Mehriz: Yesterday's Borough, Today's Garden City

Mehriz historic city is located near the Yazd-Kerman road almost 25km to the south of Yazd. It is a good example of a desert town in the central Iranian plateau، where the weather is extremely hot with arid and semi-arid climate conditions and where the water is provided only by the qanats. Living with the desert means a consistent process of environmental adaptation and a harmonious interaction between man and nature that is reflected in earthen built fabric. The exiting physical structure of Mehriz has، therefore، captured a long process of formation and transformation that is resulted in the today’s garden city. This study is an effort in identification and understanding of the historical processes of urban development and physical changes in the city''s historic neighbourhoods. Along with tracing historical and morphological development of Mehriz over time، and on the basis of field observation and document analysis، three main issues were studied: first، investigating neighbourhood centres and places of public gathering and social relation; secondly، understanding the defensive system and the issue of urban security; and thirdly، surveying the water supply and distribution systems. Results show that each of the traditional neighbourhoods of Mehriz had separate neighbourhood centres and people exercised their religious practice in their own locality. Moreover، each of these neighbourhoods has a specific water supply system and a defence system apt for its own population. These neighbourhoods have been relativley independent villages in the past، and had their own local management، water and land for gardening and agriculture. The question whether Mehriz has been established on the basis of the idea of a garden-city or is the result of a long process of physical accumulation، integrating several villages and outskirts in the bigger framework of the current city has been scrutinised. This paper demonstrates that although today Mehriz reflects the image of a garden city، this is the result of a long process of morphological development، integrating the old boroughs and agricultural and rural landscape into the current frame of the old borough of Mehrijerd. Thus، Mehriz in the past has not been an integrated garden city and has only gradually evolved into such urban form.