برنامه ریزی شهری

The current process of dominant development is characterized by an escalation of social cleavages and the perpetuation of widespread poverty, particularly in the Global South. This cleavage is reflected in the increasing prevalence of urban slums, which are home to over one billion people, and the polarization of wealth among the top one percent of the global population. Iran has likewise witnessed a significant increase in the number of slum dwellers, amounting to twenty-five million in 2023. This figure is nearly equivalent to the number of people living below the poverty line in Iran. A substantial portion of this slum population consists of informal settlers, whose numbers have risen from one and a half million in 1976 to fifteen million today. The scope of this article is confined to informal settlements and the way of life associated with informality. In addressing informality, conventional policies are categorized into six approaches: 1) Ignorance based on the belief in the gradual disappearance of informality due to national economic development; 2) Demolition in the name of law enforcement and crime prevention; 3) Partial provision of public housing; 4) Site and service schemes and self-help housing; 5) Selective formalization of informal settlements; and 6) Enabling marginalized communities by acknowledging the right to the city. While the sequence of these policies suggests a progressive approach toward achieving social justice, none adequately address the root causes of the informality problem. At the macro level, the fundamental issue in Iran arises from the imitation of neo-liberal development patterns, which have polarized urban spaces and marginalized the poor in the Global South. At the meso level, urban land speculation by the rentier state, aimed at capital accumulation, has resulted in the commodification of space and anti-life ramifications for the impoverished. At the micro level, the social construction of informality as an unlawful act and a crime-related issue ignores the existential logic of “to be or not to be” for impoverished citizens. This leads to structural violence by monopolizing urban space production with unaffordable urban standards for the poor. In this context, the cooptation of urban planners as agents of the power structure plays a crucial role in undermining their public interest mission. Overall, addressing the informality problem requires, on one hand, a transformation of the prevailing development pattern to prevent urban unsustainability, and on the other hand, the practice of good governance that respects the right to the city for the poor. Given that informal settlements typically exhibit a lower ecological footprint due to their reduced per capita consumption of energy, water, land, and materials, they may be more suitable for accommodating sustainable patterns while enhancing the quality of their living conditions. Regarding the urban planning profession, this article suggests that the antagonistic duality of formal versus informal spaces is a social construction by those in power and needs to be set aside by urban planners who aim to provide living spaces for the impoverished. This perspective recognizes informality not only as a way of life but also as a survival strategy for the poor, necessitating facilitation and mediation by planners to achieve decent living conditions.

Understanding the natural characteristics of urban areas, especially their climatic features, is crucial for effective land management. Urban climate plays a fundamental role in shaping ventilation patterns, air quality, and thermal comfort. To enhance urban planning strategies, a suitable climatic classification system is essential for distinguishing different zones based on their environmental conditions. Climatic zoning facilitates the identification of distinct climatic features, enabling region-specific planning and management. Traditional climate zoning methods are insufficient for modern urban environments due to variations in land use, land cover, urban geometry, and structure. This research employs an applied approach, using descriptive and analytical methodologies. The study integrates multiple spatial data layers, including digital elevation models, land use/cover, building density, green spaces, and hydrographic networks, to classify urban climate zones effectively. These parameters provide a comprehensive understanding of Tehran's climatic conditions and their spatial distribution. Study Area: Tehran, spanning 615 square kilometers, is situated between mountainous zones and arid plains, leading to diverse climatic conditions. The city's climate is primarily influenced by its topography, with the northern highlands experiencing more favorable conditions than the central and southern low-altitude plains. Local climatic differences arise due to varying land uses, such as green spaces, barren lands, asphalt surfaces, and residential zones. Building density significantly impacts the urban climate, contributing to distinct microclimatic conditions across different localities. The city's morphology and topography play a decisive role in shaping its climatic response units.

A geomorphological map provides valuable insights into the shape, structure, and texture of Tehran’s urban landscape. This map illustrates the relationship between natural features, built environments, and climatic conditions. Different neighborhoods within Tehran exhibit unique topographic characteristics, construction patterns, traffic densities, and accessibility, all of which influence local climate variations. Key homogeneous climate response units in Tehran include mountains (class 3), green spaces (class 16), and riverbeds/lakes (class 17). These units contribute positively to reducing air temperature, enhancing air quality, and promoting natural ventilation. Preserving these areas is crucial for mitigating urban heat island effects and improving urban climate resilience. To assess Tehran’s climate at a localized scale, topographic and urban structural parameters were analyzed. First, the spatial distribution of building density was classified into five distinct groups. Subsequently, a geomorphological map of Tehran was generated, identifying ten morphological classes. By integrating building density and urban geomorphology data, a homogeneous climate response unit (HCR) map was developed. This map serves as a vital tool for understanding and managing Tehran’s urban climate.

This research introduces a novel approach to urban climate zoning, previously applied in Lisbon, Portugal, for classifying urban climatic conditions. Central Tehran exhibits high building density, limited green spaces, and pronounced urban heat island effects. The primary factors contributing to the urban heat island phenomenon include high population density, intensified urban activities, and dense construction patterns. The geomorphological analysis highlights that central and southern Tehran, particularly districts with minimal green spaces (e.g., District 9), suffer from poor air quality and inadequate natural ventilation. These areas exhibit unfavorable climatic conditions due to high pollution levels, urban congestion, and limited airflow. Conversely, northern Tehran (e.g., Districts 1 and 4) benefits from superior air quality, attributed to its proximity to mountains, river valleys, and extensive green spaces. The prevailing wind direction in Tehran originates from the west, influencing pollutant dispersion patterns. Industrial concentrations in the western parts of the city exacerbate pollution levels in adjacent areas. Consequently, central and southern Tehran require strategic urban interventions to enhance climatic conditions. Recommendations include:- Integrating green spaces on building facades and streets.
- Establishing water features such as ponds and fountains to moderate air temperature.
- Utilizing reflective and cool materials in urban surfaces to mitigate heat accumulation.
- Expanding green areas to improve air quality and humidity levels.
- Regulating urban expansion to prevent excessive development in climatically vulnerable zones.
- Designing transportation networks to facilitate natural air circulation.
In conclusion, effective climate zoning strategies are essential for sustainable urban development in Tehran. Implementing targeted climate-responsive urban planning measures can significantly improve air quality, thermal comfort, and overall environmental conditions in the city.

The rapid growth of urbanization and the increasing complexities of urban management have highlighted the need for innovative and efficient tools in the field of urban planning and design. Today's urban planning and design community, in the information era, requires novel technology-driven systems to make better decisions and achieve improved results in the shortest possible time. CityEngine, as a city-scale data-driven smart system, offers significant potential for improving the quality of urban planning and design. This applied research aims to introduce and comprehensively analyze CityEngine in the context of urban planning and design, with the Narmak neighborhood of Tehran  as a case study. Data were collected using various methods, including document review, field surveys, and spatial data analysis. The findings of the study show that CityEngine can be effectively applied in various aspects of urban planning and design, including: Dynamic 3D visualization of urban space (detailed and comprehensive urban plans, zoning and design control planning, 3D cadastral planning, environmental planning and design, strategic urban planning), real-time reporting of urban data for quantitative analysis, evaluation and management of the urban environment along with providing a communication platform for public participation, and integration with other relevant urban application software. The results of this research demonstrate that CityEngine, as a novel and efficient tool in the field of urban planning and design, can contribute to the creation of smart and sustainable cities. In CityEngine for urban planning and design modeling, the following four main steps are presented in the paper: (1) data preparation and processing (2) Classification of urban elements (3) Creating and defining rules (4) Generating a model and modifying it. It can be comprehensively  acknowledged that CityEngine facilitates: the integration of scattered urban data and the creation of a smart two- and three-dimensional database, the reduction and intelligent monitoring of urban violations through the modeling of urban information (zoning regulations, density, etc.), increased  speed and less waste of time in planning, designing and managing urban projects, enhanced citizen involvement in addressing urban issues through online sharing of plans, the ability to intelligently model all types of elements and objects in the city, including buildings, streets, vegetation, urban furniture, support for integrated management city through the creation of manageable dashboards and real-time control, access to  information on smart 3D urban elements with the ability to view all features in 3D and update information, improved  city maps with interactive 3D visualization to help understanding of the urban environment for managers and citizens, production of past, present and future models of cities to observe and compare urban changes, designing city redevelopment scenarios and examining the effects of each  in real-time, analyzing the three-dimensional view of the city to accurately assess the effects of urban visual permeability, and conducting city simulation based on real geographic information system (GIS) data to improve 3D city perception making it effective and useful.

Education is the most fundamental process for maintaining awareness and maintaining the quality and quantity of society's knowledge, and the educational content of each discipline is the key to achieving it. This process, due to the rapid changes in the fields of urban knowledge and in parallel with the changes in urban conditions and problems and their complexity, has increased the expectations of the Master's course in urban planning. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the degree of adaptability of the educational content of the master's course in urban planning with the content of the urban planning engineer service system in the form of professional needs of engineers and urban managers. The methodology of this research is descriptive-analytical and uses quantitative and survey content analysis methods. The method of data collection is library and questionnaire. The findings of the research show that the components of "Urban Land Use Adaptation Plan" and "Land Preparation Plans" have received the most attention and the "Design and Supervision of Construction Groups" component has received the least attention in compulsory and optional courses. The results show that the current teaching content of the master's course in urban planning does not properly establish the two-way communication between the profession and the discipline within the framework of the targeted educational content and in accordance with the realities and professional needs of engineers and urban managers. This low correlation is due to the small overlap of the content of some analytical courses (mandatory and optional) with the percentage of the components and categories related to the service system of urban engineers, which has been revised in order to be more adaptable to the professional needs of engineers and urban managers. In the educational content of the course or change in the type and number of hours of the main course is necessary.

In addition to destroying agricultural land and turning it into residential and industrial areas, urbanization is accompanied by a decrease in the population of people working in the agricultural sector (Wastfelt & Zhang, 2016). Following the development of urbanization and the migration of villagers to cities, a large population settled in cities in search of suitable jobs and an opportunity to be absorbed in the urban economy. These urban populations needed to provide food, and most did not know any other activity or profession except agriculture; therefore, some forms of agriculture A city was formed in the suburbs (Zasada et al., 2011). One of the challenges of urban agriculture is that it is traditionally neglected in urban planning because agriculture is not the norm of urban life (Bazgeer et al., 2019). Removing agricultural land from the use of the city has led to the weakening of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. The environmental costs associated with urban sprawl can be enormous. Therefore, policymakers and city managers must take necessary measures to protect the natural environment of cities (Glaeser, 2013). According to the mentioned cases and the increasing growth of the urban population and related environmental challenges, urban agriculture has been proposed as a flexible use in cities that can help as a sustainable solution to provide sustainable food, strengthen social connections, and improve citizens' quality of life.

This article is a review article. Review articles provide a new platform to provide a conceptual framework and the possibility of creating a more general and comprehensive picture of related issues that experts have addressed so far.  The library method has been used to collect information. This research will use the content analysis method to review and analyze relevant texts and documents. Content analysis is a method used to analyze achievements in documents, written documents, or even speech, such as interviews. Among the practical tools that can be used in this research is MAXQDA software. This software analyzes documents using content analysis coding techniques (open, axial, and selective coding). In the first stage, after reading the texts, he extracted the main axes as open coding, which indicates the direction of analysis according to the purpose of the research. In the next stage, coding is done axially. In this part, by reading the texts in the main axes of the research more closely, the sub-axes of each are also extracted. In the last stage, the categories will be classified selectively, and their relationships will be extracted.

Using urban agriculture can cause flexibility in exploitation or functional mixing to provide enough attraction for citizens. Therefore, it is better to know the different types of agriculture in the city, and they are suitable for each urban environment and the prevailing uses of land in the environment. The city chose the right type of agriculture to provide a lively, flexible, and attractive environment for the citizens and improve their quality of life.

Refined codes in different dimensionsCodesDimensionsfieldIncreasing interactions between different groups - participation in social affairs - participation at local levels - participatory gardens - sense of belonging - cultural participation - supporting community agriculture - participation of officials and stakeholdersParticipationsocialTraining managers and farmers - Training ordinary people - Improving the knowledge of children and teenagers about agriculture - Evaluation of expert forces - Botanical studies - Children's farm - Teaching the process of planting to harvest - Teachings for marketing - Irrigation and pest control methods - Brochures - Mass communication media.Education Urban land use management - urban plans - land use program monitoring - multi-purpose management - support - development policies in urban agriculture - urban actors - codified programs - rules in urban agriculture - legal loopholesorganizationalmanagerialSupporting small businesses - economic development - creating employment - reducing maintenance costs - supply and demand efficiency - development factors - job opportunities - new sources of income - marketing and attracting domestic and foreign capital - entrepreneurship - drivers of economic development - empowerment - self-sufficiency - job security - Reduction of urban poverty - livelihood of low-income groupsemploymenteconomicTourist attractions - recreational and educational experience - increasing income through tourism - agricultural tourism - advertising - green economy - direct purchase of agricultural products from gardens - agricultural experience in the city - park cultivation - attracting investors - improving the landscape - beautifying the urban environmenttourism Increasing the well-being of residents - Identity - Belonging to the place of life - Security - Proportionate distribution of urban services - Fair access to urban spaces - Fair distribution of food - Access to healthy and low-cost foodSpatial justiceenvironmentalDiversity and balance in urban uses - Diversity in selection - Determining the assignment of empty and wasteland urban land - Diversity with vitality - Functional mixing - Applicability of activities - Evaluation and control of uses - Useful and effective activities - Proportionate distribution of compatibility and desirability of uses - Update User information - balance between components - location of uses - proximity of uses - complementary uses - multifunctional urban agriculture - different types of agriculture - flexibility of urban useFlexibility of users Reducing the use of fuel and energy - air and noise pollution - health - improving the quality of the environment - recycling urban runoff - preserving biodiversity - reducing greenhouse gases - environmental effects of uses - environmental health standards - control and cleanliness - increasing green space - water management Urban - thermal insulation agent - natural fertilizers - air conditioningclimate  

Providing planning indicatorsindexDimensionsfieldThe level of participation of citizens in the development and expansion of urban agricultureThe degree of participation of city officials with citizensParticipationsocialThe extent of citizens' participation in the development of urban agricultureThe degree of participation of city officials with citizensEducation Investigating the city development system regarding urban agricultureExisting regulations and legal loopholesorganizationalmanagerialEmployment statusJob creation by urban agricultureemploymenteconomicAgricultural tourism opportunitiesInvestment incentivestourism Distribution of urban farm spaceDistribution of vacant spaces and lands suitable for urban agricultureAccess to agricultural inputs and facilities in the citySpatial justiceenvironmentalUrban land use distributionAgricultural lands and urban gardensAgricultural land use changes over the past yearsFlexibility of usersRules and regulations of land use (urban agriculture)Agricultural species available in the cityFlexibility of users The weather in the cityPollutionDiversity of vegetationclimate

 Humans, as social beings, cannot live independently and without the need for society. A solitary human always feels incomplete. Loneliness is a form of social separation and a discomforting feeling arising from our unmet need for perceived social connection. Thus, it can be described as a type of social pain. In other words, it is a painful feeling of being cut off and separated from others, an unpleasant experience that emerges in response to quantitative and qualitative deficiencies in social relationships. Loneliness, described as the "hidden epidemic of the 21st century," has become a fundamental challenge in urban societies. Despite its multifaceted consequences, there is a research gap in the systematic analysis of the role of urban planning in exacerbating loneliness. 

This study, with an interdisciplinary approach, comprehensively analyzes the effective indicators in this context. The study is applied in terms of its objective and descriptive-analytical with a mixed method approach in terms of its method. The statistical population of the research consists of experts in psychology, sociology, social sciences, architecture, urban planning, and social psychology. The sample size was determined to be 100 people using the G*Power software, and the questionnaire was distributed among the experts using the snowball sampling method. The validity of the tool was confirmed by expert judgment. Data collection was carried out in the literature review, background, and research indicators sections using the library method, and in the measurement and evaluation of indicators section using the field method and questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Friedman test, one-sample t-test, and correlation in the SPSS software.

Result and discussion: 
The Friedman test results indicated that inadequate access to green spaces (rank 1), social places (rank 2), and low social participation (rank 3) were the most important factors in creating and exacerbating urban loneliness. Additionally, factors such as limited access to recreational spaces, lack of natural elements in the urban environment, and frequent changes in the urban fabric that weaken place identity were recognized as other influencing indicators in exacerbating the loneliness crisis. The one-sample t-test results showed that access to public (2.27) and social (2.11) spaces had the most significant impact on the feeling of loneliness in urban environments. This finding highlights the importance of interactive spaces in reducing the feeling of loneliness. Furthermore, low social participation (2.02) and inadequate access to recreational spaces (1.56) were identified as other influential factors. A significant relationship between environmental-natural factors and loneliness was also observed; the lack of natural sounds (1.46), absence of nature views from windows (1.15), and shortage of green spaces (1.03) were associated with increased feelings of loneliness. Cultural-identity factors, such as the loss of memory due to continuous changes in the urban environment (1.28) and socio-economic classifications (1.06), also play a role in this phenomenon. In contrast, purely physical indicators like population density (0.03), facade quality (0.08), and building height proportion (0.05) had little impact on the feeling of loneliness. The comparison of Friedman and one-sample t-test results shows significant alignment. A strong positive correlation confirms that the results of both tests are closely related, with almost 91% of changes in the ranking of indicators in one test explainable by changes in the other. This strong correlation indicates that both statistical methods provide similar results in evaluating the relative importance of indicators. The findings of this study show that the indicators influencing the creation or exacerbation of loneliness in urban planning are divided into eight main clusters. These clusters include access to and quality of public and social spaces, social participation and interactions, human-nature connection, urban culture and identity, built environment quality and visual aspects, housing physical characteristics, residential environment features, and access to daily services and amenities. Each of these clusters plays a significant role in reducing or exacerbating the feeling of loneliness in urban spaces, and emphasizing the improvement of these factors can enhance urban life quality and reduce loneliness. Comparing this research's results with other studies shows that most studies have examined loneliness from individual and emotional aspects, while a comprehensive study on the impact of urban planning indicators on loneliness does not exist. The findings on nature indicators, access to services, and social places are aligned with studies like those by Lowell Sachs et al., Moore et al., and Ji Hee Lee and Tak Hon Tan. Loneliness in contemporary cities forms from the interaction of physical, social, cultural, and environmental factors. This phenomenon is influenced by three main layers: physical-spatial (including public spaces and housing quality), socio-cultural (citizen participation and collective activities), and environmental-ecological (connection with nature and natural elements). The combination of these factors can lead to an increase or decrease in the feeling of loneliness in citizens.

Urban planning requires an integrated and multi-level approach that simultaneously considers physical, social, and environmental dimensions and is based on nature-oriented and human-oriented principles. This approach should include strategies such as creating an integrated network of public spaces, strengthening social infrastructure, integrating natural elements into urban design, and preserving cultural heritage.

Tehran, as the capital of Iran, is facing many urban problems and challenges to survive as a city. Identifying sustainability indicators have been evaluated by many articles, but less attention has been paid to the instability indicators that fuel the challenges of instability in urban planning; In this regard, the aim of the current research is to identify the challenges of instability in the urban planning of Tehran metropolis.

This research evaluated the instability indicators in urban planning from a real point of view by rereading the indicators related to urban sustainability.

The findings show that the main unstable indicators of urban planning are summarized in three economic, social, and environmental indicators. In the economic index, including uncertainty in economic policies, housing prices, non-standard housing, income, employment, unemployment, cost of living, and female heads of households; In the environmental index, including climate changes, heat island, flood, transportation, energy security, noise and air pollution, urban traffic, water quality and quantity, waste disposal quality, urban green infrastructure, environment as a luxury issue and changing approach to the environment; And the social index includes social interaction, access to facilities and services, social injuries, sense of identity and belonging, neighborhood relations, social segregation, people's participation in city affairs and welfare security.

Reframing the challenges of instability in the urban planning of the Tehran metropolis from a practical point of view shows the necessity of attention to urban planning with a special focus on the relationship between citizens and planners.

In recent years, grounded theory methodology (GTM) has become more prevalent in research fields related to the built environment, especially urban planning and design. However, a lack of thorough understanding of GTM’s foundational principles and versions has often led to research with eclectic interpretations of GTM, sometimes diverging from GTM’s fundamental aims and processes. This study systematically evaluates GTM-based research in urban planning and design, aiming to understand the adherence to GTM’s essential principles within these studies and to provide recommendations for future research.
Theoretical Framework
GTM has evolved significantly since its inception by Glaser and Strauss, with various adaptations. Early on, Leonard Schatzman’s development of dimensional analysis marked a significant shift (Schatzman 1991). Kathy Charmaz, a student of both founders, advanced constructivist grounded theory. Adele Clarke, another prominent figure in GTM’s development, integrated Strauss’s social worlds and arenas framework with situational analysis (Clarke 2005; Clarke et al. 2018). Numerous other adaptations have since emerged, including critical realist GTM (Oliver 2011), transformational GTM (Redman-MacLaren and Mills 2015), multi-grounded theory (Goldkuhl and Cronholm 2010), and feminist GTM (Wuest 1995). Despite these variations, GTM’s core principles remain central across adaptations, including simultaneous data collection and analysis, data coding, constant comparison, theoretical sampling, theoretical saturation, memo writing, and integrating the theoretical framework within existing literature (Charmaz 2014; Corbin and Strauss 2014).

This study conducted a systematic review across Persian-language scientific databases, including the Jahad Daneshgahi Scientific Information Center, the Comprehensive Humanities Portal, and Noor Specialized Journals, encompassing a broad range of fields like art, architecture, and social sciences. The search yielded 834 articles, of which duplicate and non-peer-reviewed articles were excluded. Studies were further narrowed down to those authored by urban planning professionals or featuring urban planning participants, specifically employing GTM as the sole research method or methodology. Articles from other disciplines, such as architecture and tourism, were excluded. Inclusion criteria focused on Persian-language articles published between 1967 (the year GTM was introduced) and 2020, specifically on urban design and planning and explicitly using GTM.
Descriptive characteristics, including author(s), publication year, purpose, data collection methods, applied GTM version, and role of GTM in the research, were extracted for analysis. This assessment was based on the quality guideline by Hutchinson et al. (2011).

Out of the reviewed studies, 32 (73%) justified their use of GTM. GTM’s role varied:
1 study (2%) described GTM as a methodology 32 studies (73%) as a method

12 studies (29%) as an approach
5 studies (11%) as an approach (repeated category)
2 studies (5%) as a data analysis tool Four studies (11%) referenced GTM without specifying its methodological role.

Regarding GTM versions used:
8 studies (18%) did not specify a version
29 studies (66%) used the Strauss and Corbin version
2 studies (5%) used Charmaz’s constructivist version
1 study (2%) referenced Glaser’s approach
1 study (2%) referenced Clarke’s situational analysis
3 studies (7%) used a combination of versions.

In terms of adherence to GTM principles, studies showed varied application levels. Only one study applied all seven GTM principles. Other studies used between one to six principles, with one study applying none. For outcomes:
7 studies (16%) achieved theory generation
6 studies (14%) presented descriptive themes and narratives
29 studies (67%) used diagrams or models
1 study (2%) presented a conceptual framework
1 study (2%) reported a paradigm model.

Overall, this evaluation indicated that while GTM is increasingly used in urban planning and design research, many studies have not fully applied GTM’s principles. Consequently, their outputs often consist of descriptive themes or diagrams rather than theoretical contributions. Some studies applied only select GTM techniques, such as coding, without employing processes like theoretical sampling and constant comparison, limiting them to descriptive results rather than theory building.

This study’s findings indicate that to improve GTM research quality in urban planning and design, researchers must thoroughly understand GTM’s nature, versions, and core principles. A deep comprehension of different GTM versions allows for selecting the most suitable approach for the research’s goals and objectives, ensuring robust theory generation.

The connection between artificial intelligence (AI) and urban planning is a burgeoning research area that has gained significant traction in recent years. Researchers have explored the potential of AI in various urban planning domains, including transportation planning, energy management, land-use planning, and building construction. One of the most prominent applications of AI in cities is traffic management. Researchers have developed systems that utilise sensors and computational units embedded in vehicles and road infrastructure to assess real-time traffic conditions on highways. Additionally, there are systems like C-Air leverage sensor data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and social media to predict traffic flow and propose management solutions. In the realm of environmental protection and air quality, AI plays a crucial role in monitoring and issuing alerts. Systems like C-Air employ microscopes and machine learning algorithms to analyse air quality and identify pollutants. These capabilities empower urban planners to create more sustainable and healthy cities. Energy management is another key area where AI finds application in cities. Utilising AI technology, researchers can predict electrical load and identify energy consumption patterns across different zones. Building characteristics, household size, and occupant demographics and the like are thus factored into these predictions. Similarly, AI-powered water management systems have the potential to detect leaks within distribution networks, thereby preventing water loss and promoting efficient water utilisation. Overall, the adoption of AI in smart city planning and management facilitates automated and intelligent decision-making across various domains. This not only enhances the quality of life for city residents but also contributes significantly to the sustainable development of urban environments. As such, this research aims to investigate the applications of AI in diverse urban planning domains and trace the evolution of this concept in previous studies.

This applied research utilises a two-pronged approach. First, a theoretical foundation is established by examining AI’s definition, applications in cities, and the challenges of integrating it into urban planning systems. This stage involves a descriptive analysis of relevant theoretical and empirical studies to understand the principles of AI-based urban development planning.Second, a scientometric approach is employed using VOSviewer software. This method involves citation analysis and co-occurrence of keywords to identify the most prominent research areas related to AI and urban planning. The research population comprises 2337 articles on “artificial intelligence and urban planning” indexed in the ScienceDirect database, published from 1999 to the present. Analysis focuses on titles, abstracts, and keywords to generate a schematic representation of the research landscape.

The study delved into the intricate relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and urban planning, drawing upon a comprehensive analysis of published literature. By examining 2337 articles indexed in the ScienceDirect database within the specified timeframe, the study identified six thematic clusters that profoundly impact AI’s role in shaping cities. The thematic clusters unveiled a remarkable shift in the research focus, transitioning from exploring AI’s fundamental concepts and mechanisms to embracing novel approaches for tackling urban challenges. The first cluster, encompassing the most frequently discussed keywords, highlighted pressing urban issues such as air pollution, transportation, resilience, and economic development, emphasising AI’s potential to revolutionize the digital landscape and urban environments. Overall, the identified clusters underscore the multifaceted applications of AI in urban planning, encompassing areas such as smart cities, data-driven planning, infrastructure management, citizen engagement, disaster management, and ethical considerations. These findings demonstrate AI’s transformative power in addressing critical urban challenges and promoting sustainable development. However, the study also underscores the need for careful consideration of AI’s ethical implications and the establishment of robust governance frameworks. This is crucial to ensure that AI is utilised responsibly and for the benefit of all urban residents. As cities and organisations embrace AI’s transformative potential, they must prioritise ethical practices, responsible data usage, and effective system management to maximise AI’s positive impact on urban planning and governance.

The use of fossil fuels as the main source of energy and the resulting environmental concerns are the most challenging issues of the 21st century. In the meantime, buildings consume about 40% of the total energy produced worldwide. In most cities of Iran, especially in desert areas with rich architecture, such as Qaenat city, unstable forms of newly built structures have caused serious damage to the stable appearance of these cities. In this research, the role of the factors affecting urban planning based on sustainable buildings in the Qaenat city has been investigated using the dynamic system method in order to identify the factors affecting sustainable urban development and the type of their impact on each of them. In this regard, after studying the background of the research and extracting some components of the model, from interviews with 17 active members of architecture companies and university professors in the fields of architecture and renewable energy production, to investigate the role of factors affecting urban planning. Then these identified factors were analyzed using a quantitative method and using a dynamic system. The modeling method used in this research includes four stages, which are: qualitative modeling, quantitative modeling, model testing, and testing. In this research, Vensim PLE 7.3.5 software is used to simulate the dynamic model. The findings indicate that urban planning factors in the city are divided into five categories, including transportation, social, cultural, economic and energy sustainability and urban environment. The results have shown that sustainable buildings have direct effects on the components of a sustainable city. These buildings are very effective in reducing pollution, producing clean energy and improving the urban landscape.

With the country'saccelerating urbanisation, we are witnessing expansions and increasing new constructions in Iranian cities. One of the challenges raised in today's cities is the inability of their managers to control height and spatial balance, with the construction of high-rise,out-of-sale buildings causing heterogeneity in the physical structure of cities and their non-compliance with urban planning regulations. In response, this research investigates the effects of unruly high-rise developments on the skyline. Library methods, field survey anddocumentation of values and visual identities have been used here. ArcMap has been used for 3D analyses, and CityEngine and ArcScene for height simulations and analyses (skyline, graph skyline, etc.). The evaluation of the results obtained from 3D modelling shows that overdevelopment occurs at the rate of 2.4%, 3.4% and 8.8% in old, intermediate and new areas, and the average of SVF index in those areas is 70.63, 46.45 and 64.14% respectively. The analysis of the general results confirmed that the skyline of contemporary cities does not follow a specific pattern. Also, this research explains the reason for the relatively irregular skyline caused by the overdevelopment rights sales, and the method of densification and height zoning of that area. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate height laws and adhere to their implementation in order to achieve spatial consistency and also to make the skyline legible.

Citizen participation, a process of public decision that affects individual and collective interests, is a part of democracy within the relationship between empowering citizens and the government, and nowadays, the capability of retaliating in urban planning has been considered in developed societies. Realizing this process, which forms in the context of communication, depends on the empowerment communities process, in which people and communities can affect their environment, leading to decentralization in power. Therefore, this article aims to study and analyze how to promote citizen participation in urban planning through the empowerment of local cohesive communities in the communication platform of virtual space.Therefore by considering three concepts of communication, community empowerment, and citizen participation via three below ways, we tried to find the participation of the three above concepts over time 1- content analyses, 2- historical research, 3-comparative research. The analysis results in this paper express the gradual improvement of citizen participation in urban designing over time and to make more democratized communication; in addition, the possibility of relationship development and network communication in virtual communities and increasing the empowerment of communities are very useful in this process.

The traffic management system is an essential urban management system that plays an important role in urban development and solving problems such as air pollution and citizens staying in traffic. The ever-increasing growth of cities and the increase in the use of private cars by citizens, and on the other hand, the lack of adequate development of the urban transportation space, highlight the importance of using an effective traffic management system. Considering the complexity of the traffic management systems in terms of the multiplicity of concepts and their specific meanings, it is necessary to provide a general and easy to understand conceptual model for urban planners to convey the required knowledge of these systems as well as to support them when making decisions about infrastructure development. Also, considering that there are different people and systems in a traffic management system, the interaction between them and the exchange of messages between them requires the same understanding of the concepts. A conceptual model is used as a dictionary for these purposes. The review of the related research shows that although some models have been presented for traffic systems, but each one has studied a specific aspect of the system and does not provide the necessary comprehensiveness. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present an ontology including concepts in traffic management systems and the relationships between them to be used as a conceptual model. To create the ontology, first existing models are merged and aligned, and then new concepts are added to the model. Finally, highly specialized concepts have been removed from the model to maintain the model's comprehensiveness and generality. This model includes concepts related to people, objects, communication, services and infrastructure of traffic management systems. To represent the ontology, the class diagram of the UML language is used, which is a standard language for representing systems.

Violation of urban construction regulations can be considered as one of the most pressing challenges currently facing urban planning. The increase in unauthorized construction activities and the resulting damage to urban life and the urban environment cannot be overlooked, highlighting the necessity for an appropriate response to this issue. The aim of the present research is to identify the most influential factors contributing to violations of urban development plans. This research is conducted with a practical orientation, employing a descriptive-analytical approach. Drawing upon documentary and library resources as well as documents available in the archives of the Marivan Municipal Commission for Article 100, nine suitable components for evaluation from the perspective of experts were identified. The research population consisted of urban planning professionals (employees of Marivan Municipality), and a sample size of 36 individuals was determined using the Morgan formula. Questionnaires were distributed online. After collecting the samples, the data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 26 and Smart PLS3 software. The research results, consistent with Spearman's correlation test, indicated a significant relationship between the causes of unauthorized construction in Marivan city, economic interests, and the shortcomings in municipal laws governing unauthorized construction without permits. Furthermore, the structural equation modeling results demonstrated that the predictive accuracy of this research model in explaining the components was 98 percent. Finally, appropriate strategies to reduce unauthorized construction and building violations in the city of Marivan were presented.

Urban planning, as a professional activity, is ethically complex. and all its aspects, from theoretical thoughts to professional activities, are related to ethical issues. This relationship is so strong that for thinking clearly and comprehensively about planning one should develop some understanding of how key ideas in ethics relate to planning and their integration with this profession. One way of integrating ethical ideas with the planning profession is to integrate it with the professional codes. This research aims to present a clear image of the relationship between the philosophy of ethics and the planning profession, in particular the codes of professional ethics, and examines the position of these ethical theories in these codes. The results of the synthesis of qualitative studies and the examination of the relationship between the principles extracted from these studies and the principles found in the ethical codes of Iran, the United States and Canada show that the American ethical codes are most closely related to ethical theories and various ethical ideas have been involved in the formulation of the content of these codes, from classical theories to more recent t, from teleological theories to deontological Theories and virtue ethics. In Canada's codes of professional ethics, almost all ethical theories examined in qualitative research can be traced, especially environmental ethics and its different approaches. Ethical codes related to planning in Iran have a limited relationship with normative theories, and the relevant ones are related to more classical ethical theories such as Kant's and Ross's theories.

Problem statement: 

despite conducting some researches on the quality of urban life during more than two decades, this concept is still explained with the concepts of urban livability and urban vitality in the same meaning, and their different aspects are ignored. The quality of urban life has become one of the interesting topics for the researchers in the urban planning, and they have focused on the quality of urban life in the planned settlements, while, today, especially in the cities of developing countries, at least one third of the metropolitan population consists of the residents of informal settlements. The aim of this research is to investigate and extract the analysis indicators of the scientific texts in the field of informal settlements and to present an analytical model including the dimensions and components of the life quality in informal settlements.

This is basic research and by using the meta-analysis method, the samples (12 valid scientific-research articles and 6 master thesis) conducted in the last decade in relation to the quality of urban life in Informal settlements were studied. The present research is classified as an applied-developmental research based on its aim to determine the desirable patterns in the field of quality of urban life in informal settlements.

considering the findings of the current research, it can be said that as the reliability tests in more than 80% of the studies shows, we can Definity comment on the quality of the studies and their effect size. The geographical distribution of the researches conducted in the provinces of the country shows that the case studies conducted in Tehran province have the highest frequencies. The data collection methods considering the nature and methods of the research indicate that about 11% of the researches collected the required data through the survey and field methods.

The theories referring to the quality of urban life are classified into three main approaches: human approach, the spatial approach, and the sustainability approach. The main effective indicators improving the quality of urban life in informal settlements are economic index (with 9 variables)

The community has a crucial role in the new urban planning paradigm. The notion of this community is different from the one before the emergence of diverse transportation systems and communication technologies. Nowadays, the community is not necessarily attached to a place nor limited to the boundaries of a neighborhood. Instead, it is considered as a network of people who are tied through common identity and a set of norms that do not necessarily emanate from a place. In this network approach toward the community, social network analysis (SNA) is deployed in community studies. Although SNA is a well-known method in social sciences in Iran, it is rarely used by urban planners specifically to study the community. While the importance of place has decreased in community notion and role, using the place-based methods to study the community will end up with a great lack of information about what community is indeed and how it properly works in the development process. Thus, this research is conducted to answer the following questions: (1) What is the social network analysis (SNA)? And (2) what are the usage of SNA in community studies in urban planning? Based on the study of documents, SNA makes it possible to recognize diverse types of communities from virtual to place-based with a specific focus on ties and relationships. The research shows that SNA in community studies in urban planning can be used in two different fields: (1) to investigate both the spatial and social aspects of the community and (2) to find out community participation in the planning and development process. The former focuses on how place-based a community is, what the social processes form a community, and the impact of context on the construct, evolution, and death of a community. The latter explores how community participation in the planning process can be increased through studying the structure, the function, and the communication patterns of a community.

Studies show that urban comprehensive plans in their current form and approach have not been able to promote the goals for which they have been established and have not been updated with new technologies and changes in the pattern of space consumption in content and method. Emphasizing the use of the best examples of global experiences in urban planning and modeling to achieve smart cities, this research tries to provide suggestions for changes in the traditional process of planning in order to achieve the smart cities program. The current research was conducted through multi-methods and qualitative studies. In the first stage, with the method of conceptualization and after reviewing the basics and available documents of planning smart cities in five selected countries, South Korea, India, America, China, and the Netherlands (which were selected based on criteria for usability in Iran). Comparative analysis tables have been prepared to evaluate goals and macro and micro programs. In the next stage, with a semi-structured interview method with a group of city managers, the community of academic experts, and consulting engineers preparing urban development plans, the pathology of the current situation and the understanding of priorities, needs, attitudes, and problems were carried out. Is. The sample size of the interviews for each group was ten people, and the results were saturated with this number. They were analyzed with the interpretative method and the relevant tables. Finally, according to the examples of successful global experiences, suggestions in the form of necessary documents, the process of submitting a smart city proposal, selecting a consultant, preparing, implementing, and monitoring it, and the necessary institutional structure in the form of special smart city plans in Iran have been presented.

The emergence and spread of pandemic diseases on a global scale and in the field of health and hygiene has challenged order, balance, adaptability, coordination, flexibility and resilience in various managerial, economic, social, cultural and behavioral dimensions. And it has plunged the cities and countries of the world into crisis. In the current research, five areas of Urmia city have been selected as a study case. The present research tries to compare the status of the components of a healthy city in the face of pandemic diseases by explaining the principles, concepts and perspectives of a healthy city and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of urban spaces and the facilities and facilities available in it (with emphasis on Covid-19) in each of the five areas of Urmia city. Therefore, it seeks to answer the following questions.Which of the proposed components of the healthy city concept is more important and prioritized in terms of quality? Which of the study areas of the current research is in a favorable situation in terms of the realization of the components of a healthy city and the level of sustainability and desirability in dealing with pandemic diseases?

The statistical population and sample size of the research is based on two groups of experts and urban managers and citizens living in the city, which collected the required data by using the questionnaire tool. The resulting data have been implemented for analysis in the quantitative methods and tests of Swara and Cocoso, in order to determine the importance and priority of each of the proposed components and the ranking of research study options.

The findings indicate that the performance components of the institutions and subordinate bodies in the field of health and health and the degree of desirability of job security of the residents have gained the highest and lowest levels of importance and value, respectively. Also, five regions and two cities of Urmia are located in the most favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions, respectively, in relation to the quality levels of the components of the concept of a healthy city.

In this section, based on the findings, some targeted and effective proposals and policies are presented. Emphasis on holding sports and mass gatherings in green and open public spacesImproving the quality levels of domestic sewage and surface water disposal Emphasis on planning based on pedestrians Emphasis on establishing equality and creating justice and balance between settlements Emphasizing and paying attention to strengthening cooperation and coordination between organizations  Improving the efficiency of the waste collection system.Adopting policies and measures in order to improve the social security situation in the unusual neighborhoods of Region Two by creating coherent changes and developments in different social and physical dimensions. Emphasis on improving the quality of drinking water.  Planning, creating and developing recreational and sports functions. Improving the efficiency of the public transportation system.and - and emphasizing on the safety and legal construction of buildings in order to increase the level of safety against various natural and man-made disasters, as well as improving the environmental condition of the city and urban landscape (visual quality of the city)

Due to reasons such as lack of correct transfer of theoretical foundations and experiences, as well as lack of a strategic model of urban branding in accordance with the structure, nature and content of Iranian cities, urban branding approach has received less attention in the grand strategies of city managers in our country. The upcoming research is written with a descriptive and analytical method and gathered with practical goals by studying documents, library sources and other experts researches based on this very subject and all previous experiences about urban brands as well as exploring the content and various identity components of Iranian cities. This research tries to explain the effective components in the branding capacities of Islamic cities and then also explains the structure of the strategic model of Islamic-Iranian city branding. The results of these studies showed that the branding approach of the Islamic-Iranian city is a practical process and not a mental solution process. In other words, urban branding and consequently Islamic-Iranian city branding includes a cycle of "planning", "implementation", "evaluation" and "correction" stages and has the context of a strategic and collaborative paradigm, the process of its realization in four intervals like, the brand birth, brand maturity, the influence of the brand and the stabilization of the brand of Islamic-Iranian city are possible. Recently, there has been a gradual paradigm shift of statesmen, managers, planners and urban agents from positivist and comprehensive models to structural and strategic models within Iran's urban planning system. Structural-strategic plans, urban development strategy (CDS), urban regeneration, etc. are examples of this paradigm shift in Iran's modern urban development. The strategic model of Islamic-Iranian city branding is a macro process that includes levels of planning, implementation and promotion, evaluation and correction processes in its content . Therefore, it is a wrong idea to think that the description of the stages and the planning details of the Islamic-Iranian city brand is the only strategy this model is all about. This research also proves that the process of planning and developing the program is not the only part of this process. This is a process that is explained in the strategic planning paradigm with a participatory approach, so the planning process in this process will be possible under the theory and methods of strategic planning. The macro levels of the program derived from this theory include two main levels. The first level includes decisions and macro decision-making and suggests structures and strategies. The result of this level in detail expresses all kinds of visions, goals, principles, strategies and policies. The contents of this level cannot be implemented by themselves, therefore, action and implementation plans are proposed at the second level, which will evoke a link between thinking and action. Finally, the proposed model of Islamic-Iranian city branding in the context of strategic and collaborative paradigms can be a manifestation of the city's future development path, including the perspectives, strategies, policies and types of actions required by the Islamic-Iranian city.