Presentation of a theoretical framework of the process of operationalizing the Symbio City: Meta-Synthesis Approach

The Symbio City is one of the models that has been able to implement the theoretical foundations of sustainable development in the field of practice and has brought its efficiency to the fore. Symbio City can adapt and be used in different geographical locations and different cities, both developed and developing due to its scalability characteristic. Based on this, the purpose of the current research is the theoretical model presentation of the realization process of the Symbio City to be used by policymakers and urban planners in the country. The current research is of a practical-developmental type and its method is qualitative with an emphasis on the Meta-synthesis method. The statistical community is related to all the research that has been published from 2002 to 2022 regarding the subject of Symbio City. The sample size includes 37 articles and documents that were selected based on the ten principles of the Critical Assessment Skills Program. First, 11 by examining the title and 21 sources by screening the abstract sources were removed, then the content of 42 sources was analyzed in terms of content and quality, and finally, 37 articles were selected for the final analysis. The highest concentration of articles and sources is related to the period of 2013-2021, so more than 70% of the selected articles (27 cases) are related to this period. Cohen's kappa coefficient to measure internal reliability and quality was equal to 0.756 with a significance level of 0.000. This number shows valid and appropriate agreement because it is higher than 0.6. The results of the research show 125 codes related to the Symbio city, which are divided into twelve categories consisting of important historical period, Symbio city brands, approach (integrated, inclusive, and responsive), development discourse (institutional, environmental, spatial, socio-cultural, and economic), causal factors, consequences (100% use of renewable energies; zero carbon; zero waste; local branding; wind parks to provide electricity in the neighborhood; recycling of food waste as biogas to produce electricity and heat; rainwater management through green roofs, ponds, wetlands and rainwater canals; greening of building facades; technology-oriented water drainage; construction of safe nests for birds; high priority of designing pedestrian and bicycle routes; economy based on the export of clean technologies, preservation and promotion of biodiversity, sustainable and local food, etc.) strategies, implementation process, key components, policy making and planning, activists and finally the required knowledge.