GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH
Year:2021 | Volume:36 | Issue:2 (140)|Papers Count:10

Aims The purpose of this study was to locate wind-catcher sites in regions with hot and arid climates in the country (Semnan province). Methodology The current study is empirical in terms of purpose. First, the initial list of indicators affecting the location of the wind-catchers was prepared by reviewing the fundamental theories was approved by the Delphi method. Then, a combined model was used to find the potential areas for windcatchers establishment. This model includes the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP) technique and the Geographic Information System (GIS). The tools used for this purpose were ArcGIS software, version 9. 3, and Expert Choice software, version 2004. The pair comparison method was used to weigh the indicators and zones. Findings Six indicators of sunny hours, wind, altitude, temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation were identified to locate the win-catchers. The relative humidity index with a weight of 0. 38 had the highest score and the height index with a weight of 0. 154 had the lowest score. The layer for each indicator was prepared and drawn for the eight cities of the province. Eventually, according to the scores estimated by the pairwise comparison of the indicators and the studied areas, the priorities of the cities of Semnan province in terms of the wind-catchers establishment are as follows: Semnan, Garmsar, Aradan, Sorkheh, Damghan, Shahroud, Miami and Mehdishahr. Conclusion The optimal locating of wind-catchers requires a combination of several indicators that was possible using the hierarchical analysis method combined with GIS. The final model is practical and generalizable to similar climates.

Aims A dust storm is a phenomenon caused by particular conditions such as harsh wind, dry air and bare soil that is prone to erosion. The Sistan region in the southeast of Iran is one of the most affected areas by dust storms. This study was conducted to analyze the relationship between dust and rural population changes in the Sistan region (including 5 cities: Zabol, Helmand, Zahak, Nimroz and Hamoon) over the past 25 years (1991-2016). Methodology This is a descriptive-analytical study and the required data are collected through desk studies using demographic statistics and satellite images. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analyzes including correlation coefficient tests. Findings The results of comparing the rate of rural population growth in the studied area in Sistan and Baluchestan province showed that in all 4 time periods (1991-1996, 1996-2006, 2006-2011, and 2011-2016) the annual rate of rural population growth in the studied area had been significantly less than the annual rate of the province’, s rural population growth. Furthermore, the results of the study showed that there is a significant negative relationship between the average number of dusty days in the region in all four studied periods and the average annual rate of rural population growth in rural areas. Conclusion According to the findings of the current study, it can be concluded that the villages’,potential to keep the population is highly dependent on natural conditions, especially sand and dust storms as a result of successive droughts in this region.

Aims Today, the inconsistencies range of last seven decades planning and urban plans which were due to the lack of formulating an indigenous theory base on the Iran’, s planning environment characteristics, are visible. Achieving to the interacted urban planning theory with the official structural elements of Iran’, s planning environment is the research aim. Methodology This is a qualitative research with the critical approach. “, Classical Grounded theory”,is the foundation of research provision. Targeted semi-structured interviews with 30 experts and documentary research of 100 published scientific and research documents (1991-2020) provided the data that coded by the MAXQDA software. The research validity was confirmed by reviewing the literature and “, Assessment with the seven criteria of Strauss and Corbin”,and “, Assessment with the Cresol questions”, . Findings In the data linking (860 open cods) and conceptualizing process of this research, with “, autographs”,and the participation of interviewees, the basic codes of “, macro-planning structure”, , “, theories and theoretical frameworks”,and “, planning environment”,were identified. The official planning structure and “, the elements of the official urban planning structure”,and the basic code of “, coordination model of the official planning structure elements”,and three basic categories of: “, incoordination and inconsistency in the process of providing and implementation the plan”, , “, inconsistency and incoordination of theoretical frameworks of planning model”,and “, incoordination In the urban governance”,with using the “, graph model”,was clarified. Conclusion The research showed: the “, coordination”,concept is the codes and categories central core which lead to the interacted planning theory with the elements of the official structure of Iran’, s planning environment. The focal phenomenon that shows “, the theory of this research”,is “, coordinated planning”,with the strategies of: “, theoretical guidance for organizing a coordinated planning process”,and “, practical guidance for coordinating the role, viewpoint, interaction, etc. of institutions and users involved in planning”, .

Aims This study aims to design a model for the factors influencing the improvement of the strategic position of the supreme council of the provinces in Iran’, s national development. Physical aspects of the city and the country’, s optimal future development are the studied fields in the current research. Methodology This is a qualitative study in terms of the methodology according to the grounded theory. The statistical population includes the elites in the provinces’,supreme council that are selected using snowball sampling and continued until the theoretical saturation with 12 people. Findings There are 59 codes discovered for the main category of the research (good urban governance), 12 codes for the casual data condition, 36 codes for the contextual condition, 9 codes for the strategies, 11 codes for the intervening factors, and 54 codes for the consequences. 181 codes were extracted from the research interviews. Conclusion According to the research findings, some factors such as the art and science of management, national resources, and managerial attitude can form a good urban governing that highlights strategies such as creativity thinking (divergent thinking) and peaceful approaches as the provincial supreme council strategies. Such strategies may have some results for instance the development-oriented approaches and sustainable development.

Aims Murghab River is one of the main tributaries of the Zayandeh River. There have been no significant Neotectonic studies conducted in the river’, s basin. However, Shazand, Khansar and Dalan faults cross the basin. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of Neotectonic activities in a part of the Murghab basin near the Shazand fault. Methodology A digital height model with an accuracy of 30 meters was prepared for this area and the geological layers were added afterward. The basin was divided into 18 sub-basins and Hi, Bs, Af, SL, S, Facet%, and V indices were calculated using Arc Map, Arc View and Global Amper software. The relative index of Active tectonics (IAT) was calculated, as well. Field visits were used for the complementary studies. All data were combined in the final analysis. Findings The relative index of active tectonic (IAT) shows that the majority of the sub-basins are active and semi-active. Along fault, some displacements were observed in the Slikenside of the fault. The network of streams in the Murghab Basin shows evidence that some of the streams have rotated 90-degree, which approves Neotectonic activities and lowering of the lake base level and its rupture in the studied area. Conclusion Other nearby studies provide some evidence of the Shazand fault activity in this area. Highly likely tectonic activities in the future might be dangerous for people and facilities in the area and policymakers need to take it into consideration in future planning.

Aims Talking about economic and social development, it is essential to mention transportation. The current study is carried out to assess the transportation indicators in Iran’, s metropolises. Methodology The needed data for Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Qom, Kermanshah, and Hamedan (formal metropolises) and Rasht, Zahedan, and Kerman (informal metropolises) for this qualitative study is collected from Tehran statistics in 2018. The studied indicators are the number of working buses, working gas-fueled buses, private-sector buses, bus lines, bus stops, roofed bus stops, predicted train lanes, operated train stations and lanes, parking lots, vertical parking, overpass bridges, mechanized overpass bridges, crosses with traffic lights, gas stations, pedestrian underpass, and multilevel interchanges. The analysis of the transportation indicators was done using the EDAS multi-criteria decision-making technique. Findings EDAS score for transportation indicators in Tehran metropolis is 1. 000 which is the highest score among the studied metropolises. Mashhad (with 0. 549), Isfahan (with 0. 508), and Shiraz (0. 456) are the next ranks, respectively. According to the scores of the EDAS, other metropolises are in poor condition. Conclusion Iran’, s metropolises except for Tehran are not in good condition in terms of their transportation indicators.

Aims Given the importance of the issue of children in the city and their living context, it is necessary to plan and design healthy and safe urban environments for this future generation. According to the recent studies, it is needed to clarify the local criteria and indicators of a child-friendly city with a focus on the improvement of the environment and providing a conceptual framework to evaluate main priorities. This study aimed to explain the optimal local structure of a child-friendly city to improve the quality of urban spaces and to provide the needed criteria and indicators for evaluating the child-friendly cities in urban spaces by considering the concept of recreation and entertainment in District 2 of Tehran. Methodology The current research is analytical-descriptive and is considered as a developmentapplied evaluation in terms of its purpose. The data were collected through desk studies and a survey. According to the type of the problem and the purpose of this study, the urban area scale was proposed. Considering the extracted dimensions and indicators, a questionnaire was handed out in a group of 384 households randomly using a researcher-made method with 95% confidence. SPSS software was used for the statistical analysis. Some variables and the research framework were explained by elites and experts in this field using the Delphi method. Then, they were analyzed to determine the level of criteria for weighting and the relative importance of the effective components. Finally, using GIS maps and geographical explanation, the final indicators were classified into four groups using the method of zoning of urban blocks, structural measurement, and the average of the whole city by natural failure method in each index of urban blocks. Findings The results show that there are child-unfriendly zones in the central, southern, and even northern parts of district 2 of Tehran that cover the main cores of activity. Conclusion The urban fabric, access, land use, and relevant layers are influential in the friendliness of the city for children and affect their life quality on small scale.

Aims Today, the use of remote sensing methods for measuring land surface temperature has got more popular. Because remote sensing provides the opportunity to estimate the temperature in every region accurately. This study aimed to estimate land surface temperature using remote sensing in the south of Urmia Lake, compare them with observed data, and analyze the relationship between estimated land surface temperature and vegetation cover. Methodology Changes in temperature of the surface of the earth were investigated from 2000 to 2017 as well as their relationship with changes in vegetation and land use in agricultural regions. Then, thermal bands of Landsat 7 and OLI were used for measuring land surface temperature and converting DN to radians and brightness temperature. Moreover, NDVI was used for calculating emissivity and determining land use based using an object-oriented method. Then, the relationship between vegetation and land surface temperature was investigated using regression analysis. Findings The results showed that the observed and estimated land surface temperature had increased from 2000 to 2017 due to the changes in land use and vegetation cover. According to the results of linear regression analysis, there is a significant relationship between estimated and observed land surface temperature (R2 = 0. 72). Furthermore, there is a significant negative relationship between land surface temperature and vegetation cover. Conclusion The results showed that remote sensing methods provide accurate results in estimating the surface temperature. Understanding the surface temperature and its relationship with various land uses helps planners and experts to make managerial decisions to protect natural resources and agricultural lands.

Aims Khorram Abad plain is located in the folded Zagros zone and its River, as one of the main rivers discharging to Karkheh River, flows through this plain. This region is highly influenced by the neotectonic activities of this fault since Khorram Abad’, s hidden and active fault is located in this region. Therefore, the current study aimed at the investigation of the effect of this fault’, s activities on the morphological activities of Khorram Abad River. Methodology This is an empirical study that is quantitative in terms of used data and calculations. Remote-sensing techniques, geometrical indices, aerial photos, satellite images, and field studies are used in the current research. For this purpose, the river’, s route was divided into five subzones to be more precise. Then, the aerial photos taken in 1955 were compared to Google Earth’, s 2016 images in GIS. Geometrical indices such as the gradient of the river’, s slope and sinuosity of the mentioned five subzones were calculated by the digitization of the river’, s route in AutoCAD,the profiles and the changes in the alluvial terraces were measured through field observations. Findings Khorram Abad River’, s geometrical indices indicated that Khorram Abad’, s anticline and its upstream regions are upheaving and the downstream regions are subsiding or staying in their previous positions. This ascending trend has been followed by an increase in the average river’, s slope has changed the number of the tributaries and geometrical properties of the river. Conclusion The primary reason for the morphological changes in the Khorram Abad River is the geological movements. Then, the movements of Khorram Abad hidden thrust fault were the most important factors changing the morphology of Khorram Abad River in the studied period.

Aims The expansion of cities in recent years has led to an increase in uncontrolled construction around historic buildings and as a result has caused problems such as moisture leakage into the foundations of historic buildings. Isfahan province with more historic buildings It is the first city in 400 years that the sewerage network has been implemented. In recent years, some of these works have been exposed to moisture from old and dilapidated facilities. Therefore, overcoming this problem requires designing a spatial model based on smart technology in the operation of the municipal sewage network. Methodology This model was designed based on the combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) based on the Getis ord GI* index. After combining the results of this combination with statistical analysis, using non-parametric Kendall and Spearman tests, wastewater accidents and their probability of occurrence in the context of historical regions were evaluated. Findings This model is capable of evaluating previous sewage accidents and predicting the possibility of future accidents in the historical regions of the cities. Such a model has an empirical nature and as a result, can be updated in the event of an accident in the future. The combination of the Analytical hierarchy process and the Getis ord Gi* index is a special feature of this research. Conclusion In the study area, soil type, inappropriate infrastructure, worn sewer pipes, small diameter pipes, and population density were identified as the most important causes of accidents in the sewerage network.