فصلنامه مطالعات شهری
پیاپی 39 (تابستان 1400)

Urban space planning is a collective social action concerning decisions on the social use of land; i.e. an action performed by the people’s elected state. Thus, the state is seen as an institution that seeks to realize the public interest and compensate for market failure through legitimate power. However, the fundamental question is whether the state actually functions as a benevolent institution in urban space planning based solely on the public interest of the city. The purpose of this study is to provide an answer to this fundamental question from the perspective of Public Choice Theory, which is focused on the state for analysis and comprehension of the consequences of the interaction between its elements, emphasizing the similarities between people’s choices in market and non-market decisions.The urban planning system in Iran is one of the most complex, comprehensive land use regulation systems with a focus on the government. The conditions of urban development and urban planning in Iranian cities, including the Tehran metropolitan area, well demonstrates urban-planners’ and decision-makers’ lack of concern for the public interests regarding the city in some cases. In an interdisciplinary analysis using components from the theory of positive public choice, this research addresses the decision space in urban planning for the Tehran metropolitan area, and presents solutions to improve the conditions from the normative aspect of the theory.

The state has tried to provide urban public benefits and services through urban planning, and the public interest is used in fact to justify and advocate urban planning interventions. From an ethical point of view, the biggest problem encountered by planners is to adopt the best approach in response to decision-makers and the best action for the public interest, as they are always pressured by government change on the one hand and social change on the other. The public interest has always been important in urban space planning despite its controversial entity. It can play three major roles in that regard: those of legitimizing planning as a state activity, of a norm for planning and professional ethics, and of a criterion for evaluation of planning and plans.Public choice theory focuses on planning as a political activity by identifying state influence and market failure. According to the theory, the state is not regarded as a single entity, but a group of individuals who pursue their personal and group interests, which makes up an important failure of the state. Stakeholders, political organizations, and social classes impose pressure on the state to pursue their own interests, and this can severely affect the efficiency of the state.The main purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of the decision space in spatial planning of the Tehran metropolitan area given the components emphasized in the public choice approach and concern for personal and political interests and rent-seeking in choices made by decision-makers.

The methodology of qualitative analysis was first reviewed, and the main indicators concerning each of the relevant components were then obtained based on the data extracted by experts in the field and quantified using the Likert scale. Attempts were made to analyze the impacts of the components of public choice theory on the decision-making carried out for the Tehran metropolitan area planning through application of Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Squares in the SmartPLS software.

Since the value of the t-statistic was greater than 1.96, it can be stated that the factors of personal and political interests and rent-seeking had significant negative effects on decision-making in the spatial planning process in the Tehran metropolitan area. The values ​​concerning the paths in the final research model indicated that concern for personal interest pursued with the cost-benefit approach accounted for 21.5% of the changes made in decision-making in urban planning, rent-seeking explained 36.5%, and political interests explained 31.2%. Therefore, the hypotheses proposed in the research were retained.The results of the research demonstrated that the factors with the severest negative effects on the components under examination and decision-making in the process of urban space planning of the Tehran metropolitan area include urban planners’ lack of concern for the feasibility and functionality of plans, collusion between planners, city managers, and landowners to determine and change land use, special privileges granted beyond personal competence to specific individuals and groups, lack of transparency and information, influence of those in power and wealth in the urban planning structure, and  urban managers’ prioritization of attempts to maintain their statuses and protect the established power structure, etc.

The findings of this study, conducted among experts aware of the spatial planning system of the Tehran metropolitan area, indicated that the components of public choice theory, including concern for personal and political interests and rent-seeking, have significant negative impacts on decision-making in the spatial planning process. In other words, although it is assumed that the public interest of the city should be considered in the process of urban space planning, other incentives are influential in decision-making, and there is a conflict of interest in practice. Keywords: state, urban space planning, public choice theory, public interest. AcknowledgmentThis article has been extracted from a Ph.D. thesis on urban planning entitled The Role of State and Market in Urban Spatial Development Planning of Iran, defended by the first author under supervision of the second at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran.

In research conducted on the city and issues related to space and place in urban planning, it can be helpful to use both ethnography and grounded theory methods depending on the researcher’s purpose. However, the weaknesses of each of these methods lead to a number of gaps. The method of ethnography is highly useful for in-depth research and understanding of culture, but it suffers from the lack of a coherent analysis stage, and does not necessarily lead the researcher to the appropriate theory. Meanwhile, its open-ended nature fails to meet urban researchers’ expected outputs. On the other hand, one of the most important factors that justify the method of grounded theory is the lack of theories appropriate to the context under study. This method offers a coherent, systematic analysis, and the clear output is to arrive at the theory. The sociological origins of its proponents suggest that in the frequent applications of this method in academic research, individuals and the relevant social and psychological issues have often mattered rather than spaces. Moreover, the extensive use of the current systematic version has increased the possibility of converting the method to a mechanical one and reduced its depth. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to adopt a method involving a combination of the above two (ethnography and grounded theory) so that they can fill each other’s gaps and provide a suitable, efficient framework for conducting studies in the field of urban studies. Theoretical FrameworkAmong all methods of qualitative studies, ethnography is one that reveals many details (Stevenson, 2003). The term ethnography is rooted in cultural anthropology. Ethno- means people or ethnicity, and -graphy means to describe something. The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz believes that a very important part of ethnography is a complete, accurate description (Neuman, 2015, Volume II: 278-279). Ethnography facilitates broader research on individuals in different communities, both at the city or a smaller scale. As a qualitative research method, it considers the story told by the participants (Pardo & Prato, 2018: 389). Ethnographic research ends in a summary of how a group functions in everyday life, and the reader thus gains an understanding of a group with which he/she is unfamiliar (Creswell & Poth, 2018: 271). Grounded theory, on the other hand, was developed in 1967 by two sociologists, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. As a low-level or middle-range theory, it emerges from a particular position, and is a competitor for grand theories (Glaser & Strauss, 1967: 34-35). Moreover, it is a tool that can prepare the researcher in the field of urban studies to develop relevant theories (Allen & Davey, 2017: 1). 

Scholars such as Kathy Charmaz welcome entry into a methodological conflict and call other researchers to the field (Charmaz, 2006). The purpose of this research is to design a hybrid of the two methods of ethnography and grounded theory to help to fill their gaps as a suitable, efficient tool for conducting research in the field of urban studies. This has been carried out through a systematic review of each of the two approaches and study of the methods of their combination. Finally, the grounded theory ethnography has been tested on a sample café in the center of Tehran. 

In this research, various combinations of ethnography and grounded theory have been studied and classified into three categories. The first involves studies that consider one of these two methods as a subset of the other or as superior to and more complete than the other. The second group emphasizes the importance of ethnography and achievement of the constructivist grounded theory, where Kathy Charmaz is the leading figure. The third category emphasizes the simultaneous use and combination of the two methods, where ethnography is used for data collection, and grounded theory is used for analysis. In this study, a combination of the second and third approaches has been adopted. Grounded theory ethnography can be defined as a method that utilizes both approaches, and proceeds with the stages of cognition and analysis simultaneously according to both methods. The final product is a theory derived from the constructivist approach and supported by ethnographic cotextuality. The method consists of four steps: 1. initiation of the fieldwork, 2. data collection (involving observation, interview, photography, sketching, and maps), 3. analysis (involving coding and memo writing), and 4. achievement of the theory and documentation.

 Conclusion

This study has demonstrated that grounded theory ethnography is a method that can cover the drawbacks of both methods of ethnography and grounded theory, and can be used in conditions where both methods are required. This is the case where the issue of understanding the culture of the examined context is one of the researcher’s main concerns. Moreover, there has been no specific theory to introduce the phenomenon under study, turning it into an important aim of the research to achieve such a theory. The above hybrid approach is highly applicable particularly in the field of urban studies because of the efficiency of investigation of the city and urban space in ethnography due to the emphasis on entry into the field of research and the relevant strategies and on the observation involved in the method. However, the method suffers drawbacks including the lack of a clear analytical stage and open-endedness, which can be covered by grounded theory. Using grounded theory ethnography and going through its four stages, the researcher can conduct in-depth studies according to the cultural context of the field. AcknowledgmentThis research has been extracted from the Ph.D. thesis of Maryam Farash Khiabani, entitled Unraveling the essence of other spaces of the city of Tehran (central district) with emphasis on cultural context, defended in the Department of Urban Planning at the University of Art under the supervision of Dr. Parvin Partovi.

Third places provide a platform for social interactions, and have a particular position in public-sphere institutions and social interactions due to their special characteristics. The environment can strengthen or weaken these characteristics; therefore, it is necessary to consider the design and architecture of third places in order to enforce their positive features. The purpose of this study is to investigate the general characteristics of cafés as third places in the studied samples and to analyze their impact on the social interactions formed at these places.

Third places are one of the most important examples of the urban public sector that give meaning to the informal lives of citizens and lead to the restoration and creation of social interactions. Third places can serve as sources of protection and resilience for an individual, a family, and a community by creating social relationships. Moreover, individuals have an inherent need for social interaction, so they provide opportunities for that purpose. Such conditions are more likely offered at third places. A place turns into a third place from a service environment when it meets emotional and social needs as well as physical needs such as the need for eating and drinking. A concrete example of third places, cafés are of particular importance in the urban structure and human interactions. Such architectural spaces make it possible to imagine, think, and communicate due to their special features, described in Table 1, and their creation of pause spaces.

Two general types of method have been used in this field research, quantitative and qualitative, including observation, behavior mapping, interviews, questionnaires, and archives, used for data collection. In the observation stage, things, people, and their reactions have been examined without interference with the environment. The observations have eventually led to behavioral mappings. Each sample has been examined using the passive observational method for three days in the periods of 10-12 in the morning and 6-8 in the evening. In the second stage, the interview method has been used, where attempts have been made to obtain more profound results through guidance of the conversations and provision of an understanding of the questions. Finally, structural equation modeling based on covariance has been used to investigate the general characteristics of third places and their effects on social interactions. The population has included all cafés in Tabriz, and the statistical sample has involved a total of 399 people.

The behavioral mapping indicated that large group of people and groups of two are more inclined to environments with clear privacy conditions. People tend to welcome spaces where their privacy is respected, while it is possible to establish appropriate communication with the environment as a whole. One way to create such environments is to separate spaces using transparent walls, while other considerations include distance, type of arrangement, material, and type of furniture. An examination of sample photos published by users demonstrates that most of the images concern these spaces, indicating their popularity among the audience. According to the analysis made of the responses, the main reason stated by 83% of the respondents for their presence in the café is to have chats. Attributes seem to play roles in strengthening and weakening each other as people express certain attributes to describe others. The results of the structural equation model demonstrate significant relationships between the variable of social interactions and four characteristics: conversation as the main activity, convenience and habitability, fixed customers, and a friendly atmosphere. The path coefficients of the variables indicate that a friendly atmosphere is 0.358% effective on social interactions, conversation as the main activity is 0.378% effective, convenience and habitability is 0.100% effective, and fixed customers are 0.058% effective. The two characteristics of a friendly atmosphere and conversation as the main activity are most greatly affected by the parameter referred to as homes away from home, and the neutral framework parameter exhibits the greatest impacts on the two characteristics of convenience and habitability and fixed customers. Figure 5 shows the significant effects of these parameters on the four characteristics with confirmed effects on the social interactions formed in cafés.

As third places, cafés are influential in social interactions due to their special features. All the characteristics of third places can be found in cafés, but they have different intensities and types of impact on each other and on the social interactions formed in cafés. Conversation as the main activity, a friendly atmosphere, convenience and habitability, and fixed customers directly affect these interactions, and other characteristics exhibit indirect effects as a result of the impacts of these four. Conversation is the most influential parameter in the formation of social interactions. The results of the interviews demonstrate that it is also one of the main reasons for people’s attendance of cafés. In fact, conversation is an element that affects both the primary factor and social interactions; for enhancement of social interactions, therefore, it is necessary to design spaces that can help meet the prerequisites for conversation to take shape between people in cafés. The general characteristics of third places are more likely to lead to social interactions among familiar groups. Adequate privacy and appropriate working hours are factors besides third-place characteristics that increase social interaction as the senses of place and belonging rise, because people communicate when they experience senses of security, intimacy, and peace at the same time.

  Introduction

Following the introduction of the concept of smart city, a wide range of organizations have sought to develop the application of new technologies in urban management and planning. Numerous research projects have been conducted to identify the aspects of acceptance and application of technology. However, very few have studied technology acceptance at an organizational level. Among the research projects focused on effective factors in technology acceptance at an organizational level, very few have been concerned with the effective aspects of technology acceptance in non-governmental organizations in developing countries. Therefore, such aspects have not been identified precisely for the municipality as a non-governmental organization in Iran. This can make it difficult to apply technology in the municipality or even cause such efforts to fail. Therefore, it seems necessary to conduct a comprehensive study in the area.

The review of the literature reveals that technology acceptance has been proposed in various fields such as many areas of human behavior. The most important theories in the area of technology acceptance include the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), with over 67300 citations, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (Venkatesh et al., 2003), with over 23870 citations, the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), with over 52450 citations, the diffusion of innovations theory (Rogers, 1983), with over 100700 citations, and the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989), with over 43980 citations in Google Scholar. Each of these theories represents a number of constructs that are important in the measurement of user intention about technology acceptance.Two research categories are identified here: studies on technology acceptance at the micro level, such as those focused on private organizations, and studies on technology acceptance at the macro level, such as those concerning e-governments or public organizations. The latter group investigate citizens’ acceptance of e-governments regardless of the organizational level and managers’ viewpoints. Based on the above theories, this group of studies seek to specify e-government acceptance by modeling user behavior. This paper proposed a citizen-based conceptual model of e-government acceptance for developing countries, seeking to identify the effectiveness of constructs on technology acceptance in a public organization, namely Isfahan Municipality.MethodologyThe objective of this research was to identify the factors effective on technology acceptance in the Isfahan municipality as a non-governmental organization. Given the subject of the research and the population, the grounded theory was used, which is one of the most efficient choices in qualitative research. For this purpose, a semi-structured questionnaire was designed based on the review of the literature and used for interviewing managers and senior experts in the Isfahan municipality. The grounded theory was extracted directly from data collected systematically during the research process and analyzed. In this method, the collected and analyzed data and the final theory are closely interrelated. Moreover, the analysis involves a confrontation between the researcher’s mind and the data. The purpose of this analytical method is to organize the data in specific categories based on their characteristics and dimensions and then to describe each of the categories. The results of the interviews were recorded as textual data using the Atlas.ti software, and were analyzed using the method of finite element analysis. Coding methods were employed to identify the effective categories and dimensions and their interrelations. 

The context in which a technology is to be used, including the social, cultural, and political characteristics of the society, has an important role in the extent to which the technology gains acceptance. Another effective factor is the cooperation and participation of organizations and their ways of thinking and performance in that regard. It should be noted that these dimensions have indirect as well as direct effects on decision-making for technology acceptance, applied through moderating constructs. The results of this study demonstrated that 23 categories were effective on technology acceptance in the Isfahan municipality, which could be classified further into eight major groups. These include the background, causative, technical, encouraging, deterrent, moderating, decision-making, and consequential categories.The findings also indicated that the constructs proposed in this research were significantly different from those introduced in previous research. This could be due to two fundamental differences between this study and previous ones. Firstly, the present research examined the constructs of technology acceptance at the level of the organization, which involved different dimensions from those concerning the acceptance of technology at an individual level. Secondly, there were fundamental differences between the areas in which the data were compiled in the sample tests. In other words, this research was conducted in the context of the technical, cultural, political, economic, and social infrastructures of developing countries, leading to different user attitudes and views from those concerning developed countries. 

This paper aimed to generate a conceptual model to increase urban service technology acceptance in organizations by modeling the constructs affecting managers and experts in the municipality. It clarified the relationships among these constructs. Identification of these constructs and their relationships can be useful in the attempts to correct the process of technology acceptance in organizations, especially public ones. The results of this study are particularly important to managers, urban planners, and researchers studying technology acceptance with a smart city approach. The findings can facilitate the process of developing smart cities with a focus on municipalities. Moreover, the constructs presented in this research can be tested using quantitative methods in future research projects.AcknowledgmentThis article was extracted from a PhD thesis on urban planning entitled A Novel Framework for Urban Service Technology Adoption According to the Smart City Approach: Case Study of the Urban Service Technology in the Isfahan Municipality, defended by the first author under supervision of the second and third authors in the Art University of Isfahan.

Tourism is a relatively new social activity that has recently emerged as a global phenomenon, and is considered as an important factor in social and cultural changes and development. Today, most experts recognize that the phenomenon of tourism can enrich all areas of human life in terms of speed and aspects of influence as the miracle of the century. Various effects of tourism development are observed in the city of Shandiz, Iran as tourists flood into the city. The development of tourism in Shandiz and its surrounding areas has led to positive physical and functional changes, such as the expansion of health care and accommodation facilities and increase in access to transportation. In general, factors including the desire to divide land and  establish complexes as neighborhood settlements and sites equipped for gardening and residence (temporary residences), consistent with the development of tourism in the city, cause the location and construction processes to neglect the natural environment, the requirement for infrastructures and relevant services, and the impact on existing settlements, resulting in widespread intrusion on physical properties and their destruction. Given the positive and negative effects mentioned in regard to Shandiz, this research sought to make an expert analysis of the future trends in the city in order to mitigate or eliminate the negative effects and promote the positive ones based on the model of sustainable tourism development. The study was focused on identification of scenarios for addressing the physical and functional effects of the development of the Shandiz tourism destination and on specification of the optimal scenario in this field.Theoretical FrameworkThe tourism industry can have significant effects as an important form of human activity. It is quite clear how tourism affects the destination area, where tourists interact with the local environment, economy, culture and society. It should be noted that tourism issues are generally multifaceted, and their categorization is not as straightforward as often stated. In other words, the effects of tourism cannot be classified simply as social, environmental, or economic, as they tend to exhibit many interrelated dimensions, and may change over time with the development of destination areas.

For achievement of the purpose of the study, descriptive-analytical investigations, documentations, and questionnaires were applied in the framework of the Delphi model and software analyses. After an enumeration of the key driving forces using the Delphi method, the method of future research was used to explain the various conceivable conditions for the future of Shandiz. Therefore, different conceivable states for each of these variables were discussed in expert panels, where the participants presented the pros and cons of each of the proposed scenarios. Then, the experts were asked to judge the effect of each possible situation on others on a qualitative scale from -3 (strongly restricting effect) to +3 (strongly promoting effect) according to the conditions prevailing in the study area. The expert judgments were incorporated into the ScenarioWizard software environment for presentation of system-compatible scenarios, ranging from the most favorable to the most catastrophic on a continuum involving moderate as well as favorable and catastrophic scenarios.

The findings of the study forecast three possible scenarios out of 39366 for Shandiz in the 2029 prospects, of which one was evaluated as favorable and two as unfavorable, although the results of similar studies have indicated the importance of land use change in the process of sustainable tourism development in cities. The findings of this study, however, demonstrate that culture and tradition have been the most important determinants of sustainability in the development of tourism in Shandiz. In an analysis of such results, it can be stated that the most effective assumptions here involve an enhancement of the traditional features of the fabric in the favorable scenario and their destruction in the unfavorable scenarios. However, destruction of agricultural lands was identified in this research as a negative consequence of tourism development, unlike in other studies. The findings indicate that moderate construction of buildings of residential use and enhancement of the traditional features of the city will effectively contribute to credibility of the favorable future of Shandiz in 2029. It is therefore suggested that the above factors should be focused on for achievement of a favorable future in the city in the field of tourism. Moreover, it will bring about greater stability in the favorable scenario to change the architectural pattern from traditional to postmodern, whereas the destruction of the traditional fabrics and agricultural lands in the unfavorable scenarios will lead to other destructive effects and threaten the sustainable development of tourism in the city.

The findings demonstrate that the destruction of traditional fabrics in the unfavorable scenarios of tourism development in Shandiz exhibits greater stability than the other assumptions. Overall, the optimal scenario for the future of the city is more stable and robust. For establishment of a sustainable space for tourism, therefore, it is suggested that the preservation of the traditional urban space and proper management of land use changes be emphasized. Thus, sustainable development of tourism in Shandiz can be achieved if the favorable scenario proposed in this study is adopted, which emphasizes the enhancement of traditional features in a context consistent with the culture, balanced distribution of constructions with residential, commercial and tourist reception, and accommodation and recreational uses, preservation of agricultural lands and gardens, improvement of the quality of communication services, connection of the new and old fabrics, improvement of architecture in accordance with the local culture and materials, and modification of the architectural pattern from traditional to postmodern.

The availability of open spaces among buildings plays a vital role in residents’ social interactions, attendance, and security. Maintenance of the right geometrics, location, and proportionality of the surrounding environment has astounding impacts on the creation of attractive outdoor spaces for people. Neglection of the proportionality between the scale of space and surrounding buildings can lead to negative impacts on people’s perceptions and feelings of their surrounding environments. Therefore, assessment (in terms of shape and geometry) of the open spaces within the historic area of the city of Kashan, Iran can affect thermal conditions and provide senses of security and satisfaction with the environmental qualities and attributes. An evaluation was made beginning in September 2018 and lasting 18 days. 17 high-traffic spots and landmarks located in the historic area were chosen and categorized in two separate groups. These included public areas and pedestrian lanes and courtyards in the respective geometrics. The purpose was to investigate whether or not there existed a direct or indirect relationship between the specified factors and thermal comfort.

The lack of usable open spaces in cities and metropolitan areas has led to numerous issues arising at crisis times, as it disrupts the required balance between the densely packed areas of buildings and the open spaces available in cities. Enhancement of environmental quality and thermal comfort at these spaces can lead to people’s attendance and satisfaction. Security is the capability of the society of lying in a state that maintains its present conditions, identity, benefits, and basic characteristics in confrontation with evolved conditions and threats and the capability of improving the social conditions in accordance with the values ​​and ideals of the society. Factors directly impacting the degree an extent of thermal comfort include the physical characteristics of the environment such as the geometrics and shapes of buildings, the heights of the building surrounding the open space, the amount and type of vegetation, the orientations and locations of buildings with respect to the open space, the availability of semi-open spaces, and the amount of shading.

After library studies were conducted along with field studies enabling physical evaluation of the areas (viewing and recording site information) at the same time as 788 residents and tourists responded to questionnaires (thermal and environmental conditions), the climatic parameters (temperature, humidity, air flow rate, CO, and CO2) were recorded. Then, the rates of clothing and metabolisms of the individuals were calculated using software called Deltalog10. The resulting information was collected and subjected to another analysis, this time using SPSS24, and the thermal comfort range of the respondents was then specified with software called Ray Man. Next, the direct and indirect relationships between the variables were assessed using the structural equation model based on the Maximum Likelihood method in Amos.

The findings demonstrated that the outdoor shape and geometry of an open space as well as its type can affect thermal comfort, thermal compatibility, satisfaction with outdoor shape and geometry, satisfaction with the fabric and surrounding buildings, and people’s sense of security in open spaces. Thermal compatibility was greater at outdoor courtyards than at urban passage open spaces. The results indicated that people were more satisfied with the shapes and geometrics of outdoor courtyards than those of public roads. Moreover, satisfaction with outdoor shape and geometry developed thermal comfort in people. There was a greater sense of outdoor security at courtyards than at outdoor public passages, making people more thermally adaptable at open spaces.

The results indicated that the respondents had reached thermal comfort in a temperature range of 20.5 to 34.78°C (PET). Furthermore, organized outdoor geometry had direct impacts on the sense of security, with a coefficient of 0.15, on satisfaction with the fabric and buildings surrounding the open space, with a coefficient of -0.98, and on overall thermal comfort, with a coefficient of -0.8. It also exhibited indirect positive significant impacts on satisfaction with the shape and geometry of the open space and on thermal adaptability. Furthermore, the variable of the type of open space of the central courtyard had direct impacts with the highest coefficients on satisfaction with the compositional fabrics and buildings surrounding the open space, with a coefficient of 1.49, on satisfaction with the shape and geometry of the open space, with a coefficient of 0.97, on overall thermal adaptability, with a coefficient of 0.74, on the sense of security, with a coefficient of -0.23, and on overall thermal comfort, with a coefficient of -0.38. The interesting point to be noted in the analysis and interpretation of the model path concerned the key role played by the security variable as a factor effective in the occurrence of indirect relationships between variables.

Soundscape is a subfield of urban studies that deals with the quality of sound heard and perceived in urban spaces. Numerous characteristics affect the quality of urban space soundscapes, and the acoustic behavior of the space is thus an influential factor which depends on its environmental characteristics. The acoustic behavior of the space indicates that the physical body of any environment amplifies or attenuates sound waves in the face of sound. As the environment body intensifies sound once created in space, sound waves stay in the environment longer, and increase sound intensity. Conversely, when the acoustic behavior of space attenuates, sound waves are destroyed in space shortly after created by sound sources. In this case, the intensity of the sound heard in the environment can be relatively stable, provided that the audio sources are constant.

The amount of time it takes sound to drop to 60 decibels after created by a sound source is called Reverberation Time (RT), which is measured in seconds. In soundscape studies, Sound Pressure Level (SPL) is also a physical component in decibels, which is used to measure sound loudness. Thus, Sound Pressure Level and Reverberation Time are two components that can specify the acoustic behavior of a space. In addition to acoustic assessments, soundscape studies address how people perceive the sounds around them and how desirable and pleasant they are. In fact, acoustic measurements are a tool that can help to create the desired soundscape, because sonic comfort depends to a large extent on the SPL. However, what greatly matters in soundscape studies is the perceptual loudness and subjective sonic comfort. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the factors affecting these subjective components. The perceptual quality of urban soundscape is specified through subjective assessments.

This research discussed the effect of environmental features on the acoustic behavior of Rasteh-Bazaars, in Tabriz Grand Bazaar, and on the quality of the soundscape therein. Based on the objective evaluations, the acoustic behavior of the Rasteh-Bazaars and the factors affecting it were specified, and the desirability of the Rasteh-Bazaars soundscape was clarified using subjective evaluations. Objective assessments were made to specify the acoustic behavior of the Rasteh-Bazaars based on the measurements of SPL and RT. The B&K 2260 set of equipment and ACAM100 acoustic camera were used to measure RT and SPL. Both of these values were evaluated in frequency spectra. Subjective assessments were made based on a descriptive soundscape questionnaire, where a total of 165 people answered the questions. The questionnaire assessed sound loudness, sonic comfort, sound preferences, and soundscape descriptors through the Likert scale. Based on the results, it could be found how the people present in the Rasteh-Bazaars of Tabriz Bazaar felt about and perceived the space soundscapes.

The findings demonstrated that spaces such as Rasteh-Bazaars, which are identical in form and material, exhibited consistent acoustic behavior. If accompanied by physical changes such as ones in the space axis and spatial integration as cavities, this homogeneity could change the acoustic behavior and the heard sound. This finding could add a new concept called homogeneous spaces to the field of soundscape design. This means that homogeneous urban paths can be designed so that the soundscape is perceived almost uniformly along them, and diversity and distinction can be provided through physical changes in the urban soundscape that can be perceived during movement. The findings also indicated that sonic comfort did not necessarily increase as sound intensity decreased. Even in tranquil urban spaces with low SPLs, the tranquility and quality of the soundscape decreased as the phenomenon of difference in SPL occurred. This important finding demonstrated that a new component called urban soundscape clarity should be evaluated in the study of soundscapes in tranquil urban spaces to investigate the occurrence of difference in SPL in tranquil urban spaces.

Based on the comparison of the objective and subjective findings of the research, it was found that it was not sufficient for provision of sonic comfort to simply follow the standard values of SPL and RT. This is because the phenomenon of difference in SPL could have a negative effect on environmental and sonic calmness, as mentioned earlier, in a silent space. The subjective perception of the soundscape depended on factors other than the physical quantity of the sound. In fact, the values of SPL and RT, which indicate the acoustic behavior of the space, could not serve as the sole basis for assessment of the quality of the soundscape although somehow involved in people’s perceptions thereof. The environmental characteristics and qualities of spaces, such as lighting and congestion and supplied goods appeal at the Rasteh-Bazaar were found to have direct effects on the favorability of the soundscape.AcknowledgmentThis article was extracted from Bita Shafaei’s doctoral thesis under the supervision of Dr. Abbas Ghaffari and Dr. Morteza Mirgholami at Tabriz Islamic Art University.

Nowadays, large areas of urban land are dedicated to commercial uses, and the trend towards shopping center construction has intensified. As a type of public space, commercial spaces, have conquered cities and snatched the lead from other land uses in the city. Commercial centers have turned into part of people’s lifestyles in this era, and have played an important role in the retail industry. Besides the positive economic effects of the savings, these centers have also caused damage to the environment.  Theoretical FrameworkIn today’s intellectual world, a proper urban environment is an influential factor in human social life. Like all environments in which life takes place, the urban environment affects and is affected by human activities, and this interaction can lead to environmental catastrophes if destructive, due to the large populations that are involved. Today, the problems that have arisen in the environmental input conditions are troubling many cities in the country, and the preservation of the urban environment in urban development and management plans has been subject to plenty of inconsistency and negligence. Numerous approaches and theories have been proposed on the subject of the urban environment and healthy city, such as garden city movement, eco-city (ecological city), compact city, smart city, sustainable development, etc.According to the above theories and following a detailed study of each, the sustainability approach can be considered as the most common, practical approach in the present century. Sustainable development can be defined as the management of the relationships between human systems and natural ecosystems with the aim of sustainable use of resources to ensure the well-being of present and future generations. Therefore, the theoretical approach of this paper involves sustainable development. 

The study area includes the Arg commercial center, located in the Tajrish area, Tehran. The availability of the old bazaar, malls, and shopping places has turned the Tajrish neighborhood and its surroundings into a major commercial center in the north of Tehran. The economic prosperity thus brought to the neighborhood has caused many problems due to the multiplication of the population during the day. The main square in the area in the past was the current Tajrish Square, next to which commercial centers and houses were built.Using the method of systematic study in this descriptive research, quantitative statistical methods were adopted at the descriptive level. Moreover, the research technique was selected based on the application of the EIA model, with the help of RIAM. Among the various methods of environmental impact assessment, the Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix, also known as the Pastakia Matrix, could objectively and conceptually assess and compare options in plans and projects and display the results clearly and concisely as tables and graphs.The Environmental Management Plan could help reduce the adverse effects of a project and ensure that the current quality of the environment is maintained. This plan provides solutions in all the stages of planning, construction, operation, and post-operation of a development project concerning the environment. The development of an environmental management plan is aimed mainly at projects for which EIA studies have not been carried out before construction, as in the case study of the Arg commercial center. Whereas environmental impact assessment studies begin at the same time as the cognition phase and before its approval, with executive operations in some cases, the environmental management plan section of these reports would never be implemented in practice due to the non-location of the provided solutions and suggestions, and would be removed from the agenda. Thus, no control or auditing was performed on the impacts of the project on the environment. 

In order to demonstrate the significance of whether the construction of the Arg commercial center at the current location was appropriate, a rapid impact assessment matrix was developed in the present study in four physical-chemical, bio-ecological, socio-cultural, and economic-technical environments. After a detailed study of each of the four affected environments, we obtained the sum of all the ranges of change, where range -D, with environmental scores ranging from -36 to -71, clearly exhibited the largest number of adverse effects, and the physical-chemical environment had the largest number of negative components. The results indicated the severity of the negative impacts caused by the construction of Arg.The possible consequences of the project once implemented on the environment were identified, given the nature of various activities after the project and the current conditions of the environment in the area. In addition, the legal regulations were reviewed. 

An acceptable method of achieving the purposes of sustainable development is to make environmental assessments for projects, which can be made available to managers, planners, and decision-makers as a planning tool. These days, the high dignity of human beings and efforts to increase their comfort are often ignored in the design, construction, and location of commercial spaces, and only economic benefits are considered, dominating other dimensions of sustainability, such as the environmental dimension.Finally, it is suggested that the environmental impact assessment for large commercial complexes be made early upon the project proposal, i.e. in the recognition phase, and a construction permit be issued for the center in question after all the above evaluation reports are compiled and defended.

One of the most important factors in urban sustainability is to achieve a sustainable model for financial resources to supply the current construction costs of a city, which makes it possible to invest in the system of infrastructures for urban development.A highly significant task in recent decades is to make interactional contracts directly effective on economic issues. A sister city agreement may positively influence the services provided by the local government or reinforce its financial position and affect the development of the local government sector (Buis, 2009: 190-194). However, the costs of such an agreement may be higher than its advantages, according to the literature (De Villiers, 2009: 149-156). Another problem concerns how to develop a sister-city cooperation (Indriyati et al., 2016: 156-164). The current study aimed at rating the factors effective on international sister-city-based contracts using the sustainable income approach adopted by the municipalities. Theoretical FrameworkAlthough scientific research on sister cities is quite new, inter-city international cooperation is not a new phenomenon, and cooperation in urban settlements has existed for more than 200 years.The purpose of urban sister-city partnership is to unite people to enhance mutual understanding and to increase mutual benefit by sharing new knowledge and opportunities (Shaw & Karlis, 2002: 44 - 44), which has turned into a powerful tool for generation of capacity, learning, and economic and social development in developing countries. The term sister city was introduced by Dwight Eisehower in the 12th century. It aims to establish relations and peace among community members all over the world (Tambunan, 2017: 171 - 171).The sister-city project began in 1951, and was developed in the United States in 1956 (Sitinjak et al., 2014). Traditionally, all local governments around the world have assumed the role of establishing political and cultural relations (Chung & Mascitelli, 2008).

In order to rate the factors effective on the process of making international sister-city-based contracts with a focus on the sustainable incomes of the municipalities, the Interpretational-Structural Modeling (ISM) method was used.

Based on the results obtained by the research model, the most fundamental (fourth-level) constituent elements of international sister-city-based contracts that led to sustainable municipal revenues included the three components of change in management style,  stability of domestic and foreign policies, and law. The five components of staff training, stakeholder accountability, consideration of the market, support packages, and investment opportunities occurred at the third level. The two components of people’s participation and social exchanges occurred at the second level. Finally, the five components of foreign investment attraction, private-sector investment attraction, international entrepreneurship development, tourism growth, and operations were the most superficial (first-level) constituent elements.

According to the results, the three parameters of change in management style, stability of domestic and foreign policies, and law are the most infrastructural (level four) elements in international sister-city-based contracts leading to sustainable incomes for the municipalities. The most super-structural elements include the five parameters of foreign investment attraction, private sector investment attraction, international entrepreneurship development, tourism growth, and operation. In experts’ opinion, the first step that needs to be taken for making international sister-city-based contracts functioning favorably and leading to sustainable incomes for the municipalities is to provide political stability, legal reforms, and managerial methods. The reciprocal relationship between the stability of internal and domestic policies and the legal parameter demonstrated that the internal and domestic policy stability might lead to the realization of legal goals, as with bilateral agreements between countries. Conversely, the expansion of friendly relationships and commercial exchanges provided the requirements for promotion of domestic political efficiency and increase in political power at the international level.Improvement of the above three parameters or the two parameters of change in management style and law made it possible to improve the parameter of staff training. This is particularly important in regard to the change in management style, since improvement of the organizational entrepreneurial culture in municipalities heavily depended on the method of passive and entrepreneurial management in these organizations. Moreover, improvement of the legal conditions and increase in exchanges with other cities would enable official and nonofficial education of the municipality staff. The improvement of the staff training parameter made it possible to improve responsibility to beneficiaries and pay greater attention to the market (domestic and foreign) and to increase support for entrepreneurs and money-making plans. All these factors could be effective in provision of  commercial opportunities. On the other hand, enabling commercial opportunities could improve encouragement and support, enhance the concern for new, innovative aspects of the market, increase responsibility to beneficiaries, and, consequently, raise the possibility of awareness and staff training.Improvement of responsibility to beneficiaries at level two, which is dependent on the appropriate performance of other parameters from level three and level four, could enable people’s participation and cooperation with municipalities, which is now important in achievement of goals concerning urban and regional development; thus, development is impossible without people’s cooperation. Improvement of people’s participation could increase social exchange with municipalities at the domestic and foreign levels. Conversely, increase in social exchange could enable people’s greater participation. Increase in social exchange at level one could also make it possible to achieve goals and operational plans, representing an example of participatory development. Operationalization of the employment and money-making plans of municipalities could enable the growth of tourism activities and improve entrepreneurship spaces at the domestic and foreign levels, leading to the attraction of foreign and private-sector investments, which could in turn contribute to the development of international entrepreneurship, of which urban tourism growth is an important, money-making aspect, helping municipalities achieve project goals and operational plans.