نشریه معماری و شهرسازی ایران
پیاپی 18 (پاییز و زمستان 1398)

It seems that many environments are built on the tastes, personal values and perceptions of designers, or under the influence of the teachings of an architectural style. Therefore, regardless of the quantitative aspects, it is required to pay attention and apply the perceptible meanings of the environment that can be pleasant or unpleasant from the user's point of view. Considering the relationship between man and the built environment as the basis for determining the environmental characteristics and especially, the physical characteristics in architectural studies in Iran is new. About the design of educational environments of architecture, social interactions between the students themselves and between them and the professor can help to exchange experiences and information and provide a favorable context for the education of architecture and architectural design. Sociopetality, as a qualitative feature of the educational environment can increase the possibility of social interactions between architecture students themselves and between them and the professors and promote the learning process of architecture. This study assumes that this goal can be achieved through the creation of sociopetal environments that enable social interaction. Therefore, environmental factors affecting sociopetality in the educational environment of architecture are investigated and the relationships between them are evaluated. This research is an applied, descriptive-analytical study that is carried out using fuzzy mathematical modeling. After identifying the basic concepts of sociopetality, social interactions as well as the educational environment of architecture, the proposed model of factors influencing sociopetality was obtained through logical analysis and deductive reasoning. Then, the obtained factors were screened using Fuzzy Delphi method, and to evaluate their accuracy, a questionnaire was developed and some experts were asked to fill it. The main method used in this study is of Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, which is one of the most important methods in evaluating cause-effect relationships (Lin, et al, 2018) (Tseng, Chiu, 2013), and because of the ambiguity and uncertainty of the problem, it was decided to solve it using fuzzy theory. Therefore, the relationships between factors and their effects were investigated using fuzzy dematel method. In this study, the population included all architecture professors (with a history of teaching and attending in the architectural environment) as experts aware of the research topic. Finally, by summarizing all the comments and presenting the categorization including all the items, the main factors were divided into six general categories, which were confirmed using Delphi method, as follows: Physical elements: They determine the physical structure and provide the facilities required for the use of space. They are one of the basic human needs for comfort and convenience in a place and increase the possibility of using the environment and social interactions. Therefore, it is necessary that light, sound and temperature in the educational environment of architecture do not disturb the user (student and professor) and dissuade him/her from attending in the environment. Spatial-architectural elements: These are the elements of the physical environment, that enable the realization of a behavioral pattern by creating territories. Things like the dimensions, size and geometry of space, spatial relationships creating visual connection and spatial integration, the presence of natural elements as well as artificial elements, such as urban elements, stairs or water, can encourage people to stay and sit together and start an interaction. Aesthetic meaning: This category indicates characteristics such as novelty, diversity, harmony and spatial proportions. The proportion between content (aesthetic) meanings and current activities in educational environment of architecture influences learning. Sense of security: Security is seen as a social factor affecting sociopetality that provides the ground required for the presence of individuals. Providing adequate light and accessibility for specific groups are of factors helping to create the sense of security. Semantic-perceptual elements: The meaning of the environment at different emotional, sensational, referential, evaluative, and prescriptive levels can affect the user of space. The physical environment also acts in relation to emotions and experiences, and aids the user's perception. Concepts such as invitingness, flexibility of the environment, etc. encourage students to be present in the learning environment, and enhance the students’ social interactions and learning process by enabling changes in environmental capabilities (such as furniture) according to their needs. Functional-activity: By adapting current behavioral patterns to behavior settlements, presence and activity in the environment can be enhanced and common contexts for group behaviors in students can be created by creating a sense of belonging. Accountability activity and active employment (the possibility of various activities in place) as well as the presence of a space for interaction and conversation help the students' interactions and thus their learning. Also, based on the interaction analysis and the relationship between the factors and sub-factors influencing sociopetality, the following notes can be mentioned: “Functional-activity” factor with a net susceptibility value of 0.94 is the most affected factor on sociopetality in an educational environment of architecture. In other words, this factor is the main issue to be solved by the affecting factors. In fact, the realization of sociopetality in the educational environment of architecture depends on this factor. "Physical elements" with an effectiveness value of 0.87 is the most effective factor on sociopetality in educational environment of architecture. In other words, it is the most important factor among those influencing sociopetality and should be prioritized when designing the environment. Also, "Spatial-architectural elements" with a difference of 0.09 is the 2nd most effective factor that affects perceptual-semantic, aesthetic, sense of security and functional-activity factors, and enables different activities to be realized. Thus, light and lighting, odor and temperature, dimensions and size, geometry, spatial relationships, and the presence of natural and architectural elements were the main sub-factors affecting the sociopetal environment and playing a role in the creation of such an environment.

A contextual design is sensitive when a new construction wants to add within historic district or areas contain a significant number of historic buildings. Intervention to historic contexts especially addition and infill design have always been a big issue in the preservation field. For the new addition into urban historical context there are no simple rules for achieving quality of design   in the new addition, although a clear and coherent relationship of all the parts of the new work to the whole, as well as to the setting into which it is introduced is essential. New work should aspire to a quality of design and execution related to its setting, which may be valued both now and in the future. In shaping the built environment it is important to have a responsibility to past, present and future generations. Therefore, Infill work or design in a historic context should be linked the past to the present and projects into the future. This neither implies nor precludes working in traditional or new ways, but demands respect for the significance of a place in its setting. In the contemporary architectural addition and designs in Iran’s historical context, it is not seen a favorable interaction between historical sites and new parts. Until about 50 years ago, these interactions were less damaged by and protected against the effects of new interventions and constructions, due to the presence of traditional architects and the continued use of some deep-rooted architectural patterns, but the damage to historical buildings and collections gradually increased over time by moving away from genuine social and physical patterns. Part of this process, due to the lack of theoretical foundations and a holistic and principal approach, has practically made our historical cities disturbed and greatly distorted their historical and architectural identity. The contextualist approach, therefore, states that historical buildings, in addition to reaching a suitable appearance for living, should reflect the delicacies of traditional Iranian architecture. This study is an applied, descriptive and analytical research that is carried out based on the case study using data collection, desktop study, and field research, referring to historical documents and performing qualitative analysis. Moreover it is intended to provide clear and objective recommendations for the restoration or rehabilitation of structures, as well as new construction on vacant parcels or additions to existing buildings within the city’s old and historic districts. While portions of it are dedicated to other topics such as repair, maintenance and fascinating architectural history. After data collection and review of the physical and visual factors involved in such interventions of historical buildings and complexes, European countries such as Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, have been examined. While visiting them, different aspects of intervention, including the used materials, the relationship between historical and modern elements from the general and partial perspectives, the joints between new and old sections, etc. have been explored. Finally, it was attempted to provide some design guidelines that would physically organize the interventions performed in historical buildings and collections. These guidelines are to encourage redevelopment that is compatible with the existing character of the city’s core as well as continue to preserve the character of the existing neighborhoods. Continued regional growth has increased developmental pressures in the city’s core. These guidelines are targeted, but can also apply to new development outside of the area. The design guidelines serve as a reference for property owners, developers, residents, and public officials responsible for reviewing development plans within the area. The criteria are meant to address the exterior appearance of buildings. The guidelines are not intended to prohibit creative approaches to individual building designs, or to promote architectural uniformity. It is the intent of this document to foster collaboration between the Context and the developer/builder early in the design process of a redevelopment project. The goals of redevelopment projects is for them to reflect an understanding of the immediate site surroundings and context character. The projects should consider existing features including massing, height, setbacks, proportions, scale, roof forms, materials, articulation, lighting, signs and awnings while creating appropriate architectural design. It is a particularly useful resource for property owners, occupants, landlords, members of the design and construction professions and anyone wishing to alter a property within an old and historic district.

How citizens perceive and understand their surrounding environment depends on several dynamic and static contextual factors. Such a subjective and context-based understanding can create different emotions and feelings in people, which has created a new and adjunct approach toward studying spatial and temporal structure of the city. Investigating the relationship between built environment as a physical dimension and behavioral and emotional aspects of human has received much attention in recent studies, especially in urban planning and design studies, and has become an urgent issue in recent years. The purpose of theoretical, empirical, and applied researches in this field is generally enhancing the quality of life in city through studying a new layer that focuses on emotional-behavioral aspects of individuals. This emotional-subjective attitude toward space and its impact on the individual’s behavior in space has become important and has been utilized in recent years under the title of “urban emotions” approach, as an interdisciplinary field. Therefore, the present study aimed to introduce the approach and research area of “urban emotions” and sought to examine the importance and application of this layer in the field of urban development as well as studying vacancies in this area, and providing suggestions for future studies. Thus, this was done by referring to library resources and reviewing more than 50 published studies consisting of basic theories on the subject, theories of intellectuals in the field of urban development, and recent projects and researches generally related to the last five years, through descriptive-analytic method and using library resources. The results showed that the studies in this area can be divided into two categories of theories and basic studies and new studies initiated by Christine Nold (2009). The basic view mostly focuses on effective environmental factors in a qualitative and highly general way based on traditional methods of emotion measurement, and is mostly focused on environmental psychology and landscape design areas, which has less influenced the area of urban design and urban development. But in recent years, the emergence of new methods of measuring emotions in the field of medical sciences, psychology, and computer sciences has provided the possibility of more precise studies in the field of environmental design. New researches (in the last 5 years) in terms of frequency include four domains: 1) focused on emotion measurement; 2) new methods of emotion measurement; 3) investigating the factors affecting emotion in the environment; and 4) applications of emotion. However, these studies mostly focus on emotion measurement in urban environments and emotion measurement methods, and few studies have also examined the factors affecting emotion in the environment and its application in the field of urban development as a pilot. Therefore, based on ongoing studies in the field of emotion monitoring methods, it has become possible to review and study the theories which are more basic, more applied, and exclusive in the field of urban environment. Also, review of basic theories and recent studies in the field of urban emotions showed the importance of the issue in the field of urban development. Despite the importance and application of this interdisciplinary field in urban studies, the scientific potentials of this new approach in all diverse aspects of urban use and analysis have not yet been explored which requires more precise and extensive evaluation in urban sciences. According to the conducted studies and its adaptation to different areas of urban study, the most important areas of application of this new layer can be: 1) mental health area, 2) happy city and pleasant urban spaces area, 3) Attachment to place area, and 4) area of collaborative urban planning and smart city. Also, evaluation and measurement of the built environment, evaluation of the psychological effects of a plan before its implementation, and providing new citizen-centered designing and planning opportunities are among the benefits of applying the subject in the field of urban development. Overall, the results showed that in recent years, the area of “urban emotions” has opened up a new meta-human approach to analysis and examination of dynamic interactions in time, space, and perception and emotions of human, especially in urban planning and designing processes. “Urban emotions” has proposed a human-centered approach as a mediator between research fields such as geo-informatics, computer science, computational linguistics, sensor technology, citizenship sciences, and spatial planning. The main purpose was to produce a layer of new information that visualizes the measured spatial emotions. This visualization allows for concluding about humans behavior in urban environments and creates a new citizen-centered perspective in designing and planning process. Over the past few decades, new advances have made the use of new methods and technologies possible. However, scientific potential of this process has not been fully exploited, and the possibility of using it for innovative analysis and simulation needs to be widely evaluated in urban sciences. These new data and information layers can provide new insights into the development of intrinsically complex and dynamic physical and social structures of urban environments. It can be used in the field of urban development and can be generalized and used in other related areas such as public health, traffic management, security, tourism, and more.

 Behavioral design of urban spaces should be considered as a democratic and human value in nowadays urban developments, in order to meet various human behaviors in a non-deterministic, impartial, and disinterested fashion. However, the inattention to democratic and behavioral values provides an intolerable problem in the process of urban design in Iran, ignoring the importance of multiple qualities and realities (social, cultural, political, economic, environmental, and even technological) of existing urban spaces. The deterministic urban projects, which is partly derived from limited and exclusionary capitalism, and also the deterrent traditional urban attitudes and personal interests in our country, literally jeopardize our urban spaces and cause them to lose their "Public and Civic" character  and essence. The urban environment, therefore, no longer accommodates a wide range of users, as well as the interactions and varied democratic behaviors associated with them, and thus the concept of “Freedom in Action and Behavior” is sorely neglected more than ever. As a result of these shortcomings, people have no incentives to take active roles in urban spaces and just do some mere necessities on the basis of this deterministic context, and, therefore, the correlation between human and city is fractured left and right. This problematical complicated situation leads to the emersion of degraded spaces with underdeveloped behavioral values and undemocratic contents. Thus, the shape and content of many of our cities (of course if we can call them cities because of the lack of articulation between “urbs” and “civitas”) are transformed into the collections of mere populations, substandard spaces, and dense soulless buildings. How beautiful Barati says “the cities of our country have become Noncity, which leads to social despair”. These statements actually shed a light on the fact that our current cities have lost their spatial, local, and humanistic features and thus people are mutually forced to reiterate repetitive and populistic behaviors. We should be aware of what is turn to a really important matter today, that the less we honor open and democratic urban societies and behavior-based spaces, the more we will face with disinterested and passive urban users.   

This study seeks to find a rational responsive framework by scrutinizing the behavioral and democratic urban theories, an anti-elitism and anti-totalitarianism framework that might comprise absent characteristics and criteria of our urbanism and can crystalize some effective solutions in the process of democratic design of behavioral urban spaces for removing the widespread deep-rooted urban dilemma, which we are facing with. Research hypothesis: the actualization of behavioral-based and democratic realities of our urban spaces (which can be called the process of democratic design of behavioral urban spaces) can lead to more people-friendly and efficient urban structures. Research

This study is conducted through content analysis and comparative methods. The analyses and descriptions are also followed by a non-interventionist approach that solely tries to systematically highlight the scattered patterns and points throughout a set of texts. The required information is also collected through the structured study of related theoretical documents. Findings and

This study partly discovers that the urban design practices should not be seen as a lever to “Radical Exercise of Power”, but as a tool for achieving “Humanistic Participatory Development”. Accordingly, there are two important issues here: “Behavioral Freedom” and “Democracy”, which have to be perceived with big “B and F” and “D”, on a grand scale, in their purest nature and most fundamental and impressive forms. In this study, therefore, an attempt is made to collect the required characteristics of behavioral urban spaces, and to extract the general criteria for democratic urban design within two environmental (i.e. responsive qualities) and social (i.e. the right to the city and public participation) dimensions, to exactly integrate them, and subsequently attain the process of democratic design of behavioral urban spaces. The realization of this process may turn our urban environments to a suitable context for the manifestation of a wide range of “Voluntary and Social” activities, vis-à-vis the “compulsory” ones. Thereby, the urban spaces will be democratically formed based on behavioral and social values; in fact, people will absolutely utilize the practical freedom to make their places more democratic based on their needs, the kind of places that can bring “Multiplicity” and “Throwntogetherness” into action.

Thematic analysis has been used as a qualitative method for data analysis in various fields, especially psychology, behavioral sciences, health, and sociology. However, this approach, which emphasizes the content of the text, and views language as a direct and transparent path to meaning, has been less applied in the field of architecture and urban planning. Thematic analysis is a flexible theoretical approach, easy to learn, able to summarize data, and so on. Hence, it can be applied to a wide range of qualitative environmental studies, particularly to understand the users’ perception of the environment, which shapes their relationship with the environment, by classifying the meaning patterns within the data set. Using this approach allows provide an in-depth description of the data, and to highlight the similarities and differences between the data, thereby enabling the creation of rich and complex data. The present study introduces the thematic analysis as a flexible method, through a sample study undertook this method, and describes its six steps, including familiarizing with data, assigning preliminary code, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and finally, producing a report. It explains how the thematic analysis is used in built-environment studies. The study presented as a sample attempts to identify the meaning experienced by people in the architectural space. It strives to answer the following question, "What aspects of meaning are perceived when moving through a built environment?" The aim was to focus on the influence of physical properties on the users’ experiences of the environment to obtain useful findings for architects and environment designers. To identify the widest possible range of capabilities for movement and the possible experiences obtained with them, an interview was designed using “phenomenological ethnography” approach, in which students and staff of an academic campus were asked to respond to the questions of a deep, qualitative interview ‎when moving on their daily paths in the campus. Each participant was asked to move, along with the interviewer, on his/her daily main paths, express his/her thoughts and feelings about the path. Each interviewee were also asked to take photos of the phenomena affecting route selection, and explain why and how they affect. The thematic analysis of the interview content reveals eight meanings of efficiency, convenience, legibility, sense of belonging, agency, invitingness, attraction, and beauty, which can be summarized under 3 themes of physical comfort, involvement, and making sense (being apprehensible). These themes explain the main meanings experienced by people during movement between and within buildings. The findings show that some of the physical properties of the path clearly lead to the experience of certain meanings. Based on these findings, users experience efficiency in short, direct, and simple paths with minimum barriers. Paths with multiple accesses and amenities provide more convenience. Distinct paths with clear boundaries and adequate signs are easier to remember. All of these properties of a path provide an experience of physical comfort for those who move through the environment. The findings, on the other hand, suggest that navigable paths, containing reference points can be easily understood and remembered, and therefore, affored legibility. Other properties of the path that make it private, familiar and friendly, or make people feel more comfortable in it, allow for a sense of belonging. Together, these qualities of legibility, familiarity, friendliness, and the like enhance making sense of the environment for users. Finally, according to other part of findings, individuals can engage and involve in environments (identifying themselves as part of environments) where they, in addition to feeling more sense of invitation, experience agency that results from a greater sense of control over the environment through visual access and so forth. Crossing paths that have pleasing aesthetical qualities, and arouses individuals’ positive emotions, yield similar results and increase the involvement in the environment. These results can be used to design environments that are more favorable to users, and could help to create the desired architectural spaces for them by considering the attributes that provide physical comfort, the qualities through which individuals make sense of their settings, and those that more strongly attract and involve users with their built environments. Moreover, the process of thematic analysis, introduced in this article, can be applied for analyzing contents in similar qualitative research in the field.

Due to the hot and humid climate of the southern coastal cities of Iran, radiation and airflow play a very important role in thermal comfort feeling. If the wind flow is compatible with shade, they cause more evaporation in the perspiration process and cool the body, allowing people to continue working at temperatures above the comfort zone. Therefore, the orientation of buildings in these regions should be determined simultaneously based on the optimum use of solar radiation and wind flow. This research aims to determine the best orientations of buildings, compatible with climate, in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Ahvaz cities, by surveying the amount of direct radiation energy received by the vertical surfaces of buildings.
Research

To calculate the amount of direct radiation energy received by the vertical surfaces in different geographic directions, firstly, the parameters related to the solar geometry including solar hour angle, declination angle, side angle, Zenith angle, and sun altitude were extracted using computational relationships and Q-BASIC software, in different hours of the day, in studied cities. Secondly, using the “Law of cosines” computational method and Olgyay chart, the amount of per hour direct radiation energy, received by vertical surfaces in 24 geographic directions was measured through theoretical and real calculation. Thirdly, based on the minimum temperature of thermal comfort, the amount of energy received by the surfaces was calculated for hot and cold periods of the year, separately. Fourthly, the most appropriate orientations for one-sided, two-sided, and four-sided buildings were determined based on the maximum difference between the received energy in the cold and hot periods and the highest percentage of radiation received in the cold period of the year.
Research

The amount of received energy during the hot period compared to the whole year according to the Law of Cosines and Olgyay chart methods, is respectively 80.8% and 82% in Bandar Abbas, 66.1% and 67.9% in Bushehr, and, 67.4% and 65.7%, respectively. The results indicate that the duration of hot period of the year is longer than cold period in studied cities and the highest amount of energy is obtained through the hot period, therefore it is necessary to control the absorption of solar radiation by external surfaces and to prevent the penetration of radiation into the internal spaces during the hot period in these cities. Accordingly, the best orientations for building in studied cities are determined based on the minimum amount of solar energy received during the hot period. The best orientation for one-sided buildings according to the Law of Cosines in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Ahwaz is 180º South and the maximum amount of received energy in the hot period is respectively 75.7%, 54.1% and 54.5%. Also, the best orientation for one-sided buildings according to Olgyay chart in Bandar Abbas is the orientations of 165º Southeast and Southwest with the maximum amount of 74.6% and in Bushehr and Ahvaz is 180º South with the maximum amount of 52% and 52.8% received energy, respectively in hot period of the year. Based on the minimum received energy during the hot period, the best orientations for two-sided buildings using the Law of Cosines and Olgyay chart in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Ahvaz are the North-South direction. The maximum amount of received energy during the hot period using the mentioned methods is respectively 77.3% and 77.4% in Bandar Abbas, 57% and 56.1% in Bushehr, and 57% and 56% in Ahvaz. Also, the best orientation for four-sided buildings using the Law of Cosines and Olgyay chart in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Ahwaz is respectively (165, -15, 75, 105) and (-165, 15, -75, 105) degrees. The maximum amount of received energy during the hot period using mentioned methods is respectively 79.8% and 81.1% in Bandar Abbas, 66% and 67.6% in Bushehr and 65.4% and 67.3% in Ahvaz.

The results show that the optimum orientations using the Law of Cosines and Olgyay chart methods, for one-sided, two-sided and four-sided buildings are the same in studied cities. In order to obtain the optimum amount of solar energy on vertical surfaces, the best orientation for one-sided buildings in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Ahvaz is respectively 180º South and 165º Southeast and Southwest. The best orientation for two-sided buildings in studied cities is North-South and then (165, -15) and (-165, -15) degrees. The best orientations for four-sided buildings in those cities are (165, -15, 75, -105) and (-165, 15, -75, 105) degrees then (180, 0, 90, -90) degrees.

It is a complex and comprehensive topic to reach comfort conditions, and all possible factors must be kept at an optimum level to achieve it. Comfort in urban open spaces is one of the main bases of the use of these areas by citizens and creating a suitable environment for them through protecting against inappropriate climatic conditions seems essential. Thermal comfort is the comfort desired in this study. Thermal comfort is one of the essential factors that should be considered in the process of urban open space design.Urban open spaces should have comfort conditions including thermal comfort to improve quality otherwise they will turn into dead spaces. Accordingly, in line with creating the desired space, one of the most significant aspects is designing open spaces in cities and residential neighborhoods to provide citizens with comfort, and also paying attention to the quality of these spaces. The quality of the urban open spaces use depends on multiple factors that among these factors thermal comfort is particularly important among them. A public space that cannot provide comfort for users would be used less and even avoided. Therefore, according to the importance of providing thermal comfort in open spaces of urban and neighborhood, the purpose of this study is to analyze the thermal comfort conditions of residential open spaces in Isfahan by using three standard effective thermal temperature indicators, physiological equivalent temperature, predicted mean vote of winter and summer seasons, and unfold their performance and thermal behavior. In this paper, four neighborhoods of Ali Gholi Agha, Jolfa, Mardavij, and Dashtestan in Isfahan have been studied and analyzed. The research method used in this article is case study in which field surveys and evaluation of environmental and personal variables of four selected neighborhoods have been done. In this research, the variables were obtained using measurement, computing, and questionnaires. The sample size also included residents and users of public open spaces in selected neighborhoods that one hundred questionnaires used to survey 100 individuals in each field based on the Nichol method. Therefore, in this study, eighty hundred residents and users of neighborhoods were selected as sample size. Eight hundred questionnaires were randomly filled out in four neighborhoods of Ali Gholi Agha, Jolfa, Mardavij, and Dashtestan located in Isfahan city in two hot and cold seasons. In this regard, the respondents were 52.37% male and 47.63% female, and their average age was 33.5 years. Also, in this study, the RayMan model version 1.2 was used as computational software to calculate the indices. This software uses climate data, personal information, activity, clothing, and information like latitude and longitude, height above sea level, cloudiness level, etc. to calculate selected attributes, and then the results are compared with the existing standards. Then, to validate the data and compare the thermal indices with the results of field surveys, neutral temperature and average thermal sensation of users are also obtained. Finally, the validation results of standard effective temperature indicators, physiological equivalent temperature, and predicted mean vote of open space in Isfahan neighborhoods showed that field perceptions differ from the results of the index calculation in some cases, and it does not match with the real situation. In this way, RayMan's computational program, without considering factors such as thermal sensation and psychological factors such as behavioral adjustment, expectations, thermal experiences, duration of presence, mental perception and so on, can be one of the reasons for the discrepancies of the indices computation results with field observations. The results also showed that the three indices of standard effective temperature, physiological equivalent temperature, and predicted mean vote were independent of each other; the behavioral independence of their data is also evident in the thermal condition results of the selected neighborhoods. Totally, according to the analysis of outdoor thermal comfort conditions of residential neighborhoods using thermal indicators, it was found that the thermal comfort status of the studied neighborhoods open spaces was not very favorable in both hot and cold seasons; but by validating and comparing them with the results of field studies, their conditions changed, and all the neighborhoods except Mardavij are in the comfort zone in the warm season. Finally, the thermal comfort conditions of the selected neighborhoods based on the above indices were presented in two hot and cold seasons, and validity indicators were introduced to evaluate thermal comfort in Isfahan open spaces.

 and Statement of the problem: Having a space for keeping humans’ soul-less bodies in towns creates spaces called cemeteries that was respected in the past and existed in the main structure of the city because the connection between the world of the living and the dead was much greater. Today, because of fear of death and lack of connection between cities and cemeteries, these spaces are known as rejected spaces. The importance of the cemeteries space is to the extent that some scholars consider the beginning of sedentismto bury the dead and build the cemeteries in a specific place. Cemeteries as the ultimate home of human beings are among the urban spaces where citizens find themselves at the intersection of life and death. The design of these places should strive to create a suitable environment that will heal citizens and provide them with reflective space in addition to  bury the dead. However, much of the studies in this area have focused on issues such as the location of cemeteries and their cultural and historical landscapes and less on the impact of cemeteries on the surrounding context. Population growth, in turn, increases mortality rates. Therefore, more tombs and cemeteries are needed as municipal services. This is possible in a variety of ways, such as extending the old cemeteries, creating new cemeteries, making graves multi-level and increasing their number. Goals: One of the ways to meet the need for graves is the expansion of the old cemeteries and the direct and indirect impact of cemeteries on the whole city or its neighboring neighborhoods, in the short and long term, must be investigated. The present research seeks to investigate the effects of cemeteries on their adjacent texture in terms of various physical, social, economic, environmental, landscape, etc. dimensions.

The current research is applied in terms of type and the method used is qualitative, Delphi technique in two rounds was used to compute the indices. At first, using Delphi method (10 experts), the important indicators in assessing the effects of cemeteries on adjacent tissue were examined, then 21 in-depth random interviews with residents and business districts (including 52% men, 48% women and 43% between 39- 20, 38% between 59-40 and 19% over 60 years( were done.

Imamzadeh Soltan Ebrahim cemetery near Quchan City was selected as the case study. The research findings show that the existence or expansion of the cemetery affects different dimensions of the adjacent neighborhoods. The effects of the cemeteries are mainly manifested as traffic and access problems; psychological problems; fear and insecurity, especially among women; as well as environmental problems such as unpleasant smell, noise caused by traffic, and visual uniformity. The residents’ views also affect these issues: if they live in this space from childhood, they will not leave the site and land prices will not change much; but if people find this environment as an isolated place, they will try to leave the environment and the area will be vacant. Therefore, urban planners should pay attention to the appropriate distance of the cemeteries from the residential buildings to reduce the neighboring residents’ problems. Some services may also be modified due to the residents’ needs, or new services may be created. The spread of cemeteries may affect the performance and efficiency of some land uses, for example, sales and income will fluctuate. Therefore, the performance of under-effect land uses, especially their economic performance, should be examined to minimize the damage to the surrounding businessmen. Meanwhile, the radius of access to important uses should be re-calculated in order to better answer the neighborhood residents’ needs. Creating a calm atmosphere and reducing the sense of fear and insecurity by creating a safe environment also may modify the residents’ attitudes towards the afterlife (The Cemeteries next to the Imamzadeh give more comfort to the surrounding residents and visitors because of the religious beliefs of the people, and because of the historical nature of the imamzadehs, historical building issues should also be considered.) It sould decrease the mental turmoil of the visitors by creating interesting scenery and visual variety. The cemetery planning must prevent environmental problems by keeping proper distance and prevent contamination of water, soil, etc. The placement and extension of cemeteries should also be such that the dominant wind from its side should not be toward the particularly residential regions. In addition, the deployment of protective green space is another consideration that should be taken into account when planning Cemeteries. By providing a scenic environment, planners should also try to connect this environment with the surrounding texture and create a more interactive space, as they did in the past.

Iranians have realized the value of human-nature relationships within cities for thousands of years and have been pioneers in creating this relationship. That is to say, simultaneous with human settlements in fixed locations and emergence of cities, the nature of those areas in general, and in particular, the land, surface waters (rivers, lakes, marshes, and ponds) and groundwater were exploited and transformed. The advent of the European Industrial Revolution and its following evolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries led to major changes in people’s lifestyles, as a result of which, human being, thinking to domination over nature and exploitation of it, started to destruct the nature and over time, these changes became more intense such that land became an economic commodity. In the present century also, due to the growth of urbanization and intensification of changes in the way human beings think about nature, the long-standing equilibrium of man and nature has tended toward human’s dominance over nature. However, since a few decades ago, the need for a change in attitude toward nature was emphasized; that is, the shift in attitude toward the earth from perceiving it as a commodity for human use and benefit to perceiving nature and landscape as a matter of particular values ​​and restoration of the sense of connection between human being and the earth on which it lives. In other words, today human beings believe in their adaptation to nature in the framework of environmental sustainability and maintenance as access to open and green spaces is the key to human health. The rapid growth of suburbs due to uncontrolled constructions, population growth, rapid suburban changes, and increased urban wastes and industrial wastes are all threats that endanger the planet and the future of human life, some of its symptoms are already present which have emerged as destructive changes, increased natural disasters, and climate change. With the trend that today’s human is following, many habitats will soon be destroyed by human activities and all of the human cultural heritage which is part of the natural environment will be destroyed. These undesirable changes and consequences are the results of the inaccurate method of designing and constructing separated from the natural substrate and in line with destroying it. The balance between man and nature was governed by nature. In the 19th century, with the rapid development of technology and the subsequent increase in urbanization process destroyed the long-standing equilibrium of human and nature. So, by reflecting on the relationship between man and nature throughout history and the process of human domination over it, solutions can be found to adapt the constructions to the environment and landscape and to prevent the current acceleration toward the destruction of cultural-natural diversity. Natural elements are part of the natural landscape that arises as a result of the overlap and interaction between human and nature. Thus, the revitalization of urban space and its main structure provides the basis for growth and is as a lever for urban development. Natural elements are part of the natural landscape that arises as a result of the overlap and interaction between human and nature. Since natural elements have multiple functions such as creation of social spaces, visual and environmental richness, creation of a sense of belonging to the place, environmental utility, and so on, therefore, restoration and revitalization of natural landscapes in the city are very important. This issue would be more important in urban rivers located in the northern regions of Iran due to their special role and functions. The river of Amol Shahr-roud, which flows from the historical sites of Amol city, is one of the most prominent natural resources of the historical city of Amol which plays an important role in the formation of the historic city of Amol and its districts. The main purpose of the present study is to achieve some principles, strategies, and solutions for revitalizing the natural landscape of urban rivers especially regarding the case study, the River of Amol Shahr-roud such that it can establish a positive interaction between users and the natural environment in physical, functional and environmental aspects.The present study was done in descriptive-analytical method and library documents and field method (use of satellite images, etc.) were used to collect the data. The successful domestic and foreign experiences and the principles of its application to the interaction between human and nature in these cities have also been analyzed. The results show that if it is possible to recreate the role of Amol Shahr-Roud as an effective element on quality of urban landscape by revitalization of the unusable spaces in the route and the Amol Shahr-Roud river walls along the route, it will be possible to take advantage from this river that is spread from the north to the south of the city to respond to the needs and activities of the city people. This study also indicates that the River of Amol Shahr-roud as a domestic river plays an important role in physical landscape, and social and environmental life of the texture of ancient neighborhoods which are recognized as physical, social, and environmental capitals of the natural landscape of the city and affect so much on linear and flexural formation, spatial hierarchy, walking routes, public facilities, integration of environmental elements, and ecological sustainability of the environment and its ecosystem.

According to studies, designing street landscapes is a field that, despite its importance, has been neglected so far. Street landscape perception is a complex concept that needs to be broken down into constituent components in order to be studied and understood more precisely. Given that the main focus of this research is on active walls of the ground floor, the components constituting street landscape are divided into three general physical, functional and contextual groups. Regarding physical components of street landscape perception, pedestrian movement path can be considered as a room consisting of various lateral surfaces including flooring surface, active walls surface, surface facing the passage, and surface hanging in the space. In this sense, pedestrian movement path is simulated as a room where the observer is in the middle of the path and perceives the space from a human point of view. The functional component of street landscape perception consists of two sub-components of land use and behavioral activities and patterns. The contextual component also consists of a sub-component of historical and identity backgrounds. Urban design qualities of designing street landscapes in this study includes functional qualities of sidewalk landscape including comfort and convenience, safety and security, readability and mental image, accessibility and communications, timeliness and transparency; and aesthetic qualities of sidewalk landscape include sensory richness, order and unity, complexity, color, texture and materials, spatial hierarchy and sequence, and human scale and enclosure. The components constituting active walls consist of two physical (including external and internal elements of a building) and functional (including ground surface activities, readability, orientation, sense of invitation, and interaction of citizens with street space) dimensions. In order to achieve a comprehensive view in this field, a combination of different methods has been used. In the first phase of the study (development of the research framework and theoretical foundations), library studies method was first used to investigate and collect the components and criteria from studies related to street landscape perception and active walls of ground surface. In the second phase of the study (gathering information on street landscape and active walls in the studied site), quantitative and qualitative methods of assessing street landscape perception, including behavioral observation, checklists, technical drawings (plan, cross-section, and facade, qualitative drawings (sketch), image recording (photography), and activity recording were used. Scoring each of the indicators was done in the form of the 7-point Likert’s scale. Then, the data obtained in this section was analyzed in the next phase (analysis) using SWOT matrix. The purpose of using this model is to develop and adopt appropriate strategies between internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) in line with the research goals. In this study, SWOT analysis is followed in four steps (evaluation of external and internal factors, matching and determination of strategies, formation of internal and external matrix and implementation priorities, and preparation of Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). Weighing the internal and external factors including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as scoring the strategies were done using opinions of a group of 15 urban design experts. This is while in the earlier phase, namely, SWOT Matrix adjustment and scoring it, participation of 71 experts of urban design, faculty members and students of urban design field was used. In this regard, a total of 59 internal factors (21 strengths and 38 weaknesses) and 35 external factors (23 opportunities and 12 threats) were identified. Among the strengths, the optimum orientation of residential unit openings toward public space and connection of the area to two main and busy streets of the city as a factor of enhancing social security and vitality have the highest final scores. Restricted behavioral pattern of space users and high share of forced activities compared to voluntary and social activities are considered the strongest weaknesses. Among the external factors also the possibility of designing diverse land uses attracting all social strata and possibility of designing micro-scale urban spaces aiming to increase diversity of behavioral patterns of those present in the space are considered the most effective opportunities, and inactiveness and abandonment of other old and valuable land uses and distortion of street landscape, especially ground floor landscape due to multiplicity and diversity of uncoordinated openings are considered the strongest threats. Therefore, low mean scores obtained from the studied indices indicate relatively poor quality of street landscape components in the area. The scoring matrix of the four components of street landscape perception divided by the first to third sequences and the eastern and western fronts of Khayyam Street can be analyzed saying that given the sum of the obtained scores in each sequence of the street, generally, the third sequence has the highest score followed by the first and the second sequences with the lowest score indicating poor quality of the studied components in this sequence. The mean score of the set of indicators in Khayyam Street is equal to 3.88, which is somewhat lower than the average level. The low mean scores obtained from the studied indices indicate relatively poor quality of street landscape components in the area. Sum of internal factor scores is 1.894 and the sum of external factor scores is 2.965. Given the sum of final scores of internal and external factors, the selected strategies fall into the cell of conservative strategies. In other words, the street landscape, and especially its active walls, despite its weaknesses and threats, has relatively large strengths and opportunities. Therefore, strategies for creating spatial openings and designing urban spaces of varying scales in them and attracting observers’ attention to signs and other physical events and enhancing citizens’ sense of presence are prioritized over other strategies.

"Urban elements" are parts of "urban furniture" with a variety of dimensions and features, and according to the definition, "abstract or integral 3D synthetic elements to buildings are in such a way that they can convey concepts from the environment to users of urban space." Symbols and statues commonly represent artistic reflections of memories, human beings, events, beliefs, etc. These urban elements have sometimes been referred to as a socio-cultural symbol. The origin of the urban symbols is yet unknown. The symbol as the main linguistic axis has been with humans from a long time ago and has always taken on the color or present of any occasion or situation. Urban symbolism is a phenomenon within the city that is signified in a conventional experience. This meaning assignment or semantic load can take many different forms. That is, it can come out of a free contract and people's subconscious gradually brings something closer to one another in a biological experience, or it can fit into their minds, or this contract can be the result of power. In the case of urban symbolism, the first point we come across is the dynamism or high flexibility of these symbols. Symbols change over time and are not understood in the same way. People's different perspectives also make this symbolism different. On the other hand, the environment contains a set of behaviors that are interconnected and have common seasons. These settings have two basic elements: (i) a behavioral indicator paradigm, and (ii) a physical setting. A physical location may be part of several behavioral settings if current behavioral paradigms occur in one behavioral setting at different times. A behavioral setting enables one to achieve satisfaction, which is different for various individuals. A set of environmental capabilities in a particular situation creates a potential environment for human behavior in that location. However, not all of these capabilities are perceived by people. Processes of spatial perception, cognition, and behavior are influenced by individual and group competences as well as the structure of the environment. According to differences in individual competencies, some competencies are biological and some are sociocultural. These differences affect how the environment is perceived. The less qualified one is, the more pressure he will tolerate. The more qualified a person is, the more freedom he will experience and the social and physical environments limit his behavior less. This study aims to find the relationship between emotional intelligence and urban symbols. The term emotional intelligence was first introduced as a form of social intelligence by Sullivan and Meyer (1990). However, the precise term of emotional intelligence was introduced by Daniel Goleman (1995) that ignited many arguments. Researchers identify and describe emotional intelligence by evaluating concepts such as social skills, interpersonal abilities, mental development, and awareness of one's own emotions and the ability to control emotions. The research methodology is correlative and analytical through this study. Library resources, as well as field data, were used to collect data. The statistical population of this study consists of the young individuals in Tehran and the sampling method of research is random sampling. The data were collected through two questionnaires. The standard questionnaire "Emotional Intelligence Bar-On" was used to measure emotional intelligence and the questionnaire was designed with the help of studies and expert comments to assess environmental preferences and other required aspects. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaires, which was 91% for the emotional intelligence questionnaire and 87% for the environmental preference questionnaire. The collected data were then analyzed quantitatively using SPSS software. The present study concluded that there is a direct and significant correlation between the components of emotional intelligence including emotional self-awareness, self-assertiveness, self-esteem, and independence, as well as the total amount of emotional intelligence of the respondents and their desire to have symbolic elements in architecture and urbanization. According to the psychological research on emotional intelligence and its enhancement and promotion strategies, it can be promised that the symbolic architecture provides a platform for enhancing the level of emotional intelligence of users of architectural and urban spaces, improving the level of social interactions in urban spaces, and enriching activities by increasing users' emotional self-awareness and challenging their aesthetic perceptions.

Currently, neighborhoods play an important role in local plans and programs in cities and have an important status in urban development. Urban neighborhoods are referred to as the key to urban development, public participation, and giving identity to urban environments. On the other hand, in Iranian urbanization also neighborhood has a very long history and it has been one of the main elements in the structure of Iranian cities. One important issue in relation to neighborhood concept is the proper definition of the territory of neighborhoods. Many of the plans and programs provided for development, improvement, and enhancement of neighborhoods are somehow linked to the territory of neighborhoods and their definition. Meanwhile, the first step is to correctly define the dimensions and boundaries of neighborhoods and the role of neighborhood residents. In this regard, despite studies carried out in western countries and the development of methods to assess and analyze perceptions of residents of the territory, there have been very few studies in the country. The present study aims to firstly determine the extent of collectiveness of residents’ perceptions of neighborhoods’ territory and secondly examine and analyze how the eight variables (derived from individual differences among neighborhood residents) affect residents’ perceptions of neighborhood territory. The considered variables are gender, age, education, job, duration of residence, type of ownership, mode of residence (native, non-native), and having neighborhood relations. First, the theoretical foundations associated with the study are reviewed and then the methods used to define neighborhood territory are introduced using residents’ opinions. The research method is quantitative and survey along with statistical analysis and spatial information analysis. For this purpose, 600 combined questionnaires along with annex map were distributed in 6 neighborhoods of Mashhad according to the neighborhoods determined in Detailed Plan of the city of Mashhad (including neighborhoods of Sarshur, Sa’ad Abad, Samzghand, Touraj, Shahrbani Town and neighborhood 9 of Qasim Abad). Sampling method was multistage cluster sampling. The information analysis process was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, descriptive information of residents’ perception of the neighborhood was analyzed and in the second stage, the information obtained from cognitive maps of residents from the territory of the neighborhood was analyzed using Geographic Information System (GIS). The study results show that the majority of respondents try to define their place of residence in the framework of a neighborhood territory. Regarding the variables of neighborhood name and location of the neighborhood center, in most neighborhoods, there is disagreement among the residents. Meanwhile, local centers and neighborhood mosques play an important role in residents’ perceptions of neighborhood territory. Analysis of the information regarding the neighborhood’s perceived territory shows that in all neighborhoods, the average perceived territory area of the neighborhood is lower than the contracted neighborhood area in the Detailed Plan. Overlap rates in the studied neighborhoods were reported as ranging between 10 to 70 percent among residents. The results of examining common points in neighborhood borders show that in most neighborhoods the boundaries of the contracted neighborhood territory in the Detailed Plan in four geographical directions are different from the neighborhood borders perceived by the residents. Also, in the respondents’ answers, the location of the common area territory in each of the neighborhoods is mostly based on the activity centers within the neighborhoods. Results of Kruskal-Wallis statistical test show that residents’ perceptions of neighborhoods’ territories in different urban contexts are different from the contracted neighborhoods defined in urban development plans. Also, the average perceived territory areas in different urban contexts are significantly different from each other. To examine the variables of individual differences of residents and how they affect the residents’ perceptions, the mean area index of residents’ perceptions of the neighborhood territory was used. Mann-Whitney statistical test was used to analyze the three variables of gender, type of ownership, and type of residence; and Kruskal-Wallis test was used to analyze the five variables of education, age, duration of residence, type of occupation, and the number of neighborhood relations. The results show that males and owners of residential units significantly perceive the neighborhood territory larger than the other groups, and residents who are housewives and students, compared to other groups of occupations, significantly perceive the neighborhood territory smaller than the other groups of employees. Regarding the variables of age, duration of residence, level of education, and the amount of neighborhood relations, there were no significant differences in residents’ perceptions of neighborhood territory. The present study provides recommendations on application of residents’ perceptions in the process of defining neighborhoods’ territories and determining variables in this regard. Also, it is recommended to use new tools such as Geographic Information System (GIS) and its analytical tools in the process of determining neighborhoods’ territories.

In the last decades, increasing world population and carbon dioxide emission, have led to the increasing importance of energy conservation, especially in the building industry. In Iran, almost 40 percent of energy is used in the buildings, where the main part of it is wasted through windows. Hence, reducing the amount of heat transfer and insulating the windows is essential. In recent years, glass technology has offered various alternatives for building energy conservation, including window insulation, transparent covering films and integrated dynamic shadings. Multi- pane windows with various glass layers are one of the solutions to control solar heat, sunlight transmission and noise through windows. They are used in combination with shading devices, especially in office buildings. Studies have shown that using multi-pane windows, heat transfer and building energy consumption decrease depending on the different climates and building thermal properties. However, the impact of different types of filling gases and the optimal window type on building energy consumption in different climates has not been studied. In the present study, the effect of double- and triple-glazed windows containing different gases on the cooling and heating loads of a sample office building are investigated. Altering window layers, its thermal properties will change, including heat transfer coefficient, visible transfer rate, the amount of direct sunlight transmission and solar heat transfer coefficient. The Air, Argon, Krypton, Xenon gases and the mixture of them are used for the gap filling between two or three layers of clear glass. The case studies are Bushehr and Bandar Abbas cities with hot-humid climate, Mashhad and Tabriz cities with cold climate and Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan and Tehran cities with hot-dry climate. In each city, eleven alternatives have been simulated for a typical office building by changing window type and the intermediate gas. The simulations were performed using Design Builder software version 5.02.003 to calculate annual cooling and heating loads for the sample building. Windows in the base model are simple windows with clear glass of three millimeters thickness. According to ASHRIE standard, the heating and cooling set points of 22 °C and 24 °C are considered in the simulations. Comparing total building energy consumption with different types of windows and gases, the proper alternatives are defined. In order to validate the results, DOE-2 simulation software has been used. The building energy consumption in Bushehr City has been examined for the eleven alternatives. Since the difference between two groups of the results is 4 percent, all the results are valid. Based on the results, applying double- and triple-pane windows leads to reduced cooling and heating loads of the sample office building in all studied cities. In Bushehr City, using triple pane windows will result in 12.7 percent reduction in the building cooling load while it would be 10.8 percent by applying double-pane windows. The reduction in building cooling load would be 27.5, 25.6 and 17.3 percent in Tabriz, Mashhad and Shiraz cities if triple-pane windows were used. Using double-pane windows, the cooling load reduction would be 14.6 to 17.3 percent in cities with hot-dry climates and 11.9 percent in Bandar Abbas City. According to the total building energy consumption, the triple-pane window filled with air and Xenon gas is the most appropriate window type in all cases. Using such a type of windows will lead to 14.5, 13.5, 34.2 and 38.2 percent reduction in building energy consumption in Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Mashhad, respectively. So in cities with hot-dry climate, the application of triple-pane windows filled with air and Xenon gas would reduce the building energy consumption by the average of 22.8 percent. Unlike triple-pane windows, the appropriate alternative among double-pane windows is different in each city. In Bushehr City, double-pane window filled with air and argon gas has the most building load reduction. It is also one of the best choices in Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan and Tehran cities, however the building energy consumption is best reduced using other alternatives filled with argon or krypton gases. By applying such double-pane windows, the amounts of energy reduction in each city equal to 24.7, 15, 15, 17.8 and 16.3 percent for Mashhad, Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan and Tehran cities, respectively. In Bandar Abbas and Tabriz cities, the most proper windows are those filled with krypton and xenon with 10.8 and 23.3 percent energy reduction. The results of the present study help designers to select the best double- and triple-glazed windows for office buildings in each city.