نشریه کاوش های جغرافیایی مناطق بیابانی
سال هشتم شماره 1 (بهار و تابستان 1399)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the morphology of the sand dunes located in Zarin Erg in the northwest of the city of Yazd and its accordance with the wind data provided by the surrounding synoptic stations. The results showed that the sand dunes have different morphologies, including simple dunes, seif, barchans, star, and complex dunes. The complexity and variety of the dunes indicates the drastic variation of wind regimes seasonally, annually as well as periodically. Also, they do not match with any wind data of the surrounding synoptic stations. The presence of barchans in the quadrilateral erg is indicative of directional winds. The local winds are the main cause of the formation of these dunes and their morphology. Indeed, due to the difference of height between the central Iranian playas and upstream mountainous, the playas of this part of Iran often serve as thermal low-pressure centers on the Earth surface, and their marginal sand dunes are always moved by these winds. The accumulation of large amounts of sand in the southeastern part of the erg and the formation of star dunes with a height of more than 200 meters are signs of prevailing north-west winds in the warm season and the severe winds of the southeast in the cold season. These winds reinforce the power of local convergent winds.

The climatic conditions in urban spaces with hot and arid regions always make it necessary to organize such spaces in urban planning and work out processes in proportion to the environmental conditions so that the quality of their attendancy can be elevated to an optimal level. This is while most of the studies carried out so far and the executive procedures of the corresponding organs are not efficient for enhancing the attendancy in urban spaces with hot and arid conditions in proportion to the conceptual model. Also, most such spaces do not exhibit an optimal attendancy and liveliness in comparison to other regions. On this basis, the present study seeks to find an answer to the question ‘what are the dimensions and the indices influencing the enhancement of attendancy in the urban spaces of hot and arid regions?’ The aim of the research is to provide a framework for a conceptual model of attendancy for Hakim Street in the city of Isfahan as the subject of this case study. The research is fundamental-applied in terms of its goals, and it uses a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach. The elaboration of the environmental indices influencing the attendancy and the determination of their importance are carried out based on Delphi and Shannon technique and a one-sample t-test in line with the assessment of the status quo of the study case. The study findings indicate that such aspects as ecosystem, function, social, morphology, space, perception and landscape are amongst the important and influential dimensions of attendancy in the urban spaces of hot and arid regions; there are generally 31 different indices in this regard. Assessment of the current status of Hakim Street in Isfahan is carried out with regard to the mentioned aspects and their indices. Based on this assessment, a framework of urban designing and spatial-functional organization is offered for the study area so that attendancy can be enhanced in the three sequences defined for Hakim Street.

Soil moisture controls many processes in the climate and is considered as a very important variable in the ecosystem and a basic parameter of the environment. It directly influences the life of plants, animals and microorganisms and plays a major role in the energy exchange between air and soil. The purpose of this study is to estimate the surface moisture of soil using the temperature indicators of the earth surface and the inertia of apparent heat. Therefore, MODIS images were used in Mortazie area of Yazd province in two different time periods, one from Feb, 8, 2018 to Feb, 14, 2018 and the other in the summer from July, 4, 2018 to July, 9, 2018. Also, the temperature-vegetation drought index, mostly used in previous research on soil moisture was applied to evaluates results. The apparent thermal inertia was obtained from images of morning and evening modes from Terra and Aqua satellites. A linear relationship was established between the temperature-vegetation drought index and the apparent heat inertia on specific days. The RMSE and R2 were found to be 0.15 and 0.86 on July, 7, 2018 and 0.18 and 0.76 on Feb, 9, 2018 respectively. The overall results showed a linear and direct relationship between the apparent thermal inertia and the TVDI surface moisture index.

Informal settlements, as a major social, economic, physical and management challenge, has inflicted many cities of the world, especially metropolitan cities of developing countries including Iran. Almost all the large cities in Iran are faced with this phenomenon and its adverse consequences. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of informal settlements in the social, economic, physical and managerial dimensions of the Airport neighborhood in Yazd. The statistical population of this study included all the households living in this area, and the total sample size was 313 cases. The results showed that 50% of the respondents had been living in the neighborhood for less than two decades. Thus, the place is considered as a settler with a predominantly rural background. The status of the dimensions examined in the form of different items was not satisfactory. The results of the study indicate unstable conditions in the economic (38.5 score), moderate sustainability conditions in the social (50.7 score), moderate stability conditions in the physical and environmental (53.1 score), and the moderate stability condition in the managerial (48.3 score) dimensions. The overall stability of the above dimensions was also evaluated with a score of 47.7 on the average. The results of structural equation modeling showed an unsatisfactory state in the four dimensions of sustainability. Therefore, physical infrastructure, neighborhood interaction and solidarity, age group requirements, integrated management, and citizen participation should be taken seriously in upgrading and empowerment plans.

Tourism is one of the most important tools of development in the world. In their policies and programs, many countries in the world pay special attention to tourism as an effective tool for political, cultural and economic development. Understanding future developments and planning for them is an inevitable necessity. This research aims to identify the main factors involved in tourism and delineate a realistic and desirable future for the sustainable tourism in Meybod. The study is practical in terms of purpose. In terms of method, it is a combination of documentation and survey. In terms of nature, it is based on new methods of futurology, analysis and exploration conducted by using a combination of quantitative and qualitative models. The prioritization of possible scenarios for the tourism in Meybod is based on two indicators including probability and desirability. The research was carried out in three stages: determining the key indicators through the Delphi method, identifying the vital drivers through the MicMac software based on a cross-section analysis and formulating different scenarios. For the statistical population, a number of geography and urban and regional planning specialists, tourism specialists and executive experts of the province and city were selected. As the results showed, among 14 key factors, five drivers including attractions, history, economy, management and planning were identified as vital drivers of the development of Meybod tourism industry. The vital drivers in three modes, three modes and 82% of modes indicated the desirability of sustainable tourism. The most desirable scenario was proposed as the Golden Meybod scenario, which will be based on creating amenities and a variety of tourist attractions along with management and planning.

Climate change is the result of human activities such as fossil fuel consumption and land use changes. While cities occupy only two percent of the Earth surface, they account for 71 to 76 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Since the pattern of production and consumption in the Iranian economy is based on fossil fuels, the concentration of population and activity in metropolises has increased the consumption of these fuels and the centralized emission of greenhouse gases. The purpose of the present study is to analyze and compare production-based and consumption-based approaches for measuring greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas and then implementing them in Tehran metropolis. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the data are collected through documentary studies. The 1995 IPCC guidelines are used to measure greenhouse gas emissions. The statistical population of the study is Tehran metropolis and its fossil fuel consumption in a period of 11 years (2005 to 2016). Tehran has high per capita emissions of greenhouse gases, which is due to its pattern of production, distribution and consumption based on fossil fuels and associated lifestyles. This has turned the city into the largest emitter of these gases. The results of calculations with the IPCC (Production-Based Approach) show a per capita increase in the CO2 emissions of Tehran over a 10-year period (4.94 and 5.09 tons per citizen in 2006 and 2016). Also, using a consumption-based approach, the per capita carbon footprint of each citizen emerges to be 7.77 tons per year. Finally, the carbon dioxide emissions per capita of the city is compared with some other metropolises in the world. The results show that the per capita emissions in Tehran are higher than in other large metropolitan areas such as Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong and London.

Air pollution is one of the serious environmental problems in cities. In recent years in Iran, this problem has extended in large areas. Zabol County is a major source of this phenomenon, which is because of its special geomorphological situation and climate. In this research, due to many dust occurrences in Zabul County, the area is selected as the study area. Considering the occurrence of maximum dust in summer, especially from 22 of June to 23 of August, four dates are chosen for evaluation. They include August 12, 2017, July 5, 2018, July 26, 2018, and August 12, 2018. So, images of MODIS satellite sensor were taken, and then two dust indicators (Ackerman and TDI) were applied to images. Finally, their results and results of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were compared. The results showed that, in the four evaluated events, the best performance belonged to the TDI index; with regard to the real amount of dust, this index provided better and more acceptable results in the study area.Also, the evaluation of the image accuracy showed that the TDI index could detect dust more accurately. This index suggested that, in the four evaluated events, high-intensity dust occurred in the east and north east of the study area. Moreover, the NDVI map showed a direct relationship between ambient vegetation and dust as well as poor vegetation with severe dust.

Nowadays, one of the concerns of urban planning is achieving urban sustainability in all dimensions, including social sustainability. According to the New Urbanism approach, a very important physical-spatial factor affecting social sustainability is the walkability. According to the followers of this approach, walkability can help to create a healthy and sustainable community. This paper has investigated the relationship between the walkability and the components of social sustainability in the city of Sabzevar by a survey research. The sample size is 400 people selected randomly and according to the population share of each neighborhood of the total population of the city. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The results of the research show the positive effect of walkability on place attachment, residential satisfaction and social equity in access to services, but walkability does not have a significant effect on the sense of security and social capital. In general, there is a significant relationship between walkability and social sustainability in neighborhoods. Therefore, it can be said that increasing the walkability in urban areas can help social stability.

The construction of religious buildings in the past would occur by taking into account the comfort and convenience of the building, in the face of harsh climatic conditions of the region. Mosques, as one of the religious buildings of our country, have been built everywhere in various climatic conditions, especially in desert areas with dome roofs of different shapes and sizes. This study seeks to investigate the performance of domes in desert areas in terms of form and dimensions versus the amount of sunlight absorption. For this purpose, some weather file data were obtained from the meteorological stations of Isfahan and Yazd cities. Also, the maps of the domes of the mosques were received through library documents in the field of architecture. In this regard, five examples of domes in desert areas were selected, including the domes of Imam of Isfahan, Mir Chakhmaq, Sheikh Lotfollah, Saro Taghi and Ali Mosque. Then, the domes were modeled with accurate dimensions by the 2017 Revit software. This was done to calculate the absorption of sunlight on the surfaces of the domes on the hottest days of the year at three times including 2, 4, and 6 p.m. in desert areas by the use of the energy Plus Ladybug and Honeybee plugins RADIANCE. The results showed the amount of sunlight absorption on the surfaces of the domes depends on the shape and the dimensions of the domes. At 2 o'clock p.m., domes with a high rise and domes with a low rise were exposed to the sun for 58% and 75% respectively. At 4 o'clock p.m., domes with a low rise and those with a high rise were exposed to the sun by 68% and 51%. Also, at 6 o'clock p.m., the domes with a high rise and those with a low rise had the exposures of 49% 46%. The performance of high domes is, therefore, much more optimal than that of low domes at the hottest times of the day. This is because high domes provide more shade during these hours.

With the ongoing rapid growth of urbanization and its adverse effects on housing, employment and income, public health, physical and mental health, environment, resources and social norms in cities, it is necessary to adopt certain strategies for revitalization of cities, although a number of theories and approaches, including livable city approach, have already been proposed. This study aims to analyze and evaluate the urban livability of Kashmar from the citizens’ viewpoint. The research method is descriptive-analytic, and the data were collected using documents and surveys. The statistical population consisted of the citizens of the city of Kashmar, of whom 384 were selected as the sample through the Cochran's formula. The validity of the questionnaire was measured based on the comments of university professors and urban management experts, and its reliability was found high (0.831) using Cronbach's alpha. The results showed no significant relationship between the individual characteristics (age and sex) and the livability indicators. However, there was a significant relationship between the livability indicators and three other variables including education, occupation and residence status. The results of Friedman test for the ranking of various dimensions of urban livability and the comparison of the mean ranks revealed that economic dimension with the mean rank of 2.64 had the highest livability rate among the other dimensions. In terms of the social dimension, the sense of identity and place attachment had the highest rank (4.67). In terms of the environmental dimension, the public space had the highest mean rank (2.26), indicating the higher satisfaction of respondents with the public space indicator compared to the other environmental indicators.

Accelerated urbanization of cities and their limited capacity have made it increasingly necessary to focus on scenario writing for the purpose of urban physical development. In this regard, the present study aims to explain the physical development pattern in the city of Yazd with a prospective approach. It seeks to steer the city's development process in the right direction. In terms of purpose, the study is an applied one, and, in terms of data collection, it is descriptive-analytical. In order to investigate the physical development of Yazd through the Holderen model and the McMake software, the effective indicators have been identified in the development process of the city. Finally, in order to predict the possible physical development status of Yazd up to 2031, the key factors were analyzed in the wizard scenario software. As the results of the research show, based on the calculations in the Holderen model, about 39.83 percent of the city growth occurred from 1977 to 2017 due to the horizontal growth of the city, and about 60. 16 percent of the development was due to the population growth. The key factors in the wizard scenario software represent three types of scenarios including four strong scenarios, 158 weak scenarios and 16 possible scenarios. The possible scenarios with 128 states are in three situation including optimal, static, and critical conditions. Of these, the optimal situation with 10 states is identified as the most likely one for the future of Yazd physical development.

Projects for the improvement of valuable textures in rural areas pave the way for providing identity and maintenance to valuable rural architecture, making it possible repair and restore them working out new ideas and solutions to meet the needs, and proposing new ways of living along with specific respect to the genuinity of physical structures and social relations in villages. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of such projects as important tools and intervention programs planned by the government focused on the development of the villages of Islamiyah, Fahraj, Aghda, Shamsi and Kharanaqh in the province of Yazd. The research data were collected from documents (including articles, books, magazines, and web sites) and field study (using questionnaires, interviews and observation). The physical and environmental variables were identified during the data processing and then limited to 9 variables. The study sample consisted of 75 experts and specialists. The data analysis was done on the SPSS software SPSS. The results of this analytical research showed that the projects affected certain variables at the significance level of 0.01. The affected variables were revival,, repair, and beautification of  intra-structural elements such as nodes, edges, signs, centers and stripes, communication and access of neighborhoods, identity of the old core of the village, building and equipping facilities, sewage system, quality of the walls and the floors in passages (e.g. color, composition and type of materials), use of local materials in the area, presentation of local patterns, and creation of varied spaces within the village (e.g. stairs, platforms and lighting facilities). Also, the variables of efficient use of abandoned facilities and their conversion to active ones as well as the parameters of crisis management were affected by the project at the 0.5 level of significance.