نشریه جغرافیا و توسعه فضای شهری
سال پنجم شماره 2 (پیاپی 9، پاییز و زمستان 1397)

Today, one of the important issues in urban areas is accessibility. Accessibility is defined as the ability to achieve a variety of activities and services within a reasonable time. This concept is highly dependent on the city's spatial form, access network, type of travel and form of travel, and it is determined by the land use pattern, the nature of the transportation system, and the characteristics of travelers. Of the various transportation options, public transportation is a key component of sustainable transport system. To have a better performance, it should provide access to the core services and activities safely for different classes. In this respect, the present study intends to investigate the role of the light rail transit (LRT) system in Mashhad in accessible hospitals as the main type of health care services. To meet the goals of the study, the questions raised are as follows:
How is the spatial distribution of income groups in urban districts of Mashhad?
How is the shortest distance traveled by the income groups of the districts to the nearest LRT station?
How can access to urban hospitals be made more equitable through LRT for the groups in the all city districts?
Review of Literature

The easiest definition of accessibility is how easy to achieve a specific location. A strong aspect of the concept of accessibility is that it combines land-use and transportation-related features in a simple and unique criterion. Meanwhile, transportation is considered as a tool for having attractive destinations and the location of attractions determines that people use transportation to reach their destinations. If gravity position is close to a place where public transportation is more accessible than private transportation, it is more likely that people will travel through public transportation. In addition, if land use density is higher than public transportation, performance would be more durable in that area. Furthermore, it is usually accepted that encouraging more public transportation than cars and promoting high density land use can help to maintain a more sustainable environment.

The research method is of descriptive-analytic type. The necessary data have been collected using library methods, documents and GIS. The statistical population of the study is the population of all income groups of the Mashhad metropolis distributed in 43 districts of the municipality. The statistical population of the study is the population of all income groups of the Mashhad metropolis dispersed in 43 districts of the municipality. In order to analyze the data, the network analysis was used in the GIS package and the Hansen's Access Model (Formula 1).

The income groups of Mashhad are classified under five classes of very low to high income, which are dispersed in 43 urban districts. Nearly 50% of the population of the Mashhad metropolitan is in low to moderate income groups. The largest group is the middle income group with 27.49% of the total population of the city, while the smallest is the very high income group with 11.46% of the total urban population.
In general, 68.97% of the total population of the city, which are located in 32 municipalities, ranges from very low to moderate distances of LRT stations (0-600 meters), mostly including the middle income group (more than 40% of the population of this group in short and very short distances) and very low income group (more than 55% of the population in the middle distance) respectively. Of the total population of city, 31.03% are located at a very large distance (601 - +800 meters) of the nearest LRT stations, which are mostly included in the middle income group.
The measurement of the spatial accessibility of areas to hospitals through LRT shows that of 43 municipal districts, 13 districts (30.23%) have moderate to very high access, whereas the LRT routes and the concentrate of hospitals (mostly with high stretch degrees) are seen as possibly close and there is less distance to reach the hospitals. Access is lower than the average in 30 districts (69.77%). The assessment of access scores based on income groups also shows that generally only 22.25% of the total urban population has moderate to very high access, which mostly includes a moderate and high income groups. While 77.65% of the population is at low and very low levels of access to hospitals, most of them include high and very low income groups.

As for considering fair space accessibility to hospitals as the most important health care services for all income groups of the community, findings of the research indicate that the existing and predicted LRT system is ineffective. Thus, the spatial imbalance of access could be seen among the population of each income group. In order to improve the performance of this system in terms of more equitable access to hospital health services, some suggestions are made in the following:
The distance to LRT system for those districts and income groups that are far from the system should be expanded through the forecasting and launching of new routes (in addition to the current 4 routes) so that communication with the hospitals within the city will be fairer for its inhabitants.
Hospitals with a low degree of stretch should also be added to their capacity if possible, and also be adjacent to the four LRT routes.
If there are plans for the construction of new hospitals in the field of their location, special attention should be paid to the existing infrastructure (Line 1 and Phase I of line 2) and the predicted infrastructure of LRT (Phase II line 2, line 3 and line 4).

Mashhad with a population of three million is the second largest city in the country which has accommodated the population of nearly one million and two hundred thousand people in eight residential areas. According to the researches, such unplanned settlements are the consequences of structural problems of the urban management resulting from the main structure of the urban management plans along with the regional issues (Farnahad, 2008; Housing and Urban Planning of Khorasan-e-Razavi, 2014). Furthermore, these areas adversely affect the city economically, socially, physically, and environmentally.
The present paper aims to identify the factors affecting the formation and development of informal settlements in Mashhad and to measure the effect of these factors and their modeling in the form of systematic thinking.

Informal settlements are mostly developed on the margins of the cities and metropolises typically outside the formal development plans (Act of Iran’s Supreme Council of Urban Development and Architecture, 6th June 2006). Until now, studies of informal settlements that have somehow led to the identification and investigation of the factors that shape and expand informal settlements have taken place in a number of ways.
A: Using futures research
B: Modeling through relevant software especially GIS
C: Evaluating the Factors of Informal Settlement in parallel to Trend Identification, Policy Pathology
But none have used systematic thinking to address complex issues such as informal settlements to gather and identify causal relationships between these factors.

Descriptive-analytical research was conducted to gather information through documentary and survey methods. Therefore, the factors contributing to forming and establishing Mashhad’s informal settlements were determined and applied to achieve research objectives. Sampling method and questionnaire were used to collect the required data. The statistical populations of this research were experts and residents of informal settlements in Mashhad. The First population used 55 questionnaires which was completed several times by Delphi method. The number of questionnaires for the second population was calculated based on Cochran's formula and 384 questionnaires were obtained. In the residents' questionnaire, the informal settlements reliability (Cronbach's Alpha) was 0.909, and for the experts, the reliability was calculated as 0.882. Finally the main system is designed using expert interview results (Delphi method).

Diagrams have been drawn to understand and analyze the causes of informal settlement using systematic thinking. Eventually, in the final diagram of the system, 11 cycles were shown, 5 of which had two-variables. Two medium cycles with 4 and 5 variables were also formed. Besides, there were 4 cycles with the main and big cycles. The relationships between these cycles were as follows:
A) Unbalanced regional policy - ignoring the policy of housing supply for the low-income people – Development - structural disadvantage of urbanization – Mismanagement - Unbalanced regional policy
B) Drought and agricultural recession-Unemployment-Immigration- Development-structural disadvantage of urbanization- mismanagement- Unbalanced regional policies- Drought and agricultural recession
C) Drought and agricultural recession- Inflation- Permanent increase in living expenses- Poverty and low income-Immigration-Development-structural disadvantage of urbanization- mismanagement- Unbalanced regional policies- Drought and agricultural recession
D) Lack of governance-Poor efficacy and effectiveness of the city system- Failure to implement approved projects timely and accurately–Poor supervision of municipality- Lack of supervision during construction- Horizontal development of the city-Creation of livable centers- Close access to city- immigration- Development-structural disadvantage of urbanization-Mismanagement- Lack of urban governance

Examining the variables in these main cycles, it was revealed that most of these communication chains are made up of a combination of economic variables and management variables. Therefore, it can be said that the economy together with management moves the most influential cycles towards the development of informal settlements in Mashhad.

The factors that shape and expand informal settlements create cycles the biggest of which is fed through the economic and managerial factors at the national, regional, and local levels. In order to slow down or break these formation cycles, these two factors must be considered at different scales. Economic variables had more impact on the formation and development of the informal settlement of Mashhad from both the experts and the residents’ viewpoint. Furthermore, the cycles that led to unemployment, poverty, and low-income had a greater impact on the development of this phenomenon. Finally, it can be said that none of these sub-systems are separate as they do not act apart from each other, but the greatest impact is in between the economic and managerial sub-systems and the cycles that connect them. It is also concluded that most of these cycles which stimulate the development of informal settlements act through a social-related cycle or variable. Therefore, strategies and proposals should be directed with the aim of weakening the effective cycles, which normally tend to be more oriented towards the regional and national strategies.

An overview of failures in urban regeneration projects across Iranian cities such as Tehran (see Akbarpour Sareskanroud, Pourahmad, & Omranzadeh, 2011), Isfahan (see Khademalosseini & Arefipour, 2012), Mashhad (see Khakpour & Mehrvarz, 2013), and other metropolitans and residential regions resulted from the contrasting and defensive outlook of users highlights the failure to fulfill public participation policies regarding the empowerment of inefficient urban textures.
The purpose of the present study is to explain the strategies on urban renaissance approach with an emphasis on public participation and the continuity of urban renaissance in the area of the study with focus on preserving the authenticity and the possibility of retaining the residents. Subsequently, this study seeks to provide answers to the following key questions: 1) What are the opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of the renaissance approach in the study area? 2) What are the possible strategies in line with the realization of the renaissance approach in the study area?
Hashemi Nejad area is selected as the case study in this research, which is identified as a prioritized spot for the development of central districts in Mashhad. Moreover, due to the high values of lands at the vicinity of Imam Reza Holy Shrine, a large number of residents in this district have moved to other locations throughout the city in order to rebuild their properties and offer them to pilgrims. This, in turn, has led to the abandonment of the area and occurrence of social anomalies, rendering the whole physical condition of the area unfavorable (Rahnama et al., 2009).

Among the conventional renewal theories, urban renaissance has offered a novel form of urban modernization and the context for people’s participation through an emphasis on a set of notions such as participation of the public and local government and reducing the social gap (Pourahmad, Habibi, & Keshavarz, 2010). Macleod and Johnstone (2012) believe that the attractiveness of urban renaissance is in privatization of spaces in civilized places of society. Huston, Rahimzad and Parsa (2015) also emphasized on partnership as the best form of participation and believe that the success of regeneration depends on an effective partnership between stakeholders.

The present inquiry is an applied study conducted using the descriptive-analytical approach. SWOT and quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) models were used to analyze the data. The population of the study included 15 experts and 345 citizens selected using Cochran’s formula through random sampling. First, the criteria on urban renaissance were extracted by exploring the theoretical foundations and examining comparative instances. Next, the indices of urban renaissance approach in the region under study were presented by conducting surveys with the experts. Then, the final score was calculated by editing the matrix on internal and external factors so as to prioritize participatory renaissance strategies within Hashemi Nejad District.

To examine the status of indices within the renaissance approach in Hashemi Nejad District, Mashhad, these indices were assessed by a number of experts and specialists in the area of projects and executive actions in the investigated region. Given the mean and variance values calculated for each index, 41 indices were selected. In this regard, indices including identity orientation from the social criterion, regeneration diversity from the administrative criterion, partnership from the economic criterion, attractiveness and readability from the spatial-physical criterion, active protection from the performance criterion, and ultimately the urban center interaction index from the accessibility criterion achieved the highest scores relative to each six aforementioned criteria. 
Next, the strengths and weaknesses of the neighborhood along with opportunities and threats in the form of various systems were examined in accordance with status evaluation and recognition. Based on the assessments, both the presence of desirable social interactions and reduction in the level of services obtained the highest scores among strengths and weaknesses, respectively. Furthermore, the possibility of increase in partnership and egression of original residents also obtained the highest scores among opportunities and threats, respectively. The internal factor evaluation (IFE) matrix final score was 2.305, demonstrating the weak status of renaissance indices relative to internal factors, while the external factor evaluation (EFE) matrix final score of 2.509 showed a favorable status in renaissance indices related to external factors. Thus, the position of Hashemi Nejad District in the context of urban renaissance falls within the range of conservative strategies.

Ultimately, in addition to editing the efficient strategies using the SWOT matrix and estimating the attractiveness coefficient through conducting surveys with experts, it was attempted to prioritize the strategies in the form of quantitative strategy planning matrix (QSPM). Accordingly, the strategies from the first to the fourth priorities include the development of public arenas (with an attractiveness score of 5.862), creating a link between local centers and the residential areas inside and outside the district (with an attractiveness score of 5.587), increased monitoring of urban management on urban land use (with an attractiveness score of 5.586), and improving the flexibility of upper programs (with an attractiveness score of 5.094). Subsequently, given the significance of the realization of the investigated strategies, the following recommendations are presented:
Employing the urban renaissance approach as a strategy for developing and rebuilding distressed areas in urban districts according to economic, social-cultural, administrative and physical effects, and consequences.
Encouraging people and taking their participation into account when deciding on the execution of physical regeneration programs, particularly in the old parts of districts.
Creating a link between local centers and residential area of the district in immediate and comprehensive areas through the approach related to increasing the social dignity of residents and enhancing the sense of belonging to the location, granting subsidies and economic and physical incentives.
Balanced and fair distribution of services per capita which does not involve freezing specific uses for a certain plate, but entails specifying fluid uses for large-scale lands through land multi-functionality approach.
Explaining and implementing an effective partnership system between several beneficiary groups focusing on design, execution, supervision and operation activities as an important factor in managing conflicts of interest.

Given the complexity of urban life, there are cities in different dimensions with natural hazards and technological crisis on the one hand and there are also social-security crises on the other side. Since most cities are exposed to potential natural and artificial hazards. In recent years, the attention of many planners, governments and nations has been drawn to the issues of vulnerability and management. To reduce vulnerability and achieve sustainable development in addition to understanding the natural and spatial nature of the hazards, social-spatial aspects of community vulnerability should also be recognized. Observing the requirements of passive defense not only against possible attacks but also in the face of natural disasters is one of the necessary principles for sustainable development and the sustainability of urban facilities and the preservation of the lives and property of the people. As the administrative and political center of West Azarbaijan Province, Urmia is always at high risk of vulnerability due to the following factors: low risk of earthquake hazards, its location in the catchment basin of Lake Urmia, the potential of flood damage, the strategic position of this city, the conditions of the eight years of the imposed war, the crises in neighboring Iraq, Azerbaijan, and also the ethnic conflicts in Turkey as a defensive city in the northwest of the country.

Attacking sensitive centers of gravity is the enemy's first objective of weakening and defeating the other. Therefore, attention to these centers is of particular importance; As various scholars have argued about the elimination of centers of gravity, the most important of which is the strategy of destroying centers of gravity, or "five-loop theory of Varden." According to this theory, one of the basic studies in the field of passive defense, Land use planning and prepare Land use map. Balanced and proportional distribution, the location some of the urban land use such as infrastructure and Urban Equipment are of the utmost importance so that there should be some consideration in relation to the location and proprietors of these uses, However, it cannot be expected without sufficient attention in relation to the location and establishment of the land in the city can be an efficient intervention actions in relation to the management, crisis and relief and saving of the injured. Meanwhile, urban vulnerability with regard to passive defense approach by Siamie et al. (2014), Ranjbar et al. (2014), Motvali Habibi and Barghchi (2015), Dadgar (2016) and Mohammad Taghi Razavian et al (2017) And ... it's been investigated

Considering the applied nature of the issue and the investigated variables, the approach used in this study is descriptive-analytic. To begin with, the research problem was first explained and the effective factors were discussed in this regard. In order to investigate the vulnerability of Urmia, nine main criteria (including support services, mass media, military factors, critical and vital land use, green space, commerce, education, industry, and administration) with 21 sub-criteria were selected based on external and internal sources. Using the network analysis process, the importance of the coefficients of the criteria was then determined through the Super Decisions software. In the next step, information layers were produced using the GIS, and then they were fuzzified according to the indices. In addition, due to the capabilities of GIS and fuzzy overlay functions, integration and overlaying of information layers was done in order to zone the vulnerability of Urmia.

Based on the collected results, critical and vital land use with a score of 0.340 had the most important and influential effect on the vulnerability of Urmia to passive defense, while administrative agencies with a score of 0.197 and military centers with a score of 0.172 were important as well. Of all the main criteria considered, green and educational criteria were the least significant factors with the scores of 0.015 and 0.028, respectively. After obtaining the final weights corresponding to each of the criteria and sub-criteria, the location databases of the study area were created in the ArcGIS 10.2 software environment and the effective options in the assessment process were transformed into information layers.
Since the maps of the distances do not have the same units for standardization and homogenization as well as their flexibility, fuzzy standardization method with numerical amplitude between zero and one was used in GIS software. In this regard, according to the criteria and sub-criteria used to measure the vulnerability of Urmia, smaller, large, and linear fuzzy functions were used. Considering the different effects of criteria and sub-criteria on vulnerability in Urmia, vulnerability distances and different coefficients were used for each of the five factors. After weighting in the ArcGIS environment through fuzzy overlay and with gamma of 0.9%, map was overlay and the final map of the vulnerability assessment of Urmia was prepared.

The results of this research are used to assess the vulnerability of Urmia City in the form of five classes of highly vulnerable to very low vulnerability. The vulnerable areas with maximum vulnerability are mostly in the northern (poor neighborhoods) and central (old neighborhoods) city of Urmia, which are mostly located in the 4th and 2nd regions, that is, the most vulnerable parts of Urmia. This is mainly due to high density population and residential, the placement of most administrative and political centers, sensitive and commercial factors in these regions. Therefore, adherence to the principles of neighborliness in the urban infrastructure of Urmia in the 4th and 2nd regions is more than other urban regions. On the other hand, the minimum vulnerability in Urmia includes the western and southern parts of this city which are considered new urban textures. The reason for this is the high quality of the physical factors, the dispersion of the population, the extent of the green and open spaces, and the systematic and logical location of the sensitive and threatened centers. It should be noted that among the 9 existing criteria, criteria of vital and critical land use, military and administrative centers have the most impact on the vulnerability of Urmia City, respectively.

One of the most important signs of the intensity of injustice in a city is the emergence of spatial structures of the advantages and prevalence of a place in which this structure becomes a stable and powerful structure over time, making it more difficult to deal with injustice and increasing the intensity of injustice. One of the reasons is to look at injustice regardless of its content, structure, and process, as a result, a product and a concept that describes the present situation in the city. And on the same look has faced it. Therefore, it is necessary to take a dynamic look at injustice and not consider it static and created in a linear process.
Given that identifying and solving urban problems and reducing spatial inequalities has always focused on rural migrations to the city and the unceasing growth and management weaknesses, the circulation and accumulation of capital, the commercialization, and exploitation of certain groups and areas of urban development are still hidden in the shadow (Mousavi, 2012; Yazdani & Firouzi Magdalene, 2017). The focus of planning and decision-making in solving the problems of the first case has led the second case to make the most of these policies and solutions from top to bottom, and the consequence has been the escalation of inequity and injustice in space.

Studies in spatial justice can be divided into three viewpoints:2.1. Cartesian view of space and the issue of distribution;
It takes place in three-dimensional space; it follows instrumental and technocratic rationality, and in the form of comprehensive and top-down plans without essentially paying attention to the social, economic, political, and spatial relationships, which has led the city to the present point. Recommended prescriptions only help the domination of these top-down approaches. It ignores why citizens are not sensitive to the construction of public services and the government virtually reduces the availability of these services to the average and low-income urban population by shifting its responsibility to the private sector, and these groups would not share the growth of the city and its public services when the circulation and accumulation of capital is high in the city.
2.2. Distribution justly achieved in a dynamic environment with production-based structural dynamics
This view was proposed by Davies (1968), Harvey (1973), Pirie (1983), Rawls (1971), and (Smith, 1994). Among the keywords of this view is the emphasis on the relationship between the urban space and the social situation of citizens,  distribution justly achieved, the departure from the Cartesian space, the focus on the production problem in structural dynamics, and finally the justly and democratic distribution of social interests and responsibilities in space.
Some of the questions proposed in this view are who decides? Rather than for whom must be decided; control and authority of resources and services are working in what ways and for what? rather than who is the provider (supplier) and the needy (demander); how does the residents' living space has been excluded from facilities? rather than disadvantaged residents deployed in which underprivileged area. But in our study of spatial justice, the focus is still on areas instead of people.
2.3. The third view explains the role of distribution in the spatialization of injustices with emphasis on the structural productives that generate domination.
From this view (see Young, 1990; Harvey, 1992, 1996; Dikec, 2001), the purpose of spatial justice as a critical discourse is to eliminate discrimination and also reduce poverty, social segregation, and domination. Justice is a shared responsibility of engaged actors in the socio-spatial systems in which they inhabit or (re)produce them (Bromberg et al., 2007). From this perspective, it is possible to reduce the priority of the prescriptions of top-down planning and technical standards, address the city's condition, and change the focus from how it should be to how it is and how it can be.
Therefore, we can better understand the working processes and mechanisms from different aspects of the city and avoid the view that is unaware of the political/social/historical context and the trajectory of the city and its inhabitants and that does not hear diverse voices. In measuring the spatial injustice, one can not ignore development policies to improve the conditions and reduce the spatial inequalities or in parallel or opposite to them in urban areas. In this research, the urban development plan and the manner of public services distribution have been simultaneously examined to see to what extent these plans have had an impact on spatial justice or helped stabilize and strengthen injustice. It also looks for the structures that turn the just policies into their own contradictions.
Thus, the study examines the formation of a specific social, economic, and an environmental combination called urban duality, the adaptation of deficiencies to socioeconomic conditions; the concentration of spatial backwardness and uneven spatial development; and the possibility of creating a continuous spatial structure for spatial advantage in the interconnected relationship between the distribution of public services and urban policies. Meanwhile, the city of Kashan is selected as a case study.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the distribution of urban services and its dependence on urban spatial structures and the creation of spatial advantages in urban development from the perspective of spatial justice. To this end, the study of spatial justice requires a look at three categories of recognition of injustice, its causes, and consequences. The injustices in this case study (Kashan) have been considered and explored.
The research method is quantitative following a descriptive-analytic approach. Using a network access analysis model, the AHP model, and using various software, 15 types of urban services were analyzed. The data were collected from the statistical sources of the Statistics Center of Iran (2006) and the comprehensive Plan of Kashan City (2005).
The variables considered for this research focus on three main categories: (a) how to distribute the social and economic conditions of the inhabitants, the distribution of services and urban utilities; (b) the distribution of the population in the present and future conditions of the city; and (c) the conditions affecting the removal or increase injustice. All the results will indicate whether there is the possibility of creating a continuous spatial structure for the advantage of a place in a typical city.

The results of the achievement rankings in Kashan indicate that 27 percent of the city's population is deprived, 20 percent is relatively deprived, and only 19 percent is favorable. The proportion of the population of the city of Kashan in the spatial justice category in the integrated distribution of services in terms of population size also shows that 55% of citizens are in the relative fair condition. Of the other citizens, 29% of their public services is much less than their share of the population and 16% is much larger than their population share.
The results of studying the relationship between the achievement rate and the economic and social conditions indicate an inverse relationship. In this case, with an increase in the level of achievement in the regions, the positive economic and social indicators of the inhabitants of those areas have a downward trend. An increase of 50% in the city's population over the past two decades along with a growth of about 30% to the periphery and a mere 15% of service development indicates that the capital flow generated in these years has played a minor role in the growth of public services. The worst area in Kashan's injustice category has 39% of the city's newly built residential buildings, and land price (residential and commercial) is close to other parts of the city.
The prediction of a comprehensive plan for the future population of the city (based on the implementation of construction density) will reduce the share of low-income areas from 68% to 48%, which will be very effective in the city's balance and justice. But the placement of these areas in the medium density and municipality density sale will virtually turn them into densely populated areas, and the city is more vulnerable to injustice.

The results of the findings show that the trend of displacement and change of attention has caused the separation of the historical and intermediate-range from the growing area of ​​the city and its capture in the spatial trap and the formation of a particular type of development (social, economic and environmental) in the periphery. The spatial duality and the creation of a continuous spatial structure for the advantage and spatial prevalence occur when public services do not actually play a role, and the value of the exchange of land and housing will also serve to reduce spatial inequity policies.
Therefore, it is suggested that the resolution of the spatial injustice be sought in structures that produce and reproduce it, and it becomes more injustice in the gears of these structures without any consideration whatsoever of any action towards justice, Therefore, the elimination of injustice not through redistribution from the top, and proactive planning coming from planning the demand and focusing the right of the city on the part of the people can occur with active participation in decision making.

Today, quality of life is the main objective of all types of plans and strategies provided by scientists and planners. Concerns revolving around the quality of life is a characteristic of contemporary societies. Given the status quo, the urban quality of life is regarded as the most important subject in urban planning. Meanwhile, one of the important and influential elements in Islamic cities are mosques. During the course of history concerning the formation of Islamic cities, mosques have always been regarded as important public spaces with numerous social, economic, political, and physical functions, playing a pivotal role in people’s lives. Consequently, mosques are known as effective elements of citizens’ quality of life at urban or neighborhood level across Iranian cities. The purpose of the present study is to explain the role of mosques in improving the quality of life in various social, economic, physical, administrative, and environmental structures across neighborhoods in Iranian cities. Therefore, the extent of significant relation between the role of mosques and the aforementioned structures regarding the residents’ quality of life can be analyzed and explained.

Quality of life can be defined as constituting both the quantitative and qualitative aspects such as distribution of goods and services, and humans’ materialistic needs as well as mental and qualitative aspects such as social relationships, life satisfaction, participation, sense of social belonging, and the entire spiritual needs of people.
Accordingly, mosques are the main building blocks of Islam, the most superior function of which includes collective worship and prayer.
Different Types of Mosques According to their Function and Location
In terms of function, three types of mosques in cities can be pointed out (Ataei Hamedani, Hamzehnejad, & Noghrekar, 2011):A) The Grand Mosques: This type of mosque is a place to hold Friday Prayer (Congressional Prayer). Considering the sermons taking place during the Friday Prayer, these mosques play a more prominent role in politics as compared with neighborhood mosques. Finding a proper location for these mosques comparing with the following ones is of great importance. These mosques should be connected to the market and residential neighborhoods.
B) The Neighborhood Mosques: In Islamic societies, these mosques are the most accessible and can be found in every region and urban structure.
C) Marketplace Mosques: These mosques are located in the vicinity of men’s workplace, inside a bazar or other business centers where shopkeepers and others can pray.

The purpose of the present study is to examine and explain the role of mosques in improving the quality of life for neighborhood residents in Iranian cities. In terms of type, the present inquiry is an applied study conducted using the descriptive-analytical method. Data collection was carried out through library studies, while theoretical foundations were gathered using documents and approaches. Furthermore, surveys were conducted by distributing questionnaires as well as conducting interviews with the samples of the study. Criteria and sub-criteria obtained from the theoretical foundations were classified under social, economic, physical, and environmental health structures.

According to the findings of the study, the social indices on quality of life in Husseiniyah Neighborhood, Zanjan with a t-statistic of 4.561 is significantly under the influence of mosques as compared with other indices, while they have not been affected in the context of economic indices involving a t-statistic of 2.462. Subsequently, this is accompanied by other indices including physical-spatial, administrative, and environmental with t-statistics of 4.690, 3.737, and 3.643, respectively. According to path analysis, the administrative, social, and economic indices significantly affect the residents’ quality of life with total impacts of 0.907, 0.892, and 0.880, respectively, while physical-spatial and environmental indices are ranked last with total impacts of 0.810 and 0.864, respectively.

In Iranian-Islamic cities, mosques play a vital role in forming various platforms and enhancing the quality of life across neighborhoods and even at an urban scale. As a public, religious, cultural, educational, and even therapeutic center, the Husseiniyah A’azam Mosque plays a principal role in a lively and dynamic neighborhood. In fact, the presence of mosques in neighborhoods can be regarded as the main propellant of civilization across Iranian-Islamic cities.
It is worth mentioning that the Husseiniyah A’azam Neighborhood is located in the historical and distressed region of Zanjan City. According to field studies and questionnaires completed by the neighborhood’s residents, the mosque has been relatively effective in improving the indices regarding the quality of life in this neighborhood. According to the residents, the neighborhood has a relatively favorable quality of life, while it falls short as compared with neighborhoods which involve high indices of quality of life.

In the 1950s, 28% of the entire world population lived in cities, while more than 50% are urban citizens now; however, evidence still points to the growing urbanization process all around the globe. Based on predictions, more than 66% of the world population will be living in cities by 2020 (Morgan, 2003). This rapid, irregular growth of cities and urban population of the world not only have changed the meaning of the urban identity and its expected functions, particularly in metropolitan areas (James, 1991), but also have transformed urban management into one of the most complicated and essential platforms for relationships between the government and the public.
Since the second half of the 20th century following the World War II, experts in urban affairs were forced into a tangible shift towards democratic urban systems and city governance approaches from micro to macro levels as a result of fundamental changes in economic, social and political status of the world along with theoretical studies and applied research on the areas of urban planning and administration (Lerner, 2008). In other words, capacity building and empowered urban administration are emphasized by approaches and methods in line with mitigating urbanization unsustainability (Taqwayi & Taajdar, 2009).
The experiences of other countries as well as many experiences gained by municipalities across Iran show that the top-down approach in the form of different plans cannot succeed in resolving urban issues (Nasiri, 2015). Subsequently, the subject of urban governance (good urban governance) was posed as a supervision over a particular type of relation between the government and the civil society, emphasizing the assignment of a portion of urban affairs administration to the citizens. This would be followed by a suitable urban administration structure so that good governance can be realized. In Iran, this structure is based on electing members of the city council by the people, while the council elects the mayor for municipality administration in line with providing the intended urban governance (Ebrahimzadeh & Assadian, 2013). To this end, the present study was conducted to evaluate the extent to which urban governance is realized in Tabriz as well as its effect on citizen satisfaction of the municipality as one of the administrative structures in which urban governance is observed.

The concept of governance is not a new concept and dates back to human civilization. Good governance emphasizes how to achieve a government that can foster democratic and equitable development. The most important indicators of good governance include participation, transparency, legality, accountability, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness, expertise and supervision. Good governance is the result of good planning, beneficial investment in resource management, efficient participation and rational decision making. Among the research that has been done is Kennedy Stuart's essay Designing Indicators of Good Urban Governance: The Importance of Citizen Participation and Evaluation in Greater Vancouver.

The present inquiry is a survey study conducted using questionnaires. The total population of the study included the clients who referred to the municipality offices in three zones throughout Tabriz (zones 2, 5, and 6), out of whom 300 were selected randomly. Questionnaires were distributed among the sample population. The reliability of the questionnaire was obtained at a confidence level of 86% using Cronbach’s alpha in the SPSS software. 
In this investigation, the collected data were analyzed and the hypotheses were tested using descriptive-inferential statistic methods, including one-sample T test, correlation and multi-variable regression using the SPSS software.
This study seeks to provide answers to the following research questions:
What is the level of citizen satisfaction with respect to the local administration pattern according to urban governance indices?
Is there a significant relationship between citizens’ satisfaction of municipality performance and efficiency of urban governance?
What is the priority regarding the effectiveness of urban governance indices in shaping a local administration pattern?

The results of t-test show that the citizen satisfaction of municipality performance in relation with the efficiency of governance indices is at a level below average with a value of below 3. The results of correlation test show a positive and significant relationship between the variable of citizen satisfaction of the local administration performance based on governance indices. This suggests that there would be a higher citizen satisfaction in case of a better performance by the municipality and an improved governance index. Finally, six indices including notification and familiarity with rights, order and legitimacy, citizens’ trust, managers’ extent of responsiveness, reverence and respect, and specialization all have considerable effects on the citizen satisfaction of municipality performance. The notification and familiarity with rights index has the highest effect (with a value of 0.224).

The present study was an attempt to identify the criteria and factors in shaping a suitable local administration pattern based on good urban governance and also employ them to enhance and improve citizen satisfaction of this administrative entity. The following is a conclusion of the results presented in brief:
The results show that the performance of municipalities in relation with realizing good urban governance followed by citizen satisfaction was below average.
The results also demonstrate a significant, direct relationship between citizen satisfaction and the effectiveness of governance indices in shaping a suitable local management pattern.
Ultimately, the results denote the effect of the entire investigated indices on the extent of citizen satisfaction of municipality performance. The notification and familiarity with rights index has the highest effect.

As a result, the following recommendations are listed in line with improving the effectiveness and efficiency of urban governance indices so as to enhance the citizen satisfaction of Tabriz municipality performance:
Presenting a clear definition of the responsibilities of municipality staff toward clients.
Bilateral culturalization (staff and clients) in the area of building trust between the two parties.

The deployment of every urban element in the position of the body - a particular area of the city - is subjected to certain principles, rules and procedures that, if followed, will ensure the success and effectiveness of thatelement in the same place, otherwise there will be many problems with the occurrence it does. Therefore, achieving equilibrium in the spatial distribution of resources and services is the main goal of the planners. Considering the importance of locating and its position in various projects, the importance of the location of the fire stations and the direct impact on its model and performance will be determined. Provision of fire station services requires their proper location in order to distribute them appropriately to minimize their financial losses. Locating fire stations and determining the number and location of stations guarantee the safety of citizens in the event of any incident. Today, with urban sprawl increasing, development is occurring at a rapid pace outside central city limits. Large commercial and business districts (often with more office and retail space than the downtown area) quickly establish themselves in suburbia. The City of Bandar Abass has not escaped this expansion.  With current development activity expanding at the edge of existing city limits and large developments planned in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, the need for adequate fire and services increases. City of Bandar Abass with a very dense urban structure and improper unavailable network is a typical example of such cities. Optimal location and distribution of fire stations for increased important and attentions have significant importance in to the safety in the city and provide arrangements to prevent and respond to fires and accidents. Urban planning standards and the relevant regulations can have made a significant contribution in reducing the loss of life and property and for the safety of citizens in the long run. The most important issue to service fire stations in Bandar Abbas city is insufficient number of stations and the limited range of available functional stations. This study intends to provide practical examples of the application of this tool to determine the appropriate locations of fire stations according to the needs of People in Bandar Abbas's one st District. The Bandar Abbas city has a geographical location between 18 56 up to 22 56 east longitude and 08 27 to 15 27 north latitude; it is located in the eastern part of Bandar Abbas.

The general objective of Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is to assist the decision-maker (DM) in selecting the “best” alternative from the number of feasible choicealternatives under the presence of multiple choice criteria and diverse criterion priorities. The multicriterion choice can be attributed to many spatial decision-making problems involving search and location/allocation of natural resources. These problems, often analysed in GIS, include location/ site selection for: service facilities, retail outlets, critical areas, hazardous waste disposal sites and emergency service locations. A site selection decision is structured according to the following steps: (1) determining the criteria that are used in evaluating the alternatives; (2) describing relevant criteria in decision making process; (3) developing the multi-criteria site selection alternatives; and (4) evaluating the alternatives and making the final site selection decision. Site selection is a typical MCDM problem in which preference among performance criteria plays a key role in the final decision. To assess the decision-maker’s preference with a preference model, many efforts have been made to develop the theory and methodology for preference assessment. One of the most preferred approaches is Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which has been developed by Saaty (1980). In AHP, a decision problem is first decomposed into a hierarchy of more easily comprehended sub-problems, each of which can be analysed independently. The elements of the hierarchy can relate to any aspect of the decision problem. Once the hierarchy is built, the decision makers systematically evaluate its various elements by comparing them to one another two at a time. Given a pairwise comparison, the analysis involves three steps: (1) developing a comparison matrix at each level of the hierarchy starting from second level to the last level, (2) computing the relative weights for each element of the hierarchy, and (3) estimating the consistency ratio to check the consistency of the judgements . The AHP site selection solution process starts with theidentification of the pertinent site selection factors. These factors are then structured into hierarchy descending from an overall objective to various criteria and sub-criteria in successive levels. The priority weights of structured site selection factors are then determined through pairwise comparisons to reflect the judgments and relative preferences of different stakeholders. The site selection decision ends when the decision makers provide their final recommendation for the most suitable site(s) with the analysis results. The site selection process involves making spatial decisions. GIS, with the capabilities of data acquisition, storage, retrieval, manipulation, analysis and visualization, has been used for supporting spatial decision-making. were the first to combine GIS and AHP procedure to aid in site selection. The authors developed the spatial-AHP concept which uses selection criteria and area attributes recorded on GIS data maps to identify and rank potential landfill areas. In recent years, there have been a number of papers published about site selection using spatial information technologies and AHP

Using traditional methods of fire station planning for services, means wasting paper and time, but today, GIS is served as a tool to create an efficient and efficient database. The selection of optimal locations for the establishment of fire stations requires identifying and analyzing various criteria and indicators. The indicators included in the research include eight physical and social parameters, each of which is related to the map placement in the GIS environment. Information layers have been created in ArcGIS environment and the results of integration of information layers have introduced the best places for creating fire stations in Bandar Abbas municipality. Therefore, in this research, AHP method was used to estimate the relative importance of each of the parameters. By analyzing and overlapping of the fuzzy layers in the GIS environment, a final map of the location of the fire stations was prepared. Fuzzy operator AND, fuzzy gamma were used to prioritize the appropriate locations of the fire station.

Thus, the qualitative and quantitative distribution of stations are examined through a scientific method. Indicators proposed in this study consist of eight physical and social parameters that are presented in a GIS environment in conjunction with each location on the map. In this study, the method of AHP was used to estimate the relative importance of each parameter. For this purpose, according to the experts, paired comparisons were made between the criteria.
Then the overall consistency of the pairwise comparison matrix was calculated. The value of consistency ratio was 0.06. After assigning weights to each criteria, fuzzy layers were formed in GIS environment and by analyzing weighted fuzzy layers, final site selection was confirmed.

The results indicated that the existing stations are located in the priority areas. Priority areas for the establishment of fire stations include parts of the eastern region of the earth, north-west as well as west and south of the studied area. Southern and northwestern parts of the existing stations are located within a radius of action, but the western and north-eastern areas are outside the station's performance. So the construction of two new stations in the mentioned areas seems totally necessary for covering the whole region.  Finally, using Google Earth and the environmental field visits, a number of suitable locations in the north-east and west are introduced as the proposed location for the construction of a new station.

Today, the lack of identical elements in an area has led to the extinction of social interactions between the citizens which has caused the dwindling of the sense of attachment to urban environment. These elements can be divided into physical, functional and semantic factors. Due to this classification, the following study attempts to measure the effects of the land use on the identity of an area sited in the 4th zone of the municipality of Mashhad.
Telgerd neighborhood of Mashhad is known as one of the old neighborhoods in the city used to have lots of agricultural lands. This neighborhood was an actual village, but during the city development it has entered the city range. In the past, this area was known as broom-making center in which even the structure of the area was primarily full of broom-weaving workshops and the villagers used to run them and they fulfilled the urban needs. But today this structure has changed because of the Afghan refugees and that the workshops, which were the symbol and ID of the village, are now fluctuated and face problems. Given the broom-weavers’ issues and concerns in Telgerd neighborhood, which is the owners of one of the most important cities famous for its handicrafts, contains 50 or more broom-weaving workshops are of those tips needed to be more concentrated on, to use the maximum capacity of this area to boom as much as possible.

Identity is a kind of individuation which causes the identification of a person from another person, a group from another group or a culture from another culture. The identity and the character of the city begins to have meaning when the city's specific indexes emerge and appeare. According to Amos Rapoport (1981) man stabilizes his identity by dwelling. The identification process is an inductive process between the existence and its data within each object's mind although it has individual essence. Having special activities in an area is a strong potential probability for its identification. The existence of a specific application for a neighborhood in a way that it would be known to the inhabitants of the city can help the individualization of the neighborhood.

The research method used in the study is descriptive-analytical. To gather the necessary data, library documents were used. In addition, other forms of collecting data include field realization (field study), interviews with inhabitable inhabitants of Telgerd (either too old or illiterate), and a questionnaire. Samples were chosen randomly including 377 people; the sample size was calculated through the G-power software. The reliability of the questionnaire was approved by Cronbach’s alpha (0.835).
The EXCEL software is used for forming the data bank, the SPSS for analyzing the statistical data, and the G.I.S for the site data. For studying the land use influence analysis on the identity of Telgerd neighborhood due to the identical components, urban index spaces, old neighborhood, present indexes, linear and spot and also single monuments and the use of Telgerd neighborhood can all be used.

To explore the effects of land use on the identity of Telgerd neighborhood, evaluation research/study parameters did question from the residents. First, memorable and identity places in the area were studied, which the broom-weaving workshops shared the most percentage from the neighborhood to itself.
Moreover, the memorable 22 Bahman Hospital built by donors in 1998 has 14.9% of the share, whereas Javad-Al-Aemmeh Mosque built by donors shares the 18.3% of the whole percentage. According to the interviews in the past, there were more than 150 active broom-weaving workshops in the area but nowadays financial pressures and lack of skills in youngsters have caused the workshops to change the profession, and most of them are run by Afghan refugees. According to the analysis about 65 percent of the residents question the closure of the broom-weaving workshops. For ranking the identity use of the Telgerd neighborhood, Friedman’s (2017) test has been used. Statistic calculations show huge differences between the uses/functions and the rankings in which the lowest rate refers to Imam Khomeini Sports Complex and Golshoor Park, while the highest rate refers to broom-weaving workshops and the Javad-Al-Aaemmeh Mosque. Telgerd’s residents' sense of attachment due to the Kendall’s (2017) test primarily refers to priceless broom-weaving workshops (0.906) and  Javad-Al-Aemmeh Mosque (0.892), both of which are two of the most important practical sites in the Telgerd neighborhood; therefore, it is natural that the highest sense of attachment would refer to the broom-weaving workshops.

As the identity of a neighborhood is formed in quantization and needs time to be consoled, it also changes during time; therefore, the identity-forming of a place depends on both time and place. In every place, identity is visualized and time is a reminder of the memories. Cities and urban spaces have had their own specific identity, but nowadays are not anything but a set and collection of buildings and streets. Neighborhoods are the most fundamental elements of Urbanism and also a middle-circle between the city and the citizens. The primal interaction of citizens and the city occurs with the inhabitants and details/parts of an area, that is, the recognition of the details of an area is both meaningful and necessary for the citizens. Due to the differences between the residential uses and the non-residential uses, the non-residential uses can easily display themselves within the texture and introduce themselves to the environment. In addition, gathering some broom-weaving workshops would lead to node in the surface of the neighborhood and helps the details/parts of the neighborhood be distinct. Attending to some of the reasons for the closure of the workshops, including financial problems, decreasing taxes for the broom-weaving workshops, tourists attraction for visit, can help with the protection and durability of these activities. Protecting the relevant skills for these activities is also in direct relationship with the durability of these workshops. From the aspect of meaning, the main structures of Telgerd neighborhood were broom-weavers and farmers in the past; thus, naming the alleys and the streets the title of these professions can increase the inhabitant’s sense of attachment. Paying attention to the physical characteristics of the workshops in order to repair and beautify the proportion of their identity results in a higher quality and personality in the neighborhood.

Today, the design of urban spaces majorly depends on the sense of sight. Meanwhile, the other five senses have been overlooked by designers to the extent that those sensory drivers that are used to represent the identity and culture of the people such as the smell of bread and spices, the sound of coppersmiths’ sledgehammer, etc. were gradually replaced by the sound of automobiles, the odor of smoke and so on. This has led to an undesirable quality in cities (Lotfi & Zamani, 2014). Therefore, it seems that knowing how the sensory richness affects the increase in quality of the urban environment is necessary to provide solutions for the design of modern urban spaces.

In general, in this study, two main concepts of "sensory richness" and "urban environment quality" are considered. So far, in most research studies, each of these concepts has been analyzed separately, and In less research, the impact of both components on each other has been considered. In addition, researchers are most interested in measuring these components in new urban areas or neighborhoods, And less have been measured in traditional public spaces. Therefore, in this research, the effect of sensory richness components on increasing the environmental quality of Zandieh Shiraz collection has been considered. The quality of urban environment indicates the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of citizens with the social, cultural and physical conditions of the urban environment. And a high-quality environment conveys a sense of well-being and satisfaction to the population they inhabit through characteristics that may be physical, social, or symbolic (Barati and Kakavand, 1392, p. 27). On the other hand, the human experience of the urban environment is through many sensory channels of vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch, which creates a quality of the environment known as sensory richness (Sedaghat, 1396, p. 73). Which results in the formation of more spacious sensory experiences and more satisfaction than space (Bentley, 2008, p. 12).

The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted with applied purposes. The theoretical foundations of the study was collected using library studies and documents; then, the effective criteria on the quality of urban spaces and sensory richness were extracted at four levels based on the data. Finally, a set of questionnaires were designed according to the fourth level criteria and the Likert scale (very low, low, medium, high, and very high) followed by the calculation of their reliability and validity. The data were analyzed using the SPSS21. One-sample t-test and Pearson’s correlation were conducted. Given that the statistical society of this research is all users of Zandieh complex in Shiraz. According to the Cochran formula, the sample size was 365 people. And then, the sample was increased to 400 to raise the confidence level. Questionnaires were distributed based on simple random method.

To assess the extent of sensory richness of the drivers and the level of environmental quality in Zaniyah Complex of Shiraz in this study, one-sample t-test was initially employed to analyze the evaluation of the extent of each variable in these components. Finally, to evaluate the significant relations between these two components, Pearson’s correlation test was used. Since a 5-point Likert scale was used in questionnaires, number 3 was obtained as the theoretical median and the dimensions of each variable were compared accordingly. For instance, the obtained visual diversity criterion in the environment’s sensory richness was 2.87; subsequently, it is considered as the mean level because the value is close to 3. Furthermore, the mean accessibility criterion in the quality variable was 3.66. Therefore, as the criterion’s mean is above 3, satisfaction regarding the accessibility and environmental quality of the complex was assessed to be at a high level. On the other hand, the correlation coefficient between sensory richness and quality increase of the environment is 0.195. This correlation coefficient shows a low significant relation between the two variables. In addition, given to the extent of significance, which is less than the error value of alpha (0.05), it can be observed that there is a significant relation between the sensory richness and the increase in the quality of the environment.

According to the findings of the study and the one-sample t-test results, the senses of smell and taste had the highest and lowest score with values of 3.52 and 2.59, respectively. Other senses (vision, touch, and hearing) were at the average level. Furthermore, in the environmental quality component, the semantic-perceptional and aesthetics criteria were of the highest extent with the values of 3.71 and 3.55, respectively which were followed by the functional and environmental criteria. The several recommendations in this study are listed below:
Providing separate access points for drivers and pedestrians
Providing diverse and suitable routes for pedestrians, bike riders, and the disabled
Capabilities to hold social activities such as temporary exhibitions, festivals, etc.
Diversity of fast food restaurants and the unique smells of confectionaries and chocolate shops, fruit stands, bakeries, grocery shops, restaurants, etc.
Increasing the number of supervisors and the unofficial supervision even during night shifts
Providing spaces for seating, conversations, and collective games
Planting fragrant plants and flower gardens
Having harmony between colors, materials, and height to prevent conflicts in the sense of vision
Sound control using walls, vegetation, and reflection of disruptive sounds on the edges
Providing suitable microclimates to encourage the presence of people during various times of the day and different seasons
Planting fruit-bearing trees which are unique to the location such as citrus trees.

The subject of urban management seemingly arose ever since the emergence of cities. In the management process of cities, different groups play a variety of roles in managing urban affairs according to the extent of their power and awareness. During the recent decades, pluralist approaches in new fields of management have followed relativism which demonstrates a major paradigm shift in this context. According to the new paradigm, governments are no longer the sole players in the urban management field; new players include the government, people, and non-government organizations. Under the title of good urban governance, the new paradigm shows a shift from conventional policymaking systems to a multilevel and multirole approach. The present study seeks to provide answers to the following questions: What is the status of good governance indices in Kermanshah? What is the status of such indices among the different groups involved in the urban management?  

Examinations into the background of Iranian city management in general and Kermanshah, in particular, especially during the recent years show the absence of necessary social and cultural platforms for the presence, interference, and the participation of people in urban management or the lack of legal instruments for this end. The results of studies conducted by Sharifian Sani (2003), Kazemian (2003), Akbari (2006), Taghvayi and Tajdar (2009), Shamaei, Adinehvand, and Haji Zadeh (2012), Mortazavi (2013), Ebrahimzadeh, Adinehvand, Haji Zadeh, and Ghadami (2013), Ahad Nezhad (2004), and Azizi (2014) are in line with the global experiences of the World Bank, McKinley (2007) and others, all pointing to the fact that both the public sector and civil societies have not played a significant role in the field of urban management.

The general method used in this study compared the opinions of ordinary people and urban planning and management experts with respect to the good governance indices in Kermanshah. The present inquiry is an explanatory and comparative study. The total population of the study included the entire residents of Kermanshah who are more than 906754 individuals. The sample population was calculated using Cochran’s formula with 5% margin of error and 95% of confidence level. The sample population included two groups consisting of 322 ordinary citizens and 34 urban experts who were all chosen randomly.
The reliability of questionnaires was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. The results showed the reliability of all components was more than 0.7 which is acceptable based on the present recognized rules.
Using SPSS, independent sample t-test was administered to analyze the data. T-test enables a comprehensive assessment of both independent groups with regards to the mean difference between two sample populations using data from two independent samples. T-test can be employed when there is a normal distribution in both sample populations. If the distribution test of the two communities is normal and their variance is equal, the appropriate test statistic is selected. Therefore, the main objective is to examine the difference between the mean values of the two independent samples in the test.

In this study, t-test was carried out for two independent samples. The test was conducted between the independent variable of people and experts as a nominal variable and the good governance indices as an interval variable. The obtained results from the demographic data showed nearly equal participation of men and women. Moreover, 33.4% of individuals were high school graduates, while 41.6% and approximately 25% were university undergraduates and graduates, respectively. To test the hypotheses, first Levene’s test was conducted to test the equivalence of variances. The results of Levene’s test was significant in statistical terms, i.e. F (354) = 16.7, P =.000.
The results of t-test were also significant: t (55.062) = 12.046, p < 0.001.
According to the results, the experts with a mean value of 3.79 and standard deviation of 0.641 had significantly a higher mean value compared to the people with a mean and standard deviation of 2.29 and 1.076, respectively.
Differences in the average level of attitudes between experts and people was -1.508. This difference with a confidence interval of 96% was in a range of -1.878 to -1.138.
Cornees D. with a value of 2.17 shows the considerable difference between the mean values of scores demonstrating the fact that individuals’ affiliations with a specific group highly impact their attitudes and judgments. Accordingly, the null hypothesis is rejected based on the results of two independent sample t-tests, while the other hypothesis regarding the presence of a significant difference between mean values of people and experts’ opinions with respect to the good urban governance indices is confirmed.

The results of the study showed that the good urban governance indices in Kermanshah still involve a considerable difference with the hypothesized mean value of 3 highlighting the need for a major development; the onset of such a development may involve conceptualization and institutionalization which can result in the transcendental stage of culturalization in the area of good urban governance. Evidence shows that regardless of the high allocation of resources in this city, the presence of numerous issues can be observed with respect to the absence of people’s participation in managing the city and districts, low functionality of the ongoing projects by the conventional administrations, lack of responsiveness from urban managers, lack of adherence to the rules and unclear decision-making by the urban management, lack of compliance to the equity principle and fairness in the allocation of scarce resources to the entire population, particularly overlooking the vulnerable strata, and the absence of a strategic attitude through which a promising outlook could have been drawn for the city. Iranian cities require major developments in their administrative processes. As the first step, such developments require acknowledging the people as an essential part in urban management; the second step is to provide opportunities for the civil sector. It should be pointed out that synergy among the three governmental, public, and civil sectors is regarded as an umbrella term in urban management. This pattern is a new paradigm in the management of large cities, which has been formed in front of a government run the cities, which often has low efficiency.

The expansion of urbanization as a result of the globalization process has created new markets and intensified competitions over resources. To keep up with these macro changes occurring at a global level, cities are required to seek ways in line with new knowledge creation and knowledge management so as to retain competitive advantage across global markets. Subsequently, during the past few years, the concept of knowledge cities and knowledge-based urban development has received special attention within the literature on urban policy-making studies. However, the important point revolving around said concept, particularly in a developing country such as Iran, involves creating an urban management that is aware of the values of knowledge and its related capitals in the city and is capable of managing such knowledge correctly and efficiently. Cities are places where the notion of sustainability could succeed or fail in the long term. Accordingly, the subject of management in cities has become one of the central issues in the 21st century. Such a significance has manifested itself in the increased emphasis on concepts such as city development strategies, good urban governance, and sustainable urban development.
Knowledge is regarded and emphasized as an important factor in sustainable urban development in line with achieving sustainable development in many countries and scientific communities. In the recent developments, particularly with respect to the countries that have managed to enter the circle of developed countries or countries at the transition stage, knowledge has been relied on as an important development factor; it has also been considered as a sustainable pillar in development, stating that knowledge sharing could be one of the main challenges faced in development activities. The challenge and how to mitigate it have resulted in extensive attention paid to the subject of knowledge management in private and public domains.

Knowledge management is a concept created and developed in the private sector; moreover, the background of the study on knowledge management is limited to public and government organizations, particularly municipalities. Consequently, an examination into the status of knowledge management in these institutions and their effective factors can be an introduction to creating basic knowledge structures and knowledge-based developments. A keyword search for knowledge management in the municipality at Noor Specialized Magazine Database indicates that the number of related articles was less than 17 cases, of which 11 were for the municipality of Tehran. For example, in a number of articles Tabarsa et al. (2016), Khalil Nejad and Mehri (2016) and Farashi and Reshadatjoo (2014) have addressed the importance of the topic. Overall, the theoretical framework of this research has been developed to expand the idea and concept of knowledge management in urban areas. To this end, Sabzevar municipality, with a background of almost 90 years, was selected as the case for the present study. The main research question is as follows: Does Sabzevar municipality have the necessary capability and potentials to employ and implement knowledge management in its own organization?

The present inquiry was conducted using the descriptive-analytical and survey methods. In terms of purpose, this study is an applied research. Data were collected using surveys. The total population of the study included approximately 330 Sabzevar municipality staff; the sample population was calculated as 177. Finally, one third of the total population (i.e. 115 individuals) participated in the study. The main variables of the study based on a review of theoretical foundations and the related literature involved 5 main factors including human resources, organizational culture, leadership, organizational structure, and information and communication technology. To analyze each factor, 50 items were selected which are in fact, components of the main factors. As for the content validity of the questionnaire, formal validity was employed using the findings of researchers and experts. Cronbach’s alpha was also used to assess the questionnaire’s reliability. The content validity was confirmed by experts while the reliability was obtained as 0.962, demonstrating a very suitable value for the study.

The findings of the study showed that in order to implement and establish knowledge management in a local organization such as Sabzevar municipality, first its prerequisites and underlying factors should be provided at the organization. The results indicated significant common grounds between the extracted factors from the item factor analysis in this study and those of other related research. Important backgrounds to establish knowledge management in Sabzevar city were found to include factors such as information technology and provision of its related infrastructure, social capital and organizational culture, human resources and the presence of powerful labor, risk-taking, creative and knowledgeable organizational leadership, and knowledge-centered organizational structure. According to the examinations, Sabzevar city is currently at an unsuitable state as to implement and establish knowledge management. Among the aforementioned factors, Sabzevar city has only managed to receive an average score (not good or very good) in the hardware-related domain, i.e. information technology. In other factors that are majorly related to the software domain of the subject, the municipality is at an undesirable condition with scores below average. Accordingly, a possible answer can be provided to the hypotheses of the study: given the results, Sabzevar municipality does not have the suitable capabilities to implement knowledge management in terms of cultural capacities and social capital, knowledge-centered organizational structure, the presence of knowledgeable and supportive senior managers, and powerful, educated, and enthusiastic human resources. Such a situation and its continuity due to lack of attention will result in Sabzevar municipality’s failure to enjoy the necessary capabilities and potentials to provide knowledge-based sustainable urban development and become a knowledge city.

The subject of knowledge management has been greatly neglected in Iranian municipalities. With the exception of Tehran municipality, other municipalities have practically overlooked this area. Subsequently, the most important recommendation for Sabzevar municipality, as a local organization, as well as the rest of Iranian small and medium municipalities is that they transform knowledge management into an inclusive, public concern through providing the necessary hardware and software related infrastructure over time. Undoubtedly, conducting more quantitative and qualitative studies on the implementation of knowledge management at local and non-government organizations, particularly the involvement of municipalities as urban affair representatives could contribute greatly to the issue at hand.