Recognition of the Urban Arsen as a Model for the Iranian-Islamic City with Emphasis on Religious Spaces

Urban arsen is an Iranian-Islamic model that was formed in the neighborhood and city centers in the past. Combining different uses together creates a diverse set of local or urban functions that meet the needs of many citizens together. These functions include the bazaar, mosque, Dar al-Shifa, library, school and etc. Examples of these components are the urban arsen, which is often built around religious places such as a mosque or shrine, and thus in addition to meeting daily needs, they built a connection between the people’s lives and a spiritual atmosphere and spirituality. Therefore, the present article aimed to explain the position of urban arsen as a model in the development of the Iranian-Islamic cities with emphasis on the centrality of religious places, which in the theoretical part, it is done by descriptive research method and content analysis of texts and logical reasoning, and in the case sample part, it is done by field survey method. Urban arsen is an efficient model for the Iranian-Islamic urban center and can be used in planning and redesigning of Iranian-Islamic cities. Urban arsen in the tradition of Iranian-Islamic architecture and urban planning have various types and functions, which are:  religious arsen, service, medical, sports, commercial, and cultural arsen. Urban arsen has the characteristics and criteria of urban design and planning, which include: having the meaning and identity derived from the religious and devotional center, diversity and functional compatibility, pedestrianism, balance of mass and space with central courtyards, balanced skyline and diverse, spatial hierarchy and access.