GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH
Year:2019 | Volume:34 | Issue:4 (134)|Papers Count:14

Aims & Backgrounds The challenge facing the human being in the last century is the climate change crisis and its control. The most important consequences of climate change are the occurrence of drought in different parts of the world (especially Iran), which has encountered urban and rural settlements with various crises (especially the habitation). One of the ways to deal with this phenomenon is to plan a Disaster (Drought) Risk Reduction plan that is part of a crisis-specific agenda for urban planning and management. This is an applied research, which based on dual descriptive-analytical and analyticalprescriptive processes that in addition tracking the effects of drought on residential activity (habitation) in the urban area of Isfahan, using semi-quantitative methods of risk assessment, crisis-response scenarios designed. The drought has been developed based on the strategic urban spatial planning approach and by using Analysis of Interconnected Decision Area. Conclusion The results indicate that the effects of “ river drying and madies” , “ the dissatisfaction and distrust between civil society and decision makers” , “ life expectancy transformation” , “ air quality change” and “ increased physical health vulnerability” are highest risk of habitation in Isfahan. The topnotch scenario among the nine areas of decision-making areas consists of eight areas of “ urban design” , “ vitality” , “ public participation” , “ urban management” , “ modern technologies” , “ physical health” and “ lifestyle” , and is not included “ Environment” .

Aims & Backgrounds The US and the Soviet Union led the east and the west camps during the cold war and the geopolitical order was laid on the foundation of the rivalries between these two superpowers. But, after the collapse of the bipolar system, the US became the undisputed power in the international arena and the geopolitical order underwent changes during three decades after that and the conflicts between the superpowers was continued. Based thereon, the current study aims at explaining the geopolitical structure after the cold war and the method of power distribution in the situation after the collapse of Soviet Union up to the present time. Methodology The present study makes use of a descriptive-analytical method using qualitative content analysis and reviewing literature and the theories presented through reasoning and inference to find answers to three key questions in line with perceiving the relations between the superpowers after the cold war. The method of data and information Collectionis library and documentary. Findings The present study will show that the world witnessed a geopolitical transition after cold war and that no power is in a hegemonic position currently and the world is bearing witness to a spectrum of unipolar, bipolar and multipolar fluid powers. The conflict between the superpowers can be explained based on subjective and objective geopolitical factors. Conclusion Powers have chosen such strategies as withdrawal, bandwagoning and, balance of power which is including soft and hard in respect to one another according to the type of conflicts.

Aims & Backgrounds Informal settlement is one of the most important urban problems that reduces the level of quality and quantity of life. So far, different ways of organizing informal settlements have been presented, but the empowerment strategy has a high status in order to reduce physical, economic and social inequalities in the world. Among the solutions to the complex problems of these settlements, the presence of representatives of Non-governmental Organizations and Community Based Organization are as a communication link between the government and residents in empowering informal settlements to carry out actions in the cultural and social fields. The study intends to answer the question of how non-governmental organizations and community based organization play a role in the social empowerment of informal settlements. The case study is the old road of Quchan which is one of the identified area of informal settlements in Mashhad and is located in the northwest. Methodology This qualitative research is based on grounded theory which is conducted in 2018 among members of non-governmental institutions and local communities located in the old road of Quchan. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with active members until saturation occured. Findings In open coding stage of data analysis, 403 raw data, 20 concept, and 7 categories were obtained. Three categories including social trust to organizations, limitations of organization income and limitad workability of organizations were selected as a central phenomenon. Conclusion In general, it can be said that the Non-governmental Organizations have a high tendency towards social trust and acceptance, but they are not legally recognized due to economic and financial problems, the inability to provide the costs of the local problems, solve the needs of the residents and empower the neighborhoods, so their demands are not recognized too.

Aims & Backgrounds The water resources conservation includes all measurements focusing on optimal consumption and reduction of stress on water resources and its final consequence is energy and financial resources saving. Aim of this study was to examine economically consequences of conservation practices and their impacts on groundwater resources management. Methodology Examination of allocation conditions was carried out through WEAP Software. Optimization of agriculture cultivation pattern also has been performed using PSO algorithm in MATLAB. The examination of sewage potential of urban wastewater treatment were assessed to supply the fraction of the unconventional water resources. Also, the use of Rain Water Harvesting Systems (RHSs) with the aim of compensation of non-drinking water in residential areas and with using long term precipitation statistics of region were assessed. Findings Change of annual allocation situation (industry share is raised to 25. 8 percent and agriculture share is down to 49 percent) can save 10 billion cubic meter annualy. Consequence of PSO algorithm revealed that there is a potential to increase income of selling crops to 10 times of current expenses. The implementation results of RHSs showed that widespread utilization of them for all subscribes can save 2 billion cubic meter annualy. Assessment of the sewage reuse of the wastewater treatment showed that, it could improve 5. 6 billion cubic meter of groundwater depletion annualy. Conclusion It can be inferred from results that groundwater stress can be reduced considerably through implementation of modelling ground water resource allocation, optimization of agriculture cultivation pattern, capacity to use sewage potential of urban wastewater treatment and rainwater harvesting system.

Aims & Backgrounds Strategic planning identifies the objectives of political management of space in accordance with its mission and through environmental studies, so that more realistic goals can be determined and implemented. Political managers of geographical space at the level of the cities to carry out their local tasks are bound to formulate strategic plans. The aim of this research is presentation of strategic plan for political management of the geographical space in Shahriar township, based on both systematic and contingency theories. Methodology For this purpose, AHP method was used to determine the importance and weight of internal and external factors. For presentation of strategies SWOT method was used and to evaluate the attractiveness of each strategy QSPM matrics was utilised. Findings The findings of the study indicate that within Shahriar township, weaknesses are more pronounced than strengths, and outside the township, threats are more than opportunities. Optimum strategies for political management of geographical space in this situation were defensive. Conclusion Defensive strategies should be adopted in Shahriar city and these strategies are as follows: Reform the structure of the political divisions of township space in order to attract more capital and create employment; Allocate facilities and amenities to expand industrial agriculture and increase production in the sector; Prevent illegal land use change and reduce green land and its environmental consequences; Adopt effective mechanisms to manage the city’ s water resources and tackle drought; Planning and Investing in Reducing Vulnerability of the City at the Time of Natural Hazards such as Earthquakes; Develop legal mechanisms for migration and management of immigrants to enhance security.

Aims & Backgrounds Lack of readings of concepts such as power has caused irreparable damages to the body of cities. In Iran, due to the domination of traditional viewpoint of planning, this concept has not paid much attention. An urban power exercising environment, deviating from the expected process, in addition to cause the domination of the powerful people on urban topics, has marginalized the local community with the least impact and has impressed the physical structure of the city. This study attempts to explore the unknown dominant dimensions in the Mashhad metropolis by examining the power exercising environment governing the planning process of urban development designs (including preparation, approval and implementation) in order to control and handle it, and provides a suitable model by understanding these processes. Methodology This paper, based on the grounded theory approach, examines its various dimensions through three types of open, axial, and selective coding. Findings On this basis, after clarifying the concept of Controlling and Handling the Power Exercising Environment, the results of a total of 20 interviews 84 identifiers, with 27 concepts and 5 categories was achieved. Conclusion The results of this research showed that the Controlling and Handling the Power Exercising Environment model is identified by expressing 5 categories in deterrent factors, factors, the intervening conditions of executive, consequences and finally, were presented as a conceptual and strategic framework.

Aims & Backgrounds Desertification is one of the major challenges in today’ s world, especially in countries like Iran that are affected by arid and semi-arid climates. To prevent and slow down the desertification process and in other words, with the aim of preventing and reducing desertification speed, the first effective and necessary step is to identify the susceptible areas and the factors contributing to this phenomenon. This research aims at assessing level of desertification in Kashan plain using an Iranian model. Methodology In this comparative study with the use of IMDPA (Iranian Model of Desertification Potential assessment), an Iranian method and model, first the desertification potential of Kashan plain in 2002 and 2016 was investigated and then the conditions of the two periods were compared. The criteria used in this model were the vegetation and climate criteria. Based on this, Landsat 7 NDVI data, CHIRPS precipitation database and MODIS satellite potential evapotranspiration data were used. Findings Based on the results and findings of this study, in 2002, 3853. 1 km2 of the area was classified as moderate desertification and 3294. 8 km2 in severe desertification group. But in 2016, there were 1035. 22 km2 of moderate desertification intensity, 6019. 3 km2 of severe desertification and 124. 22 km2 of extreme desertification. Conclusion As a result, in addition to establishing a very severe desertification in 2016, the extent of the areas with severe desertification has also expanded significantly.

Aims & Backgrounds Climate change, the quantitative and qualitative decline of water resources and the increasing trend of the world’ s population have made water management difficult. The purpose of this study was to assess the situation and management of meteorological and agricultural droughts from the point of view of experts and household supervisors in rural areas of Eslamabad Gharb. Methodology This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2017 in 7 households of Eslamabad Gharb. A total of 374 households (in 21 villages) were selected through multi-stage stratified random sampling. Data were collected through library and field research (questionnaire and interview). To analyze the quantitative data, standardized precipitation indices, standardized transpiration and onesample T-test, and in the qualitative part, Delphi method was used. . Findings According to the results of the Standardized Precipitation Index, from 1986 to 2016, 14 years of drought occurred at the county level (8 years normal, 4 years moderate and 2 years severe). According to the results of the long-term standardized transpiration index, 2. 1% of the city population was affected by moderate drought in 2008-2009, and 64. 6% by mild drought. Conclusion Rural participation in drought management planning is the most important and effective factor affecting drought management.

Aims & Backgrounds The present study analyzes the spatial location of sports facilities and assessing the access to sports centers according to their spatial distribution pattern at the level of communication networks in Garmsar County. The main purpose is to identify the distribution and distribution status of sports applications in the city and determine the shortcomings and needs. Methodology This research is an applied and descriptive-analytic method. After determining the per capita consumption of sport in the Garmsar County, using the Williamson model, the distribution per capita of these centers was measured at the district level according to population density. In the second part, using the Moran model, the spatial distribution pattern of sports applications (outdoor, indoor and all sports) was measured based on the area of these applications. Findings The results indicate that the sports spaces in Garmsar city are 0. 79 square meters he total per capita sports space per household is about 2. 11 square meters. Also, per capita related to outdoor sports spaces are more than per capita for indoor spaces (0. 65 vs. 0. 23 square meters per person). Meanwhile, the total sports space in Iwanki is higher than Garmsar (0. 839 versus 0. 619). This is while the population density of Garmsar is 10. 35 and Iwanki is 4. 58. Thus, with increasing population density, the total area of sports spaces (open and covered) decreases with the slope of the line R2 = 0. 5985. Conclusion Results indicates that managers and planners are not paying attention to social justice in the distribution of sports spaces in the study area.

Aims & Backgrounds Today, environmental developments, climate change, and energy problems are major challenges in the world. Although Iran has been at the beginning of sustainable development regarding the buildings sustainability evaluation systems and has developed general guidelines and standards in this area, no effective action has been taken about schools. The present study aim is to determine priorities and sustainability indicators of designing sustainable educational spaces in Iran. Methodology This study is descriptive-analytical in nature and descriptive applied-development in terms of purpose. The method of data collection is library-based and questionnaires are completed by experts. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to determine the importance and weighting of components and indicators. Findings Based on the hierarchical analysis of the components and indicators obtained from previous research, three components of energy, water and site design, as well as three indicators of water recycling, using renewable energy and optimizing water use for landscaping and irrigation were ranked as first to third. Conclusion The tables and analytical charts showed that the priority and the rating of the effective factors on environmental sustainability in Iranian educational spaces include: energy, water, site design, indoor quality, materials, regional priority and design innovation. Among indicators, water recycling, renewable energy use and optimization of water use for landscaping and irrigation are ranked first to third.

Aims & Backgrounds Katlekhour Cave near Garmab (Zanjan) and Saholan Cave in southeast Mahabad, two Iranian tourist caves, attract a large number of tourists annually. Indiscriminate entry and higher number of tourists into the fragile and sensitive environment of the caves increase the concentration of carbon dioxide and disturb the chemical equilibrium inside the cave and it also has devastating effects, like erosion and corrosion, on Karst forms inside the cave. Therefore, this paper attempts to investigate the annual dissolution rate of cave forms by simulating and reconstructing climatic conditions inside a controlled laboratory environment. Methodology To achieve the objectives of the study, data on temperature, relative humidity and CO2 content within the caves in question during two 15-day periods in February due to low number of tourists and April due to high tourist presence inside the caves were collected using triple tool of temperature, humidity, and Co2 gauge model (AZ 77535). Next, by simulating the same conditions in a controlled laboratory environment, the amount of annual dissolution of the forms inside the caves was calculated using weighting method. Findings The amount of dissolution and scaling of forms is 0. 9445 g / year for Katlekhour and 2. 20 g / year for Saholan Cave. Of this amount, 0. 7661 g is 81. 12% of total dissolution for Katlekhour Cave and 1. 6991 g is 84. 45% for Saholan Cave are attributed to tourists’ presence. Conclusion Maximum presence of tourists in Katlekhour and Saholan Caves caused the micro-climates in which the increased level of the concentration of de-carbohydrate increases the temperature of cave and decreases the moisture. As a result of these changes, the formation process of karstic shapes within the caves is disrupted, resulting in the destruction and shattering of the forms.

Aims & Backgrounds Considering the fact that a large part of our country is in arid and semi-arid regions and every year wind erosion and dust storms cause significant damages to the country’ s bioeconomic resources, it is necessary to study this phenomenon. This study investigated the erosion rate of geomorphological facies of Gonabad city in relation to wind erosion. Methodology The wind erosion intensity was determined using wind tunnel and experimental model of IRIFR1. In the region, 17 facies were identified and mountainous and non-covered areas and areas that were not potentially dusty were excluded from the study. Sampling operations were performed on the remaining 14 facies. The samples were weighed and placed in a wind tunnel at 10 m / s for 10 minutes and then weighed again. The weight difference indicates the amount of wind erosion from a given level. Also in the IRIFR1 model 14 facies were weighted according to expert opinion. Findings According to the results of wind tunnel, wind erosion in the study area was highest in sand dune facies and in low and high plains and relatively high water erosion was lowest and according to IRIFR1 model in sand dunes was highest and in low and high plains and low water erosion and high pebbles were the least. Wind erosion sensitivity map was prepared in the study area and divided into five classes of rock mass and non-erosion, very low sensitivity, low, medium and high sensitivity. Conclusion Given that according to the analysis of samples in the wind tunnel, more than 28% of the area is in the medium to high sensitivity class, applying soil protection techniques against wind erosive power such as windbreakers, seeding and grazing reduction in these areas (especially the area Northwest) seems necessary.

Aims & Backgrounds Identifying tourism development capacities is an undeniable priority in any country, especially in developing countries. There are various methods for determining such zones. Given the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to human interference, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the ecological potential of Tonekabon forests. Methodology To evaluate the ecological potential of the study area, we used the combination of Makhdoom and FAO model in GIS environment using Layer Overlay (IO) technique and weighting by AHP method. In this study, the importance of the criteria and sub-criteria involved in the evaluation process was determined using experts’ hierarchy and the weight of each layer was determined using Expert Choice software. Findings Results indicated that 118. 73 hectares of the area is suitable for centralized recreation and 487. 72 hectares for extensive recreation and the rest is of conservation value. Conclusion The results of this study showed that the combination of IO with AHP in GIS could well compare and evaluate different layers according to the criteria and be used as a suitable tool by decision makers to determine forest ecological potential for tourism development. The issue can be effective in achieving sustainable tourism development.

Aims & Backgrounds Today, the good urban governance approach has been introduced as the most effective and sustainable method of management practice. Arak, as one of the most important industrial cities in the country, has many problems which need to pay attention to management patterns that can be considered as one of the appropriate solutions to overcome these problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate good urban governance as a case study in Arak city from the perspective of urban managers and citizens. Methodology This descriptive-analytical study was carried out using a survey method (questionnaire) in the form of urban good governance indices. Population of study include managers and citizens of arak and study sample was 100 for managers and 384 for citizens. Findings Findings showed that most of Arak city governance indicators were not suitable from the viewpoint of urban managers and citizens, but social justice and law indicators with a coefficient of 2. 44 and 1. 90 respectively from urban managers and citizens’ perspective were in the worst situation. Six governance indicators have the ability to explain less than 50% of the satisfaction index. In terms of spatial distribution of good governance, the differences between regions in the two indicators of participation and access to information were significant. Structural equation modeling also showed that good governance indices in Arak are in poor condition, which confirms the developed model. Conclusion Arak is in an unsuitable position in terms of indicators of good urban governance.