Evaluation of Part of the Old Urban Fabric and Identification of the Most Compatible Area for Historical and Cultural Uses (Case Study: Central Area of Hamedan)

A fundamental topic in the science of geography is defining the functional boundaries of a city in spatial and locational dimensions to ensure proper management at regional and district levels. Determining the legal boundaries of a city and its various areas and districts involves considering various natural, social, cultural, and urban service factors within a geographical scope of activities. Consequently, large cities are often divided into different areas under separate managements supervised by the central municipality, providing activities and services to citizens based on this structure. In the urban management system of Iran, the historical fabric is determined based on requests from the Cultural Heritage Organization to the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture, which examines the areas that formed before the year 1300 SH (1921 AD). However, this approach, focusing solely on the preservation and protection of eligible buildings and imposing legal restrictions on urban expansion, often conflicts with urban management and has led to the destruction of many historical and cultural buildings. Thus, it cannot be the sole criterion for defining the central area of the city. In the process of future urban development, this issue has encountered numerous practical problems in the country. Therefore, the researcher formed a Delphi-based aggregation group consisting of 45 experts and specialists in geography, cultural activities, and urban planning. Based on the results of meetings with this group, a ten-point index was developed to define the central area, and six proposed options from this group were suggested as suitable models for determining the city's central area. Finally, the researcher employed a hierarchical approach inspired by the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method to compare each proposed model for the central area in the old urban fabric, considering their compatibility with the functionality of cultural and historical uses. The most compatible model with the performance of historical and cultural uses was identified.