A Rural Sustainable Tourism Model: A Case Study on the Special Architecture of MASULEH, a Village in IRAN

The increasing rate of growth of the world population, has created critical impacts on the natural environment of earth, namely among them, unrestrained consumption of energy, destruction of forests, and extinction of plant and animal species. This process has attracted the attention of a majority of experts on the issue of «sustainable development». According to this doctrine, attaining the highest level of sustainability is a must for the survival of human society. It seems that, the concept of sustainable development can be quiet applicable with goals and objectives of modern architecture and city planning. Sustainability is not confined to the issues of environment, it is rather commensurate with the economic dynamics of a liveable habitat and social justice. In general, development of a sustainable habitat can be defined as a development which may bring about social and ecological health. In this paper, after a brief review of the origins of the concept of sustainability, its practical definition and applicability in the city planning, we concentrate Masuleh, a prototype of villages in Iran as habitats embodied with a traditional sustainability. This village has met the criteria of sustainability, a prime cause for its endurance after so many decades and centuries, by being able to respond to the environmental threats confronting its physical, social, and economic existence. We conclude that this traditional habitat, provides a suitable model for designing the sustainable habitats in Iran.