Roots and Concepts of Ecological-Landscape Development and its Common Grounds with Iranian Architecture and Urbanism

Ecological-Landscape development is proposed as a mature form of Ecological-Landscape Urbanism which  is a recent discourse in Western architecture and urbanism whose roots can be traced back to environmental movements in the past century. In this regard, ecological-landscape development opens new horizons for contemporary cities by relying on conceptual frameworks such as landscape as a building block of the city, landscape ecology, and ecosystem services, where the difference between natural and built environment pales and the city is conceptualized as an ecosystem including humans. It can be stated that it departs from conventional urbanism approaches that are mostly based on modern views in many ways, and introduces a novel method of shaping the built environment. On the other hand, by dissecting the tenets and major approaches of this school, a high degree of commonality with Eastern architecture and urbanism, especially Iranian architecture, can be identified. This can be acknowledged as the point where Western architecture and urbanism meet Iranian architecture, as well as a solution to its continuity and development in today’s world. Using an analytical- descriptive approach, this paper seeks to analyze the concepts, roots, and patterns hidden within this branch as the outcome of the synergy between the two schools of landscape urbanism and ecological urbanism, and propose a manifesto, albeit incomplete. Then, it introduces its common features with Iranian architecture and urbanism under concepts such as gradual development and integrity, fusion with nature, multidisciplinary knowledge, connectivity with politics, and ecology.