The Role of Urban Monuments in Preserving Urban Identity, the Case Study of Shiraz

Urban Monuments play an important role in the processes of formation, change and reproduction of urban identity. Under present day conditions where the identities of cities are rapidly deteriorating and vanishing, the importance of urban monuments as objects of urban identity and character is ever growing. Iranian cities gained their own independence and identity in the past, meanwhile most believe that cities today are consisted of a large number of office buildings, complex roads and streets, and parks without forming a unique identity. Insufficient attention of the creators of these urban areas and elements with the aesthetic concept, beside the prevalence of the speculative aspects, and dominance of the materialistic methods and mentality, are the reasons which exacerbate most of the urban activities and constructions. There are several elements that creates the identity of a city. The goal of this research is to examine the impacts of urban landmarks and furniture that can functionally and aesthetically help identify a city. Five case landmarks and sculptures in city of Shiraz were analyzed and their roles in defining the city were examined. The results of the research proved that most of these landmarks do in fact help with identifying the city. It was also found that they are most often better received when they have roots in the traditions and cultures of the city. And those landmarks and elements that lack such characteristics might not be as practical. The research method is descriptive-analytical and the information collection was verifiable and based on the documents.