Housing and Rural Environment
Year:2017 | Volume:36 | Issue:158 |Papers Count:10

Around one third of Iranian population live in rural housing. The physical characteristics of rural housing have been shaped by economic, social, cultural and environmental factors and in response to the ecological and livelihood needs. Architects and inhabitants play fundamental roles in the formation of rural housing. Therefore, their cooperation can influence creating desirable rural housings. Nowadays most rural houses of Iran, and in particular Garmsar County’ s rural settlements, face a number of problems such as identity crisis, climate discomfort and environmental unsustainability. These problems have been exacerbated by a decrease in rural people participation in the process of design and construction of their houses. The aim of this research is to identify policies for increasing the efficiency and durability of rural housing as well as promoting active participation of people in the processes of housing design and construction. This research adopts a qualitative approach. It studies and analyses prevalent methods and techniques of traditional rural architecture in Garmsar County and explores those elements that shape the identity of vernacular architecture in this area. Collecting qualitative data relied on in-depth and semi-structured interviews with traditional architects of Garmsar rural districts as well as field observations. One of the approaches used in this study is action research. This approach requires a collaborative procedure between the researcher and rural inhabitants. This research highlights the importance of learning through practical experiences in developing local capacities, adaptable to the rural living condition. The analysis is based on a comparison between the characteristics and patterns of old and new rural housing architecture in Garmsar, Iran. Vernacular rural architecture of Gamsar area has elements and aspects that can be adopted in new architecture of rural housing. Not only can such adoption ensure the continuity across generations, but also it can revive the physical identity of the space and its responsiveness to the needs of villagers. This revitalization can be conducive to a sense of place attachment among rural inhabitants and restoring production-based rural life style, reducing energy consumption and enhancing climate comfort, increasing people participation and improving the quality of their lives. This study reveals that the reduction of villagers participation and a gradual disappearance of people-led housing processes in rural areas, has led the vernacular architecture methods and techniques being forgotten and also the identity of rural life style and housing architecture in Garmsar county being damaged. In a mutual cooperation between dwellers and designers in the construction process, an accurate understanding of the needs and problems of inhabitants by local architects can reduce construction costs and increase the satisfaction of the villagers. Awareness is one of the essentials of participation. In today’ s rural life, factors such as a lack of participatory experiences and awareness among the new generation compared to the previous ones regarding production-based housing and livelihood needs and the increasing similarity between rural and urban housing and living style have adversely affected rural people participation in housing. In order to promote people-centered rural development, it is necessary to prepare the ground for the presence of the clients – that is residents-alongside designers in the whole process of design and construction, in order to provide a better understanding of their living and livelihood spaces.

Persian wind towers, badgirs, are passive building cooling systems that use nature to provide comfort for people in hot anddry regions. They collect fresh air and channel it down to cool the internal spaces. Sometimes they perform as ventilators and conduct the air from the ground level courtyard to the top of the wind tower. In this paper, the construction techniques of wind towers along with the typology are studied. The typology is based on the location, the number of inlets, the cooling performance, and the seismic behaviour of badgirs. The wind towers in Kashan, Central Iran, are studied for their cooling functioning and structural behaviour against earthquakes. Four different heights for the towers are considered. The effects of wind tower height, wind orientation and velocity on mass flow and are examined. The wind towers may be categorised based on different criteria including the location, the number of air inlets, the plan, and the facade. Sometimes, they take their names from the city in which they are built. A wind tower is made of adobe or brick, in the shape of a canal that conducts wind from the top to the bottom. Construction of a wind tower consists of three phases. In the first phase, the lower part is constructed from the basement of the building up to the roof level. In the second phase, the upper part of is built on the roof. The third phaseconsists of building the roof of the badgir with wooden boards and cob, and a gutter is inserted to conduct rainwater. The number of air inlets and the orientation of badgirs are selected with reference to the direction of the dominant wind, location and geographical conditions. The number of inlets or sides on the top of the wind tower may vary from one to eight. In cities near the desert, the direction of sandstorms play a role in determining which sides on the top of the tower will be closed to prevent the sand from penetrating the living quarters. A badgir may function as a ventilator when wind does not blow or wind direction is 90° , i. e. mass flow is negative and airflow is from the bottom to the top of the wind tower. In cases where the wind tower performs as a ventilator, the cool air of the courtyard or basement is used for cooling the building. Wind direction, velocity, and height of a wind tower affect mass flow and temperature. The wind direction of 45° causes more mass flow than other directions; in some cases the difference may be as great as 43%. A taller wind tower increases the air temperature and decreases the mass flow entering from the wind tower to the building. Air temperature increase is less than 0. 5 ° C. Mass flow decrease is more than 13% for increasing the wind tower height from 4 m to 10 m. A larger velocity of wind decreases the air temperature and increases the mass flow. Increasing wind velocity from 7. 5 m/s to 15 m/s causes a 65% increase in mass flow. Wind towers are vulnerable against earthquakes. Taller wind towers experience more damage due to earthquakes than lower ones.

Niavaran is one of the northern neighborhoods of Tehran that not long ago was part of the suburban rural fabric. Todays, high density and magnitude of physical changes because of new social, economic, cultural and geographical features, has transformed its character drastically. Although one of the most important areas of urban design consideration is the physical dimension and its changes over time, however residents’ long-term perception as part of place identity has not been profoundly studied. One of the main obstacles for a better understanding of how residents experience these changes is the lack of appropriate qualitative measures of satisfaction with relevant sensitivity to the magnitude of changes. The main aim of this study is the recognition of such criteria for the original inhabitants’ satisfaction as the physical changes has taken place. Therefore, understanding the process of assessing influential factors affecting resident’ s perception is essential. The study adopted a mixed methods case study research design involving in-depth interviews with residents of four historical alleys in Niavaran and quantitative morphological analysis over a period of 20 years in this area. The purpose group of study was original inhabitants mainly middle aged who have lived for the past 20 years in place and aware of physical transformations. A phenomenographic approach was adopted to analyze residents' perceptions and evaluations of low and high rates of physical changes. It accompanied with deep interview for data collection, coding, classification to determine the structure of residents' perceptual experience. By combining the alleys' morphological analysis with qualitative findings, an adaptive assessment of physical changes with the results of the phenomenological interpretation was provided. The results of study reveal people's different experiences and assessments in low and high degree of physical changes. The contextual and semantic-symbolic qualities in low range and livability qualities in high range of physical changes proved to have more prominent role in determining the satisfaction measures. As the intensity of change increases, the concept of homely dwelling diminishes and the residents’ sensitivity to change beyond their control greatly decreases. Despite repetition, some elements do not become part of residents’ reference system and consequent dissatisfaction with them may occur. Other elements, however, may gradually become incorporated into their reference framework and experienced as satisfactory. The identification of factors affecting satisfaction should be based not only on previous research and on review of theoretical principles, but also on affective appraisal from the existing residents of a particular environment. It is notable that changes in unique environmental values such as landscape and mountain’ s view corridors are not at any level bearable by the inhabitants. The resulting measures and criteria would contribute to establish urban guidelines for physical changes with high environmental residents’ satisfaction. This is particularly significant since it is common trend in several transforming neighborhoods in Iranian cities. The findings are particularly pertinent in the preparation of local development documents and any physical development policy as a ground to urban design projects on neighborhood.

In rural areas dwellings aside from being a place for living, reflect the livelihood of its residents. This issue is increasingly facing problems, such as a lack of financial resources for renovation of rural residential units, physical vulnerability of these dwellings against natural hazards, the deterioration of rural fabric, as well as overlapping living and livelihood spaces. In recent decades housing retrofit credits program has been implemented on a large scale in order to improve the quality of rural housing. This program has resulted in a number of changes in the function of housing spaces. Several questions are raised in this regards including: is there a relationship between receiving credits and changes in the productive functions of housing? And whether there is a significant difference in the productive functions of housing for different occupational groups. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changes in productive functions of rural housings that were triggered by using retrofitting housing credits. Data collection methods adopted in the study comprised of document review and field data collection methods such as questionnaires, interviews and observation. The questionnaire is composed of closed questions and answers on Likert scale. Data analysis methods is descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired T-test, and Kruscal Wallis test). Statistical population of the study is the recipients of the credit program within the period of 2005 to 2013 in Mojezat County, which is consisted of 811 families. The sample size of 231 households was determined using Cochran formula. Furthermore, and in order to assess the reliability of the research tool, the Cronbach's alpha is used. The values obtained for housing productive functions before and after receiving the retrofitting credit are 0. 967 and 0. 959 percent, respectively. The research findings indicate widespread changes in houses including in housing area and the number of rooms after receiving the retrofiting credits. Furthremore, the research shows a significant correlation between housing productive functions and receiving the retrofitting housing credits. The level of the productive functions of housing declined with the t-statistic of 6. 240 after receiving the credit. Additionally, the research found a significant difference in mean rank of the occupational groups, with herders and farmers making more changes in the productive spaces of their houses after receiving the credit. Conclusion: Expanding the urban-rural relationships, restrictions and requirements of the the lending agency, lack of financial ability of villagers, insufficient amount of the credit considering the cost of construction materials and their transportation from cities to villages, spreading urban architecture styles, a lack of foresight conerning the needs of rural housing functions like hayloft and husbandry as well as changing family structure have resulted in the transformation of housing productive functions. The analysis of the status of housing productive functions and different occupational groups using the Kruskal-Wallis test shows that ranchers and farmers have made more changes in their housing function. With paired t-test or t-statistic of 6. 240, the research demonstrates that the productive function of the housing after receiving the loan is reduced. By examining the available spaces in the rural housing of Mojezat, the paper shows that the implementation of housing retrofitting and modernization of rural housing to comply with the style and patterns of urban housing of the nearby city of Zanjan have been conducive to qualitative and quantative changes of housing spaces and their function.

Catastrophes often impose negative impacts on children. The purpose of establishing post-disaster "child-friendly spaces" is to provide an opportunity for children to shape or change their surroundings in addition to create suitable physical and psychological conditions that facilitate a faster rehabilitation of children after disasters. On December 26, 2003, an earthquake of magnitude 6. 3 on the Richter scale hit the city of Bam in Kerman Province. As a result, many children suffered from, and faced, many issues such as legal, psychological, anatomic, economic, social problems. They needed constant and urgent psychological and social support including access to safe places for leisure and recreation to overcome their psychological pressures. After the earthquake of 2003 governmental and international organizations and NGOs got involved in planning and implementing several projects for creating such spaces for children. These spaces are known as child friendly spaces in Bam and have been at the center of attention of the authorities during the first days after the earthquake. Nevertheless, due to a lack of documented experiences of such projects inside the country, these activities were carried out through trial and error. It seems that, 10 years after the earthquake, an evaluation of the impacts of child-friendly spaces is particularly important. This paper presents a qualitative assessment of these projects, relying on the content analysis of the collected data. In this study, interviews and focus group meetings were conducted, with those who aged between 3-13 at the time of the earthquake, who became juvenile and adolescent in the time of data collection, along with their parents and educators working in child friendly spaces; and thus comments of children in relation to child friendly spaces were collected and analyzed. All interviewees and informants used child-friendly spaces. Furthermore, the researchers have conducted field observation, interview and participatory observation with the aim of collecting and analyzing documents and reports relevant to the event. In this study documents and reports of governmental organizations such as national welfare organization, international organizations like UNICEF and also non-governmental organizations like the society for protecting working children were analyzed, and the required information has been extracted. The results show that despite the shortfalls of these projects, the effect of child-friendly spaces on children's communication skills has been very significant. Children have emphasized the importance of such spaces for building relationships with their peers and how these spaces provided them with an opportunity to interact in the society, heightened their awareness of risks and enhanced their social skills and capabilities. Results also indicate that although most children expressed satisfaction with these spaces, there are still challenges in terms of planning and design of such spaces. For example, children’ s suggestions for an optimal planning and design of such spaces included considering local climate and vernacular architectural know-how in designing such spaces, providing suitable furniture, interior design and equipment for children, separating toilets for girls and boys, the use of resistant and waterproof tents with colorful drawings. Furthermore, increasing green spaces and interior spaces as well as providing a safe access to such facilities were requested by children for designing child friendly spaces in Bam.

This study investigates landslides occurred in Chahar Mahal – Bakhtiari Province in Iran, using a probability analysis for describing landslide mechanism. Two case studies of landslide in this province (Naghan – karoon 4 Road) are analyzed using software analysis and empirical methods. The mountainous topography, various geological structures, crust mobile zones and humid climate can trigger geological hazards including landslides in Chahar Mahal – Bakhtiari Province. Identification of the landslide area is important for site selection and development planning of human settlements and infrastructure within the landslide prone regions. Landslide prone areas can be identified through landslide susceptibility zonation maps. This paper describes a method to identify those slopes that are vulnerable to landslides through the statistical analysis of geological data. The landslides statistical data was collected in the Landslide Department of Forests Range and Watershed Management Organization of Chahar Mahal-Bakhtiari Province. This statistical data was recorded in the period of 1987 to 2014. During this period 319 landslides were detected and recorded. In this study the landslides of Chahar mahal and Bakhtiari province have been analyzed base on the watershed and sub watersheds, and their impact levels. The probability analysis of this data is used for describing landslide mechanism. A high frequency of landslide events can be linked to the geographical and climatological condition in Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari province, which is a mountainous and rainy region. Aside from these factors, the lithology, stratigraphy and geometrical design of roads also affect on landslide events. A number of landslides in the study area (Naghan – Karoon 4 road) and stabilization methods that are used for slopes are described. Considering the location of some of the landslides in the vicinity of Deh Kohneh and Gandom Kar villages and the possibility of life-threating landslides, a comprehensive study is conducted for investigating these landslides and suggesting stabilization methods for slopes. Important causes of landslides in Naghan-karoon 4 slopes are water runoff and marl and clay layers in slopes. Almost all landslides of the Naghan – karoon 4 Road affect surrounding villages and human settlements. This study suggests a number of stabilization methods for soil and rock mass slopes based on the software analysis (Geoslope software and stereographic analysis) and field observations. Stabilization methods for Naghan – karoon 4 slopes include retaining structures, surface and subsurface drains. In geographic areas with limited data availability, where there was a fundamental need for land-slide hazard information, a combination of landslide inventory and topographic data can provide an effective estimate for landslide susceptibility. Some of the methods of slope stabilization such as slope weight reduction for decreasing trigger forces are not useful for all cases of landslides. Based on result of analyses the water pore pressure in soil mass and impermeability of marl layers are main causes of soil movement. Utilizing drainage systems for draining water pore pressures can reduce displacements in landslides. In order to drain water table of slope, we need to install screen and perforated polyethylene pipes to the horizontal boreholes. Usually a layer of nonwoven geotextile wrapped around pipes can prevent filling the pores in polyethylene pipes. This function of geotextiles filtration can increase the life time and quality of drainage boreholes. Another type of drainage systems is superficial channels. The construction of channels to direct run off water from slops has also been prevalent. The depth and width of these channels is 1. 5 m and 2. 5 m respectively for a trapezium form in channel section. Superficial channels should have been waterproofed by concrete or bentonite in order to prevent water infiltration in slops.

IntroductionA drop in the quality of rural housing indices, the vulnerability of the rural habitats of the country to natural disasters, natural population growth and the associated need for housing in these settlements, changes in rural infrastructure, social, cultural and economic condition of rural settlements, and inadaptability of traditional dwellings to new trends and lifestyles all indicate the need for new rural housing provision more than before. Within this context, critical is to build dwellings that aside from being resistant against hazards and meeting the current needs of its residents, maintain local identity, and are developed based on local patterns of vernacular rural housing. In this process, construction monitoring and controlling system are of great importance. Given the importance of safe construction practices of residential units, it is necessary to establish a monitoring system for construction activities in rural settlements in order to achieve sustainable development. Focusing on the rural settlements located in Western Bahmaei Sarhaddi, this paper seeks to identify the most important barriers to the implementation of rural technical program. The key aim of this paper is to introduce the rural technical program and explain its importance in decreasing the vulnerability of rural housing against natural hazards. By applying the standards and codes developed by the Housing Foundation of Iran, the rural technical program aims to develop rural settlements and provide appropriate and safe rural housing. Research MethodologyThis descriptive-analytical study, is an applied research. Data is collected through fieldwork, using questionnaire as well as conducting document review. Moreover, Friedman test and exploratory factor analysis are used to analyze the collected data. FindingsThis research shows that the most important factors preventing a comprehensive implementation of rural technical program are as follows: low income 3. 55; high cost of the previous plans with average 3. 45, high material prices with an average of 3. 45, not using new technologies in housing construction with an average of 3. 36 and a lack of familiarity with the technical program with an average of 3. 27. ConclusionFactor analysis of the barriers to the implementation of the technical program indicates that economic factor is the most important barrier in Western Bahmaei Sarhaddi Rural district. Economic factors such as low income, high issuance costs, employment in traditional agriculture and animal husbandry, insufficient amount of loan, high costs of materials and high wage of supervising engineers are among the main obstacles in the implementation of the technical program in Western Bahmaei Sarhaddi Rural district. Factor analysis results also indicate that socio-cultural issues are the second important obstacles to the implementation of technical program. Relevant to this factor, problems such as low literacy levels, a lack of technical knowledge, unwillingness to get a building permit and an unwillingness to receive a loan can be mentioned. Administrative-organizational and technical factors are the third and fourth barriers to the implementation of the rural technical program.

Iran is one of the countries with a relatively high vulnerability to earthquakes and experiences several seismic events every year. Since recorded history, earthquakes have frequently struck the Iran plateau, taking a heavy toll. The city of Baravat, a small town near Bam city, is located in the southeast of Kerman province in Iran. The major economic drivers of Baravat are farming and gardening as the city has large orchards of palm groves. According to the Statistical Centre of Iran, Bam had a population of 70, 000 in 1996 and its population in the rural and urban areas reached 142, 376 in January 2003. In the very early hours of 26th December 2003, a devastating and strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6. 5 struck Bam, one of the historical cities of Kerman province in the south of Iran. According to the official reports, more than 30, 000 were killed and about 25, 000 injured. More than 80% of the town’ s buildings were also destroyed. The 2003 bam earthquake is important in terms of notable physical damage, financial losses, high death toll, the characteristic features of the earthquake, the extent of damaged area, unique features of the region, the process of providing temporary housing and its reconstruction process. The post-disaster reconstruction managers faced fundamental questions and challenges, due to a high number of human losses and related social issues, extensive damage to the historical town, and also a lack of experience in urban reconstruction. In the absence of any post-disaster urban reconstruction experience in Iran, except post-war reconstruction experience in cities, there were many questions about reconstruction management process of the damaged area. The performance of reconstruction management in housing provision was considerably different from previous reconstruction projects in Iran, because of factors, such as the performance of the governmental and international agencies, adoption of new managerial approaches and the application of appropriate reconstruction methods. As a result, it is important to evaluate the reconstruction management of Bam and Baravat areas through analyzing people’ s satisfaction and to learn their perceptions about the strengths and weaknesses of this program. This study investigates factors influential in people’ s satisfaction level about the performance of reconstruction managers in Baravat. The level and performance of managers according to people’ s satisfaction level is analyzed and the weaknesses and strengths of reconstruction management are explained. Finally, regarding the weaknesses and strengths of reconstruction in this case study, the paper provides a number of strategies for improving the reconstruction management processes in future disasters.

IntroductionIn rural development programs, the protection of existing values and development represent two conflicting goals. On the one hand the authenticity and local values need to be protected and on the other, there is a need to ensure the economic prosperity of rural settlements. The regeneration of valuable fabric of rural settlements will lead to environmental, physical, economic and social consequences. Existing literature shows that the regeneration of valuable rural areas and their preservation without any intervention in rural landscape or spaces for tourist interests alongside preserving local identity and values can prepare the ground for physical-spatial development of rural settlements. This literature places emphasis on integrative regeneration approaches that protect the authenticity, local values and economic growth and considers a developmental approach to preservation as suitable. Although the identification and protection of valuable rural fabric with the aim of preserving rural cultural and historical heritage is important, the methods of preservation and maintenance of these rural areas seem to be more critical. The purpose of this paper is to examine social, economic, physical and environmental changes following the implementation of regeneration programs in valuable rural areas. MethodsThis applied research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, using survey as its main method of data collection. The statistical population of this study is consisted of residents of three villages of Naiband, khoor and the Forg in South Khorasan province, where the rural regeneration program has been implemented in their historically valuable rural fabric. Using Cochran’ s formula, a sample of 310 subjects were determined. The questionnaire used ordinal and Likert-scale. To analyze the data, the Wilcoxon test (nonparametric variables) and T dependent samples (parametric variables) were used. ResultsSocial dimension: To assess the social implications of the program, the status of these variables before and after the implementation have been compared. Results indicate a significant social changes after the implementation of the program in three villages. Physical dimension: Survey responses about the physical aspects of the program show a significant (significance level of less than 0. 05) change (improvement) compared to the pre-implementation condition. Environmental aspects: Storm water runoff management, waste disposal management as well as the cleanliness of the villages are indicative of environmental improvement after the implementation of the program in valuable rural fabric. In particular, this difference is significant in Khor village. Economic dimension: Survey respondents' views on the economic changes resulted from the program indicate a significant improvement in all villages except for Naibad village. ConclusionThis study shows that the regeneration program in valuable rural fabric has resulted in positive social, physical, environmental and economic changes, given that the program took into consideration the context of each village and avoid non-local methods and excessive physical intervention in these villages. However, factors such as unfavorable natural conditions such as natural hazards and poor location of villages have resulted in a lower quality planning in terms of economic and environmental aspects. In order to improve this program, the paper presents a number of suggestions under five categories of restoration of rural fabric, service providision, tourism, security and community development. All these five categories are interdependent and indispensable in order to achieve the desired development goals.

Natural hazards, like earthquake and floods, have often resulted in sever financial impact and human losses in the country. Current arrangements in disaster management of the country, however, have presented a passive approach towards disaster management or adopt appraoches that are focused on the built environment. This research seeks to develop a model for assessing the social resilience of human settlements and local communities in dealing with risks and potential shocks. In order to test the model, social resilience in five rural settlements of the Eghbal Gharbi region of Qazvin are assessed. As the first step, the authors investigate the concept of resilience and the place of social factors in the social development of rural settlements and their role in the resilience of these settlements in regards to disasters. A set of indicators is extracted from the literature for measuring social resilience in rural settlements. In the second step, a model for analyzing social resilience is developed. On this bases, data on spatial and non-spatial data is collected by using questionnaire and field observation. Non-spatial data is obtained through structured questionnaire designed on the Likert scale in regards to 21 socio-economic and cultural indicators. As the final step, using inferential statistical tests and analytical methods and employing spatial analysis tools, social resilience in 5 selected village in West Eghbal in Qazvin province is measured. The research findings suggest a low level of social resilience in the surveyed rural settlements in Qazvin province. No significant difference was found between the studied rural settlements in terms of social resilience. The level of social resilience in total is calculated 43% in the selected villages. The correlation analysis on different dimensions of social resilience indicate a relatively high correlation between inner dominant indicators. Furthermore, in analysing internal consistency and correlation coefficient for resilience, a high level of correlation was found between social resilience and all dimensions of resilience. To conclude, based on the results of this research the level of social resilience considering its different dimensions has never been ideal in the surveyed rural settlements. On this basis and in the case of a future disaster, these rural settlements will face serious challenges regarding social dimensions of resilience.