JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING
Year:2010 | Volume:2 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Urban Quality of life can be measured either by subjective indicators using surveys of residents’ perceptions and evaluations of urban life satisfaction or by objective indicators using secondary data and relative weights for objective indicators of the urban environment. The three distinct objectives of this study are to investigate the possible relationship between accessing to urban public-services, improvement in subjective accessibility and life satisfaction; to investigate the access to public transportation system and satisfaction with public transportation as well as life satisfaction; and finally to see the degree of influence of accessibility to urban public services on life satisfaction in Hashtgerd New Town. After reviewing the related theoretical as well as empirical literature on the public-services domain of the quality of life, 18 subjective indicators for measuring the three subjective latent sub-domains of accessibility, transportation and life satisfaction and also 14 indicators were chosen to measure the objective latent sub-domains of accessibility, transportation and life satisfaction. Hashtgerd New Town is consisted of four Phases. This study takes place in Phase I of the Hashtgerd New Town which is the most populated phase of the town. By applying the simple random sampling technique, a total number of 125 samples were identified as the total number of samples needed to undertake this study. A systematic sampling technique was applied to gather the needed data by designing a questionnaire. A factor analysis was first applied to the data to calculate the factor weights for each of the said indicators. While subjective and objective indicators of urban quality of life are rarely related to each other, in this paper, these two types of indicators were linked through Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to gather objective indicators on responders’ urban environment within the same region with regard to urban services, facilities and public transportation. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the strength of the relationship between these objective indicators and subjective indicators was examined. The obtained results show that improvement in objective urban QOL plays a very important role in improving the subjective urban QOL. Also, satisfaction as a result of objective accessibility to public urban services affects the subjective quality of life in a meaningful and positive manner which is statistically significant. It also shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between objective and subjective indicators of urban public services and life satisfaction in the Hashtgerd New Town. These findings indicate the importance of objective indicators of the quality of life and remind and urge the urban planners that the relationship between subjective and objective indicators of public urban services domain of quality of life plays an important role in determining life satisfaction in urban areas.

The main goal of this research is to evaluate the elements which affect the sense of place and to examine its differences in organic and planned contexts through case study in Sagharisazan neighborhood(as an organic neighborhood) and Guilan Blvd. as a planned one. Theoretical bases of this research are derived from ideas of phenomenologist architect Christian Norberg–Schulz, concerning place phenomenon and place sense. In Schulz’s point of view, place phenomenon is a holistic, qualitative and multi-dimensional concept, and also the concept of sense of place is something more than algebraic sum of its components, and structure of place as a bio-space is affected by boundary/ threshold, concentration/enclosure, insideness/ outsideness, identification and orientation. Methodology of this paper is descriptive, based on deductive reasoning, using synthetic strategy (qualitative-quantitative) with more focus on qualitative strategy. The proposition of the research is that the perception of sense of place in neighborhoods with organic and traditional growth is stronger than neighborhoods with planned growth. This proposition was analyzed and finally confirmed using profound interviews accompanied by open questions from 46 purposefully selected samples, triangulation method, the observations in diverse times and also comparing the findings of the two neighborhoods. This has been done through studying, interpreting and analyzing by the researcher and evaluating the opinions of the people who use those neighborhoods, and also by preparing some open questions and deep interview together with 22 pre-designed questions (the average time of interviews was 40 minutes). Finally, the interviewees’ opinions reached an agreement. In selecting the samples, all classes of people using the environment were attended. Samples for Sagharisazan neighborhood includes 24 persons and in Guilan Blvd.22 persons. Most interviews were recorded and continued until repeated and similar answers were faced with. Data classification was done based on subjects and models. Then, research results were provided to 60% of interviews, confirmed by them and some issues were corrected. The validity criteria for research results are: (1) interpreting the research results based on reaching joint ideas, i.e. inter-subjective agreement (in such a way that the depth and quality of results may be touched by other people and daily life) and (2) Approving and verifying the research results by interviewees, experts and specialist. In research methodology, observing the basic principles of phenomenology and qualitative research and inductive reasoning were also considered. In present paper, classification is done via statistical community method. Since, in this research the emphasis is on qualitative strategy, the high number of samples in neighborhood is not the main point, rather trying to select samples in a selective and purposeful way is more important. Sample collection continued until some final results and common points were reached. The analysis of the findings shows that the newly built and planned Guilan Blvd. neighborhood is in a weaker stance than its older counterpart - i.e. Sagharisazan; the causes of this issue are: monotonousness of environment, standardization of context, decline of native identity, lack of rich human communications, lack of collective life sense, immigrant attractiveness, being newly built, lack of common memories, lack of familiarity with environment in Guilan Blvd., and also change of taste and people’s view of life which ultimately has lead to incomplete development of inhabitation concept in Guilan Blvd.

Cities are growing fast and sweeping their natural surroundings quickly. Planning for urban residences ignoring the environmental dimensions and anomalous energy consumption has created new challenges for city planners as well as for politicians. The speed of construction and rush to achieve the final product in modern world causes the loss of the opportunity for thinking about the invisible layers of urban and architectural design. Therefore, investigating these aspects of design which provide the required tools for sustainability is an essential issue, as they would be useful not only for superficial needs of human being but also are for the human comfort. The form of contemporary city has been perceived as a source of environmental problems. In our built and natural environments, the urban form directly affects habitat, ecosystems, endangered species, and water quality through land use, habitat fragmentation and replacement of natural cover with impervious surfaces. Furthermore, urban form affects travel behavior, which, in turn, affects air quality, and causes premature loss of farmlands, wetlands, and open space, soil pollution and contamination, global climate and noise. Moreover, growing evidences from around the world indicate that, due to excessive use of fossil fuels, especially in affluent countries, greenhouse gas concentrations are accumulating at an alarming rate. Prospects for future are dire indeed, unless we act collectively to alter our energy-dependent lifestyles. Urgent changes are needed not only in our behavior but also in the design of the built form. Crisis resulting from micro and macro policies and measures applied in Iran are there, while we have an opulent urban and architectural background on the basis of sustainable development principles in our old cities, which can help the development of current cities and create a bright urban perspective. In the next step, through documentary and field studies of historical cities in a desert areas – namely, Esfahan Province - it has been revealed that their old characters and structures have been in line with the theoretical principles. The objective of this paper is a thematic study on concerning theoretical topics considered by western experts in relation to sustainable urban forms in order for achieving planning principles and conforming them to the features of urban structures in old textures and particularly in Esfahan desert urban areas. The results of the study show the importance of fundamental solutions such as compactness, diversity, sustainable transport, passive systems design, and greening in our urban planning along with the identification of traditional and local sustainability principles. Accordingly, the results of this study which have been derived from fundamental characteristics of historical and traditional parts of cities: Zavareh, Naein, Ardestan and Kashan, have obviously been shown to be compatible with mentioned theoretical conclusions.

Birjand is a city in South of Khorasan Province in Iran. The city is located in the heart of arid zones, with a population of 170000 persons. The map of the city is the result of juxtaposition of two urban morphologies, the organic and the planned patterns. As a result, like many other cases, the organic part has been interrupted by the planned one and that pathway organization and the historic texture are suffering from disorders functionally and socially. In the planned part of the city, the arteries and their frontages are active parts of the city. In the organic part, the historic parts of the city are segregated and dispersed and the main skeleton, including the “Haft Menbar” pathway, which although in some parts is still visually active and has a crucial role in some special ceremonies like “Ashoora”, but functionally play a small role in everyday life of the city. In this paper, it has been attempted to measure the degree of users’ perception of their environment, using different techniques and by their mental maps. Four parameters have been considered to be measured in mental maps: “General Structure”, “General Orientation”, “Accurately-placed Landmarks” and “Cell percentage”. The general structure of maps is designated according to Appleyard’s categorization which indicates the complexity of the maps with regard to the elements represented in the maps in general. The measurement of cell percentage is a technique used to measure the surface of the map represented by the users in mental maps. This method was suggested for the first time by Walsh & Krieger, which compares the surface of the map drawn by the users to the base surface of the study zone. The general orientation is another parameter for evaluation of mental maps regarding way-finding parameters. The accurately-placed landmarks are another parameter which demonstrates the location of landmarks in relation to each other in micro-scale and in a more detailed way. By computer analysis and using Space Syntax methods, the permeability, and in some extent, visibility of urban textures have been demonstrated, and the possibility of creating connectivity between historic parts and the “zones of identity” have been measured. According to Space Syntax theory, manipulating the geometry of the urban layout can affect the flow of pedestrian movement in some arteries. Another parameter in making the city more alive and accessible is reinforcing the whole-part relationship. Enhancing the whole-part relationship in the geometry of the layout would increase the permeability of the whole structure which would ameliorate the pedestrian movement in the main arteries. The location of the focal points and their inter-visibility would have some important impacts on the attraction of the users’ to the main arteries and main open spaces. Through analyzing the actual situation of the city, the guidelines for creating more active environment would emerge by proposing new functions concerning habitants’ needs. By enhancing the focal points of the historic urban axis and creating connectivity and, at the same time, promoting a stronger whole-part relationship in the urban structure, the city would enjoy more active and joyful life.

Urban planning and especially urban design is multidisciplinary and therefore for appropriate perception, understanding and analysis must have close relations and transaction with other disciplines especially urban planning, environmental design, sociology, psychology, economy and architecture. One of the means to propose solutions is visual representation of the environment, through sketches, maps, photos and films. Cinema as an effective public media, is constantly reproducing spaces, environments, events, symbols and icons and reminds, educates or represents it for its users. Given cities’ important role in film and the medium’s particularly vivid and kinetic depiction of cities, films provide a rich resource for the teaching of urban design. This paper intends to illustrate the relation between social life and urban form through selection and review of 10 movies during the last decade in Iranian cinema and discusses ten films screened in the University of Michigan’s Master of Urban Design Program’s intro ductory studio for their lessons about the intersection between urban form and social life. Since, cinema constantly informs the user about the space, he/she would develop an understanding and feeling through the virtual space of the scene which may promote his presence in a specific place. Also new perspectives towards the urban space and its uses and functions are developed. Therefore the aim of this article is to find out the role of movies in urban design education. Another aim of this paper is to analyze the style of demonstration the urban spaces in sequences of urban films to recognize reflection, application, and display of urban environment in these selected movies which have had some sequences of urban spaces that demonstrate and reflect the real urban spaces. After summarizing the reasons for using film in urban design studio, it describes the criteria used to select films, identifies some of their lessons (which are revealed through viewing exercises), and concludes with a reflection on the value of film in teaching urban design. First the application of movie as an educational tool would be clarified, and then the selection criteria for the movies are stated and their lessons are explored. Finally it is concluded that due to the role of cities in movies and media, especially in representing the mobility, vitality and clear representation of the city, they could be used as a major educational resource in urban design. An understanding of urban spaces, through movies would provide a comprehensive understanding of formal, functional and semantic characteristics of spaces and improve urban designers’ understanding of the environment. This could be used to find out the problems and shortcomings within the contemporary urban space and looking forward to provide urban design solutions. In addition, findings of this research can create guidance for moviemakers to choose proper samples of urban spaces and qualitative aspects of urban spaces into movies to increase level of people understanding.

Land development constitutes the physical pattern of development, which is subject to many influences by economic, social, management and political issues. Land use planning as a base for urban planning has always been looking forward to optimize the future land development. Contemporary plans - i.e. the traditional form of planning - introduced zoning of land uses and urban facilities that were a failure through implementation; reasoned by weaknesses such as disregarding the spatial aspects of land development and two-dimensional plans for future land use without establishment of implementation supplies. Looking forward to reduce these weaknesses, the new paradigms for land use planning take some efforts to consider different aspects of land development patterns and emphasize on methods and models for implementing the strategies, policies and local plans, legalizing the land development for optimum public advantages through urban life. In this research, the challenge is opened by a review of the history of land use theories, plans and methods and instruments of implementation. The theory of Stewart Chapin for land use planning process is described, where land development management plan is the last step of the process, regarded as the conjunction of land development plans and the process of implementation. Keeping focus on this issue, the analytical model of this research stands on the framework of development management plans composing the “Model of Land Management”. Furthermore, “Smart Growth”, a new paradigm of growth management and control of development, is introduced and analyzed to adapt the inefficient patterns of development in Tehran, setting the direction of the model’s main goals and strategies. Finally, the model is examined through “Yaft Abad District”. The results demonstrate that some factors such as discarding the role of the main stakeholders and lack of integrated policies and regulations as well as common social, economic and physical weaknesses, aggravate the causes of inefficient land development. Meanwhile, analyzing the causes and effects of land management with inefficiency criteria of development, through an adopted model of land management, could set the direction and main strategies of smart development. Designing the implementation process in Yaft Abad District, four main criteria of land management defined a “Development Code” for: building regulations, economic programs, urban design, design standards and public, private and stakeholders’ partnership.

While there are some successful hillside architectural patterns in rural areas of Iran which have been adapted to surrounding environment through the time, no special design regulations have been presented locally to tackle with new hillside developments. In Tehran, developing urban texture towards hillside Alborz (northern mountains) together with threatening the existing rural settlements are considered as future challenges for next generations. This article is presenting development regulations for hillside areas from viewpoint of a new approach. This research aims at conserving hillside identity and landscape by means of introducing new method for classification and codification in such areas. Presenting a comprehensive and smart process in managing and developing of hillside areas is central to this paper. Therefore, the main goals of this research would be: (i) protection of hillside areas as natural identity of human habitats and (ii) provision of spatial linkage between urban and natural areas. To achieve proper knowledge, the literature review has been done based on investigating existing local rural and urban hillside areas of Iran. These types of settlements are mainly located in north and west mountainous part of Iran and their architectural typology considered as “out-arrangement” in contrast with “in-arrangement” which is more popular in central and desert parts of Iran, which both have been developed in response to climate and so called cultural characteristics. At the very first stage, the research process starts with investigating steep site areas characteristics together with design principles of residential complexes. The next step would be dedicated to analyzing urban design guidelines particularly on hillside areas. In this step a conservative approach has been adopted in order to define how to protect the natural views and hillside landscape through investigating regulations and codification process in New York and Isfahan. Then there would be a comparative study of Tehran and New York guidelines which leads to presentation of local hillside development framework. Finally there is a pilot study to apply the research results in one of the urban hillside areas of Tehran: “Bagh Shater”. This area is a former rural and country-side settlement which has been surrounded with new urban development and now can be considered as a part of urban sprawl in north of Tehran. While exceeding the limits on highland development (land development in areas higher than 1800 meters) is threatening the environmental assets and landscape of Tehran, lack of proper regulations has tend to be inefficient and disharmonized building types can be seen in the area. The applied methodologies of the research are based on investigating capabilities and obstacles of hillside settlements, comparative study of various design guidelines, collaborating them with local land characteristics, and presenting local standards for hillside areas which leads to land developing regulation for hillside areas in north of Tehran. Finally, GIS has been used widely as a major technique to classify different urban typology of “Bagh Shater” hillside area, and to present it with new zoning regulations and design guidelines.

The recognition of time depends more on high hierarchy of universal entity and “that universe” and less on logical and scientific views of “this universe” and its manifestation in human and architecture is the object of this essay. After looking for time in existent Iranian - mysticism theories, we got to negation of conventional absoluteness, observed modification, homogeneous, unilateral and lack of meaning; “time”, in its high rank of eternity (sarmad), in which human with his/her conception has tried to manifest it in different cultural manifestations. In this paper, for reflecting the theoretical foundations to understand the nature and different rankings of time, the issue has been considered from the order of its conventional and measured rank, to what is called as “universe” (dahr) and “eternity” (sarmad) in Iranian Gnosticism. In order to understand the standard meaning of Time, variable aspects of creation and appearance system (i.e. “To Be” in the world) is needed to be explored; and to understand the infinite (sarmad) time, we have to consider more about transcendent order of “existence” world. Since the purpose was not only historiography, therefore, by taking a look at time in west world, we were seeking the source and theoretical foundation of this meaning in local culture; may we can find a way to obtain a better understanding of it’s various manifestations, including in architecture and cinema. We also believe as Grabar does that in mechanism of perception of art, we also need an operation system whether consciously or unconsciously, more or less the same as computer users needs, to make the mechanism work and to make the arts become meaningful. So, the strategy of theorization of this article is based on monotheistic existence dimension and existence recognition. Time appears in a world which is owned by man, not independent of him, time which is showing “A way from Human to God” and it is far away from the related concepts and connections between time and place. Through this way and by transcendent order, we move from one point in ourselves, sometimes without any physical movement; this change happens in one “eternal moment’, which is measured about several hours or days by the mechanical tools and timers, but for the person who experiences this eternal moment, it seems stationary and full of presence. Viewing these differences in artistic manifestation can lead us to their truth. Old architectures have manifested time in both passing spaces and pausing privacies. Centre in those architectures is an impression of time stopped in such presences and has been a possibility for polarizing the surrounding area. It was faded in the continued space, synchrony of the places of the modern architecture and the sameness of today’s democracy. Time in architecture can be the same as resultant existent and be interrelated to it. This characteristic gives the opportunity to artists to create dynamic spaces with different layers and surfaces, which can appear to be without the sameness in relation to each other in order to comprehend different ranks using different perceptions.