Towards the Meaning and Position of Urban Vitality

Almost all western theorists in the field of urban studies pointed to urban vitality in their books and articles. Also, vitality is a fashionable word in the lexicon of urbanism in Iran, but in fact, it received little support from urban planners, urban designers, and geographers. During the years of confrontation with western achievements and modernism in Iran, people experience the incorrect manner of using imported terms, theories and inventions. Urban vitality is another example of such experiences, and the exact meaning and position of vitality in Iranian urban contexts is still unclear. There are lots of articles and projects focusing on urban vitality without clarifying the situation on which people can pursue vitality for an urban context. In the present study, the meaning and position for urban vitality, and the misuses of this concept in Iranian urban contexts is discussed.