urban planning

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.

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

Many researches have been conducted on the relationship between cinema and architecture, often trying to understand why and how to show the history and style of buildings or urban spaces in the film. In the present research, the main goal is to reverse the trend and study the impact of architectural and urban spaces on the story and atmosphere of the film.

In the past few decades in Iran, the term ‘Iranian-Islamic’has referred to a type of architecture and urban planning that is often derived from local elements, complete with traditional signs and built in line with Islamic and local thinking. On the other hand, one of the most important elements involved in the form of films is the scene or the location, which is selected and designed according to the genre and story of the movie. The location and the scenes in which the film sequences are processed, help to create an atmosphere and mood for the film and play an important role in providing the correct sense of the story to the viewer. What is addressed here, using categorical content analysis, is the ways of representing the Islamic-Iranian architecture and urban planning in Iranian post-revolutionary films; those which have used location and scene to create meaning and concept related to their story. This is discussed in terms of the six categories of representation, extracted from Stuart Hall’s theories and quantified and scored according to expert opinion in both cinema and urban planning. In other words, the analysis is focused on which of the examples has the strongest association between the architectural-urban space and the story. The research method is basic in terms of purpose and converting qualitative data into quantitative.

According to the results, the location is one of the most important tools that helps the filmmaker in creating the desired mood and impact on the viewer. Therefore, an urban-architectural space based on the story logic and used with the right thinking and method, will create the desired feeling for the viewer, and create a better atmosphere. The analysis of the example showed that the films Hamoon, Pary andNar-o Ney in which all six aspects of the representation of the urban space are included scored higher in terms of qualities sought in this research.

 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.

The purpose of this article is to extract the components and indicators of Tabriz school of architecture and urban planning with an emphasis on the historical market of Tabriz.

This research was carried out with the research method of text content analysis and field survey and methods of library and documentary search, observation and photography.

The school of Tabriz can be found in the ancient history of Tabriz, various arts, historical buildings and spaces, nature and gardens of Tabriz, authentic neighborhoods and passages, the market and its ancient social and cultural aspects, its authentic goods and foods. did This city, which is the birthplace of artists, merchants, scholars and politicians, and many tangible and intangible events and works, the sum of which can express an original school in architecture, urban planning and painting. Tabriz market is one of the pillars of the identity of this city, which is a collection of rows and timchehs and palaces with valuable urban architecture and design representing the economic, social, and native architecture foundations. This complex has a stable economic life due to being on the international silk trade route, a special social and cultural cohesion that is considered a social capital, and the secrets of urban planning and design that can be relearned for the current state of cities.

Unlike the markets of Tehran, Isfahan, Kashan, which have a linear structure with fewer branches, the market of Tabriz is a network consisting of rows and nodes in the form of teams, timcheh, sera, and mosque and with many branches. It continues to exist as an efficient system in economic, social, climatic dimensions and with a high diversity of activities and economy with a complex order. A deep understanding of the identity-building aspects of Tabriz market in different cultural, economic, social, functional, physical, natural and landscape dimensions can help to protect it in the current and future situation.

The concept of "identity" has always been the subject of discussion in the articles and studies of this field as one of the most popular and debated topics of architecture and urban planning. However, the various readings and lack of understanding of this concept have led to some kind of confusion in policies and planning. It tries to answer the question that what are the alternative futures of the identity of architecture and urban planning in Iran.

This research was conducted as a fundamental research, in the tradition of qualitative research, with the benefit of theme analysis and then layered causal analysis (CIA) based on in-depth semi-structured interviews. For a deeper understanding of the participants' mentality, first by using the theme analysis method, the main and sub-themes were identified, and then by using the causal layer analysis method, by rereading the main and sub-themes, the main propositions in each classification layer and alternative images of the future have been calculated from the concept of identity.

The findings of the research show that the images of the future of identity in the mind of architects and urban planners consist of four main images: "Identity Sufficiency and Technology Durability", "Creating disaster and inevitable future", "Return to Purity", and "Wisdom and Creation of Obese Identity".

The results of the research show that four groups in the architecture and urban planning community of Iran will build the future of identity based on the four alternative images obtained. Because images, due to their power to direct will, are effective factors in shaping the future.

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 significant expansion of postgraduate university education programmes in Iran, particularly at the Master’s level, has resulted in a substantial portion of research, including architecture and urban planning, being conducted in the form of Master’s theses. The thesis is the main research activity in the Master’s degree programme, and hence the great importance of its preparation process, particularity the selection the topic. A review of the literature reveals a lack of adequate research on Master’s theses in the fields of architecture and urbanism in Iran, particularlyon topic selection procedures. Therefore, the examination of these procedures and exploration of the experiences of key actors, especially supervisors, is of particular importance. This investigation can help improve the quality and efficiency of such academic endeavours. This research is an inquiry into academic staff’s experiences at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University regarding topic selection procedures, to develop a conceptual framework. On that basis, the research objectives include identifying the ‘core category’ in the process of selecting thesis topics, explaining the ‘causes’, ‘intervening conditions’, and ‘contextual conditions’ that lead to the emergence of the core category, and exploring the interaction of the supervisors with the core category and its ‘consequences’.

The research is a qualitative study based on the grounded theory. The participants are 23 academic staff with considerable experiences in supervising Master’s theses from different departments of the School. The sampling method is ‘purposive’. As the initial categories emerged, subsequent participants were selected using the ‘theoretical sampling’ method until theoretical saturation of the discovered categories and concepts was achieved. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Two questions were posed to stimulate sensitivity and reflection among participants. The first question inquired about their experience in choosing thesis topics, while the second question sought their opinion on the optimal method for selecting or developing the topics. The content analysis of the transcribed interviews has been done systematically through sequential steps via ‘open’, ‘axial’ and ‘selective’ coding. Based on the axial coding, the developed categories have been classified and labelled as causal, contextual, intervening, interactive, and consequential categories. The relationships between these categories have been presented in the form of a paradigm model.

Overall, the research findings indicate that the participants have experienced a ‘lack of formal and explicit strategy for topic selection in the School’ as the ‘core category’ or the main phenomenon. The study also indicates that in the absence of a formal-explicit strategy or a meaningful Big Picture, supervisors have highly relied upon their own tacit knowledge and personal views regarding the definition and mission of a Master’s thesis. This reliance has led to the development of numerous, not necessarily well-coordinated, individual-implicit strategies to inform their decisions. The causal and contextual conditions leading to the formation of the ‘core category’ include non-critical adoption of international universities’ curriculum and programmes, lack of strong institutional relations among university, industry, government and community, diversity of disciplinary cultures in the School, personal tendencies of the supervisors, and instability in the governing bylaws and academic administration. The main consequence of these conditions has been the emergence of numerous unrelated and isolated pieces of research conducted by different departments, and a lack of synergetic accumulation of research results. This study implies the significance of achieving a ‘common understanding’ about the definition and mission of a Master’s thesis among the School’s academic staff. Other research implications include the need to create a pedagogical discourse on architecture and urbanism, build sufficient capacity to carry out curricular and strategic planning at the School, embrace the existing diversity of disciplinary cultures in the School as an opportunity, foster critical thinking skills in students, and strengthen the institutional ties between university, industry, government and community.

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.

Today, the use of artificial intelligence has grown significantly, and is developing as a new field. The main goal of this research is to know the capabilities of artificial intelligence in advancing the design and implementation process in the artificial environment. The practical goal of research is the development and application of the most important achievements of machine learning in the field of design.

The main research method is "meta-analysis" research in the paradigm of "free research" with a critical approach and basic design, which examines the general knowledge field of this field using broad techniques. Then, to consolidate the literature on the topic, through searching three reliable knowledge bases of this field, we collected articles related to machine learning in the fields of unsupervised learning methods, semi-supervised learning, and reinforcement learning; The most important capacities and shortcomings, and strengths and weaknesses are reviewed.

Quantitative findings from the combined data indicate that supervised machine learning and directed deep learning can be the best option to recommend in the future of design. While the learning process in deep learning is gradual and slower, supervised machine learning works faster in the testing phase.

The research emphasizes that supervised machine learning is the best option for predicting answers in the design process. But if, in addition to prediction, the issue of creativity in design is desired, deep learning is more efficient.

Cities are dynamic systems, constantly evolving under the influence of social, cultural, economic, and political factors. Urban inefficiencies, particularly in certain textures, pose significant challenges to urban planners. Inefficient urban textures represent areas where physical, functional, and social quality are severely lacking. These textures, often formed over long periods, fail to meet the needs of their residents. The city of Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest metropolis, encompasses 6688 hectares of inefficient textures. These areas are marked by inadequate housing, inconsistent land use, and poor infrastructure, among other challenges, leading to a low quality of life for residents. This imbalance in physical development and population settlement poses numerous challenges. Hence, evaluating the vulnerability and inefficiency of these textures is critical. This study aims to investigate the spatial patterns of inefficiency in Mashhad's urban textures.

Theoretical Framework:

Inefficient urban textures are sections of a city where infrastructure, buildings, streets, and other components become ineffective, causing a range of socio-economic and physical problems for residents. These inefficient urban areas can be categorized into five types:2-1-Informal settlements: Primarily house rural migrants and the urban poor.
2-2-Middle inefficient (worn-out) textures: Parts of the city developed after the 1300s without adherence to architectural or urban planning standards.
2-3-Historical city textures: These sections hold historical value in urban planning and architecture but are now inefficient.
2-4-Urban areas with a rural background

Areas within the city that have not integrated with the broader urban fabric.
2-5-Areas with incompatible urban use: Locations where the current usage contradicts urban planning needs.
Understanding the development of these textures is crucial for assessing their inefficiency and the urban planning interventions required to address them.

The study employed a descriptive-analytical approach, gathering data through extensive library research and literature reviews. The study area consisted of 6688 hectares of inefficient textures in Mashhad. To assess the level of inefficiency in these areas, the WSUM (Weighted Sum) technique was employed. Further spatial analysis was conducted using ArcGIS software, with a particular focus on spatial self-dependency patterns, analyzed through models like the Global Moran Model and the G_i statistic. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was then used to model the spatial relationships between different factors contributing to urban inefficiency.

The results showed that informal settlements and marginal areas of Mashhad are more inefficient compared to the middle and central parts of the city. Analyzing the spatial pattern of inefficiency using the Global Moran method and G_i statistics revealed that the inefficiencies follow a cluster pattern. The Global Moran method produced a positive score of 0.1, with a z-score of 68.26 at a significance level of 99%. This indicates a significant clustering of inefficient textures.
Further analysis with the G_i statistic showed a G value of 0.000120 and a z-score of 19.14, confirming a high-concentration clustering pattern of inefficiency. The spatial correlation analysis revealed that hot spots (high-concentration clusters) are located in the eastern, southeastern, and northwestern parts of the city, where informal settlements dominate. In contrast, cold spots (areas of low inefficiency) were concentrated in the central parts of the city, including the pilgrimage area. The spatial patterns in other parts of the city showed little or no significant clustering.
The geographically weighted regression (GWR) model revealed that microlithic buildings, rented housing, and unstable structures have a greater impact on the inefficiency of urban textures than other variables. The combination of spatial patterns and socio-economic factors suggests that the areas of Mashhad most in need of intervention are informal settlements and marginal areas.

While most studies on inefficient urban textures have utilized multi-criteria decision-making methods or statistical tests, few have focused on spatial analysis. This study introduced a new approach to understanding urban inefficiency by combining WSUM, Moran’s global method, and the G_i statistic to assess spatial patterns. The findings highlight the severe inefficiency in Mashhad’s informal and marginal areas compared to central areas.
Hot spots of inefficiency are concentrated in informal settlements on the city’s eastern, northeastern, and northwestern margins, creating a cluster pattern of inefficiency. In contrast, the pilgrimage area and central parts of the city show fewer inefficiencies. The GWR model further emphasized that unstable buildings and rented houses are key drivers of inefficiency in these areas.
The study underscores the importance of spatially targeted interventions, especially in informal settlements and marginal areas. Given the diverse types of inefficiencies across the city, urban planners must adopt differentiated strategies when addressing various forms of urban inefficiency. Addressing these issues in informal settlements should be a priority to improve the overall quality of life and urban function in Mashhad.

Since the advent of Iranian society into the so-called modern era, cities in Iran have been the centre of attention for a large group of people, experts, and professionals inside and outside the country. Cities have indeed served as a chessboard where, on one side, there has been a game between the people and the government, and on the other side, the entire Iranian society with non-Iranian societies, especially developed Western societies. This four-sided game ultimately failed to meet the national interests of Iranians. Iran, with a long history of shaping human culture and civilization, not only had nothing to say in the face of modern civilization and the imposed external development by the global capitalist society but also continuously experienced a path of decline and decadence in recent centuries compared to its glorious past. In this critical essay, an attempt has been made to review and open some dimensions of the phenomenon and approach of “urban planning” in Iran, discussing the factors shaping the current conditions and potential solutions to move beyond it briefly and concisely.

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.

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.

Recently, “Power” has become the inevitable question of the theory and practice of urban planning. Urban planning is based on intervention and involved in the public interest, interests of numerous structures, institutions and activists. Therefore, Urban Planning is inevitably politically and explained in connection with power relations. The analysis of the role of power and politics in urban planning has been considered in literature for decades. However, such efforts in urban planning research and urban studies of Iran have been made less. Despite the attention to the concept of power in recent decades in urban studies and planning research, the definitions and coordinates of this concept have had many ambiguities and the literature has made different perceptions of the concept of power. The roots of these semantic ambiguities and multiplicity may be sought in the multiplicity of the meanings of power in the social science and political philosophy. Here, the main question is: what is the reading of the "what" of the concept of power in the field of urban planning and urban studies? And what the components of power research, including "who," "why," and "how," have taken this concept in response?The Purpose of the Research: The main purpose of this article is to understand the conceptual discourses of "power" and explain its various aspects in urban studies. The mentioned goal is defined in connection with the main question of the article, i.e. "what" is the concept of power and its relationship with "why" and "how" of power relations in urban research.

In order to answer the question of the research and within the framework of the interpretive paradigm, qualitative methodology and directed content analysis method have been used. Content analysis and data coding are conducted based on themes, and the authors have classified, summarized, and understood the textual data in the field of power based on the interpretation of the text. In this research, based on the common methods of sampling in qualitative research, samples of studies that are more suitable to achieve the goals of the research have been selected. In fact, the focus is on texts that contain a lot of information according to the purpose of the research. Therefore, the analysis of the content of the texts that are among the most famous and most referenced sources in the field of "power and urban planning" has been done.

The findings show that different themes of power in urban studies can be seen as different aspects of the concept of power that, not separately but intertwined and integrated, represent the dynamic and complex concept of power relationships. Also, among the conceptual discourses of power, including the “government-oriented”, “legal-institutional”, “structural”, “commodity”, “symbolic”, and “network” that each represents an aspect of the power relations. Foucault's network approach has a widespread application in urban studies and urban planning research due to having other aspects of power and the ability to analyze the network of official and unofficial, hidden and obvious power relations. In Foucault's "network-oriented" approach to power, the predominant emphasis is on policies, tactics and relationships such as formal and informal networking, hidden alliances, negotiations and deals, through which "spatial actions" in the form of Projects and material space are formed. Therefore, this attitude has a very high capacity to analyze the network of formal and informal relationships, overt and hidden power in the research and professional field of urban planning.

A review of extensive research in the field of power shows that knowledge of the complex concept of "power" gives a practical understanding of it for analysis in relation to urban planning and spatial policies and for finding effective analytical tools to identify what, why and How to apply power in urban development processes will be fruitful. The studies of the field of power, especially in Foucault's perspective, help us to search for power beyond the concept of the government and the official system, in relation to the most detailed issues and the open and hidden relations of actors in the processes of planning, it is in relation to the knowledge of revelation. and finally strengthen our understanding of the discourse situations in which activists, managers and city planners are located.

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.