was launched. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors effective in the realization of proposed functions in Rural Guide Plans from the perspective of three groups (the experts of The Housing Foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, academic scholars, and consultant engineers responsible for Rural Guide Plans). With regard to the scope of the study, this is an applied research, but in nature it is a descriptive-analytical one. Analytical Hierarchy Process or AHP was used to make carful decisions in choosing the variables effective in realization of the applications in Rural Guide Plans, while taking the relevant priority of factors into consideration. Therefore, based on the relationship between the purposes, criteria, sub-criteria and indicators, a hierarchical structure was provided. Then, the index of importance of criterions, sub-criteria, the weight of indicators, and the final scores of indexes and indicators were calculated and the logical compatibility of the experts' judgment was examined. The above-mentioned process was carried out by Expert Choice Software package. The reasons for realization were examined in five groups: economic, social, spatial-physical, ecological and organizational-managerial.According to the ideas of three groups, i.e., university professors, experts and consulting engineers for the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran , the management index (weighing 0.405),economical index (weighing 0.3), social index (weighing 0.157) , spatial-physical index (weighing 0.098) and ecological index (weighing 0.04) respectively received the 1st to 5th priority in realization of the proposed function. Field studies on rural areas of Iran confirm that managerial issues play an important role in realization or lack of realization of suggested land use for rural plans. It also shows that in rural communities, in addition to the role of village manager in communication between organizations for allocation of these function, there are other challenges like the lack of funds, the lack opportunities for public participation, and physical restrictions in some villages for locating specific land use, etc.Among the secondary indexes effective in the realization of suggested functions, the sub-indexes of proper allocation of proposed budget (weighing 0.19), integrated management (weighing 0.14) and proper management of budget (weighing 0.08) had the highest weight. On the other hands, factors such as proper underlying map (weighing 0.01), attention to climatic condition (weighing 0.01) and communication situation (weighing 0.01) had the lowest weight. Although this research, on a quantitative level, was conducted among three groups of the statistical population, it has tried to examine the factors effective in realization of proposed land use, the study results agree with the established facts of rural areas in Iran.

The recognition and categorization of various types of architecture can lead to a better understanding of the environment, its conservation, and the establishment of new design methods.Gilan province is in the north of Iran and in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea. High humidity and excessive rainfall are the major properties of Gilan province which are the main reasons for the formation of architecture and urbanization in this region. The human settlements on the Caspian sea coasts have special architectural features. Valuable instances of these complexes can be observed in Talesh city, which is 100 kilometres from Gilan province (Rasht), and especially in Khalehsara 57 village, which is 15 Kilometres from the county seat (Talesh city). This paper tries to investigate the architectural typology of Khalehsara 57 village. The data were collected by desk studies and field observations; and among the population of 495 residential buildings, 90 traditional houses with valuable architectural properties were analysed. Therefore, the status quo of the village was described first; then, structural elements of the buildings, existing environments in the buildings, and typology of the village were studies. The results of this study showed that the development of the buildings were formed in the village from east to west and then in high altitude based on climatic priorities. Generally, three architecture patterns are found in the texture of Khalehsara 57 village including high-based houses, houses with Telar, and Gholam Gardeshi houses. Seventy three percent of the houses were high-based houses, and they were the most frequent pattern in the texture of Khalehsara 57 village. Twenty four percent of the houses were houses with Telar which were less accepted by the villagers due to high expenses of the execution. Three percent of the houses were Gholam Gardeshi houses which was the last type of the houses with regard to frequency in the typology of the buildings of the Khalehsara 57 village.