فصلنامه هنرهای زیبا - معماری و شهرسازی
سال شانزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 45، بهار 1390)

The literature review of increasing construction density shows that it can have positive and negative impacts on urban development and a way to urban consolidation. Nevertheless, it may facilitate urban life and enhance quality of life, as two major topics and subjects in the process toward sustainability and sustainable urban development issues. The literature related to the sustainability indicates that, however, there is no consensus on the strengths and weaknesses of both high density and low density, concerning change of quality of life with change of urban density. The extent of comfort or what a habitat is a pleasant place is not measurable with a single quality indicator. There is a range of necessary quality criteria and indicators to be used to measure the extent of comfort and pleasant place. Various qualities include social, such as social safety and crimes, economic, environmental, accessibility and transportation, the rate of visual disturbances, conflicts, cultural & structural issues, such as peers and privacy, comfort climate, etc. All these attributes are not fixed qualities in terms of space and time. Except the indicator of climatic comfort, other qualities are in terms of value fixed approximately a least throughout country. For instance, all people in all cities demand a habitat with a higher rate of social security or desirable access to pedestrian and automobile, providing a better life conditions. However, the climatic indicators are completely related to place and even time. Indicators of climatic and thermal comfort of the vast country of Iran with different climatic regions and variable climatic conditions in different seasons and years, is not fixed definitely. Despite the use of new materials and possibilities of technology which are not economically costly and pollute environment, this variable indicator which is highly dependent on location, is considered to be fixed by urban planners, designers and architects. Direct effect of climatic factors in the formation of habitats, is a known fact. Considering the climatic characteristics and their effects on the formation of habitats raising the qualitative level of comfort and saving energy require controlling the environmental conditions of spaces. This study intends to show that by considering factors of climatic and thermal comfort in determining construction density, which act as effective factors of life, level of comfort for residents promotes considerably. The study use a new residential neighborhood in the city of Rasht, located in the northern region of Iran, namely Golsar Neighborhood. Location analysis was conducted for each factor. Indicators of construction density, floor ratio and the number of story were analyzed. The findings of the study showed the optimum construction density in the study area. Although the humid climate of the city of Rasht justifies low density and expanded city rationally, increasing population and construction densities is unavoidable, mainly because of valuable agricultural land of the region. Increasing construction density and the number of building stories through decreasing building areas provide positive effects on the city development.

The meaning of the yard as residential open space has changed in the contemporary Iranian architecture, where its dignity has transformed to the public space in the sub-neighborhood. In the new urbanism according to the land limitation and economic problem, home’s space has decrease and share building has increased. This article has been conducted to investigate the possible landscape architecture measurements which could contribute to improve user’s satisfaction and therefore, the quality of space. According to the psychological aspect of satisfaction, it has different dimensions. While architectural and functional features effect on the evaluation of space, on the other hand, place perception and residence expectation influence on the habitant’s evaluation. Hence, according to the literature review, four-dimensional model, including architectural, socio-relational, functional and context features was developed in other to investigate the user’s perception and consequently, residential satisfaction. This research assumed that satisfaction is diverse across different spaces or levels of environment; therefore, satisfaction was questioned in distinctive scales. The study used data collected from questionnaire contained sections measuring participants’ perceptions of the physical environment, the social environment, aspects of residential and neighborhood satisfaction one hundred and six residents in three residential complexes in Tehran were interviewed. The selected complexes were chosen from the medium scale and high rise blocks. The path model analysis had architectural, socio-relational, and functional and context features of open space as the exogenous variables predicting residents` evaluation of open space and the level of satisfaction, namely: Favorability of place, preferability of the place and recommendatory of the place. Evaluation of sense of privacy, cohesion of space components, and consistency with the nature were asked in order to investigate the perception and satisfaction of architectural design. The criteria such as Safety and maintenance were questioned as the context features. The four categories of indicators are correlated with one another, so the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was established by simulating the complex relationship between evaluated open space indicators. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the estimation of some implicit indicators and give subjective weights to them. At the last part, the correlation between place evaluation and satisfaction was calculated. The path model showed that overall neighborhood satisfaction was associated intensively with the spatial feature of complexes and moderately with social issues. Furthermore, people were satisfied by open spaces with more natural and green space and more hierarchies of social and private spaces. Moreover, Satisfaction with each component related to different predictors, is supporting the idea that inhabitants hold complex views of their environment. The result emphasizes the important role of designers as the creator of place. The result implies that satisfaction at the various levels differs significantly. So it is recommended to measure residential satisfaction in three scales of interior space, open space and sub-neighborhood space. As well as in the studied cases, user satisfied from these different scales sensible diverts. The results of the present study suggest that place satisfaction deserve serious consideration by practitioners and scholars devoted to improving deteriorating neighborhoods.

This paper aims to analyze the effect of perception of nature in the built environment on the sociability of spaces. In this paper, quality of sociability of spaces is considered as a dependent variable which can be affected by possibility and quality of perception of nature in the built environment as independent variables. In order to make the analysis, built environment is considered as a socio-behavioral setting which makes a socio-spatial system. The process of research includes a specific approach to make a basic framework based on the literature of environmental psychology while exploring main components of interactions between natural environment and built environment. Then the research explores various aspects of quality of sociability in the built environment based on perception of nature. The main hypothesis is that there exists a correlation between perception of nature and sociability of the built environment. This work utilizes a multiple case study research methodology to understand the effects of perceiving and experiencing nature in the built environment on quality of sociability of spaces. In fact based on fundamental theories of environmental psychology main considerations are made on study of lived spaces and case studies are selected from residential buildings in Hamedan. Thus based on theoretical framework the main strategy is a qualitative method to access the correlation between two main variables by applying various tactics which are including interviews, questionnaires and direct-depth observations. The data were collected by means of a survey conducted on case studies and filling out the survey was done individually at the participant's homes. Correlation between place attachment and experience of nature were investigated through considering related indicators by applying two main stages. In first stage, the level of place attachment was measured by means of direct interviews and considering critical items. In the second stage, nature perception and how to experience it, were measured by means of the criteria which are derived based on literature review. Measures focused on participants’ respective their life spaces and management of these areas. At last two sets of data were collected from participants of 27 case studies to shape next steps of evaluation. The case studies were selected from three main types of residential spaces in the city of Hamedan which are including urban houses, House-gardens and Apartments. As the basic variables of research were qualitative, based on a hierarchical process, each variable were considered in sub-items. Each sub-item was measured in turn, by nominal quantities using a 5-point Likert-type. Based on analyzing Pearson Correlation, quantitative analysis verifies the assumed correlation between major variables of research-sociability of spaces and perception of nature-based on hypothesis. As expected, based on literature review, calculation of correlation shows the existence of a significant positive correlation between the sociability of spaces and nature perception. The score of correlation is meaningful and important.

Creating a clear purposeful image of a city in the minds of its stakeholders –especially its residents- could attract more investors, tourists and immigrants. Urban management has received a remarkable attention in recent years. One of the most interesting topics in urban management is the concept of identity and especially image. As well as organizations and persons we can depict images for cities and one of the important factors in effective city management is managing the city’s image. In the other side of the coin, City’s image exhibits his identity, history and above all his attractiveness. Urban managers need to have as much knowledge as possible on all factors that affect the city image, in order to make better daily decisions and develop integrated city plans. The aim of this research is to investigate key factors affecting the formation of the internal image of a city from the perspective of its citizens, and the case of our study is Tehran. Pursuing such an objective, a list of factors was extracted from a comprehensive literature review. Following an explanatory method, 12 hypotheses about the relationship between each one of factors and “the formation of internal image of Tehran” were developed. A questionnaire was designed and used in a field survey. This questionnaire was distributed using a cluster-sampling method. The questionnaire the two sections of demographic information and dimensions affecting the formation of the internal image of Tehran. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated via Cronbach's alpha as. 842. The content validity of questionnaire was studied through interview with a group of selected expert. Moreover, it was assumed that since the instrument variables were extracted from original resources, its content validity could be satisfactory. The construct validity of the questionnaire was calculated using factor analysis technique. In order to analyze the research data, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, average test, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used. In this research twelve aspects have been identified and also their status and degree of impact on the formation of the internal city image of Tehran were studied. Findings of the research indicate that among the citizens of Tehran the status of of social issues, university and education, business and innovation culture, environment, transportation, communication and traffic infrastructures, economics and commerce, self-awareness of citizens, and range of services are unsatisfactory and in case of other aspects (international status of the city, architectural and urban attraction, preservation of historical monuments) the status is satisfactory. Also structural equation modeling shows that priority of “formation of Tehran internal city image” model components are respectively four factors of: “economics and commerce”, “range of services”, “international status of the city” and “transportation, communication and traffic infrastructures”. We do believe that the effective application of these factors help city managers and mayors to makes better decisions to enhance citizen and residences life satisfaction.

‘Culture-led regeneration’ is a principle approach to the contemporary urban regeneration process. During last two decades, many of the European, American and even Asian cities, especially those subjected to the decline of deindustrialization have adopted the cultural approach as a way of rejuvenating their economical mechanisms and giving a better image to their global spectators. The idea that culture can be employed as a driver for urban economic growth has become part of the new attitude by which cities seek to enhance their competitive position. By letting a large number of economies, later renowned as creative industries, flourishing, cities all around the world, has gained a great deal of reputation all along with experiencing considerable economic prosperity. Such developments reflect not only the rise to prominence of the cultural sphere in the contemporary urban economy, but how the meaning of culture has been redefined to include new uses in order to meet social, economic and political objectives. In the literature from the late 1980s, from which the idea of ‘culture-led’ regeneration as a policy concept began to emerge, we find a bifurcation of the language of artistic value: one trajectory remains within the hermetic world of ‘the arts’, with its own historical and philosophical traditions; the other trajectory heads into a direct engagement with the socio-urban context. It is this latter trajectory this article is concerned with, and within this trajectory one would find a struggle to present ‘culture’ as a socially credible framework of validation. As the struggle between redevelopment and conservation has made a long history of confrontation and preference that incorporates the big city redevelopment plans and rapid vanishing of historical structures in cities, culture has led to a more appropriate solution and has presented a variety of activities that could find their place in the inner core and historical fabrics of cities and gain benefit while keeping the urban heritage viable and intact. Through the process of culture-led regeneration, newly made buildings and architectural structures may be added to the whole setting in a gradual and context-friendly manner. These structures would help the system accomplish its economic task more sufficiently as they show a better and more harmonious image of the previously abandoned and distressed areas, making a powerful identity for the city and the region. The fact that it could be possible to gain profit in a historical and conservative framework has convinced the market to make investments in new economies and creative industries. This article is a tentative to explore some basic concepts of culture-led regeneration and make the approach theoretically clear. The success of cultural approach in regeneration has been so immense that it seems absolutely inevitable to get more acquainted with this approach in the field of urban regeneration. The basics of culture-led regeneration have been listed and explained through the article and as a primary step it may be helpful to clarify the theoretical aspects which would be afterwards the keystones for the adaptation of this approach in a different and more indigenous context.

Lifestyle, shaped by the culture and customs of the people living in a city, and the settlement pattern resulted from that, is one of the foundations of native housing. Careful analysis of lifestyle helps developing new housing design principles which are compatible to changes in living conditions and styles. City of Khorramshahr, because of the deconstruction caused by war and the reconstruction done after; which is inconsistent with the culture and even the local climate, needs development of new design principles and standards for housing. The current research is based on studies conducted by the author, before and after war, and can be called the only analytical information available on the native housing of Khorramshahr. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the residence fashion prior to war, followed by investigation of suitable pattern for today’s life which takes into account the changes in the lifestyle and finally to present guidelines and principles for new housing design in Khorramshahr. In order to reach to the main objective of the study and have a good understanding of the settlement style before war, either in native or non-native lifestyle of Khorramshahr, several samples have been analyzed. Graphical approach has been utilized to recognize different elements of each sample and configure the relation between the spaces. Following that, in order to evaluate the effects of climate and customs of the people on housing patterns, both the local climate and the culture of the Khorramshahr’s citizens have been studied. It is also tried to correlate these findings with the basic elements in Khorramshahr’s housing style prior to war. Along with the investigations conducted in the field study, some residents were interviewed as well. Analyses performed in different parts of this paper reveal that contrary to the dominant impression, Khorramshahr has its own rich housing style which is consistent with customs and harsh and very hot climate of the area. This finding highlights culture and climate as the most effective parameters on formation of the structure of Khorramshahr’s native housing. In addition, Khorramshahr’s native housing has a unique pattern in buildings orientation, exposure of main functional spaces around the yard, mozif (the men’s guest room) and pashooyeh (special place for washing feet before entering the house) which gives an identity to the old urban context. Understanding the type and model of native housing and taking into account the changes in lifestyle happened during the time, adjusts housing to the new and ever growing needs of human and thus, increases public's satisfaction. Considering the specific culture and customs of the local residents which have influenced the housing model, and also variations of people’s lifestyle and needs, this paper provides solutions for design and construction of Khorramshahr’s housing. These solutions are presented in two categories entitled housing design criteria based on culture and climate. Implication of principles and criteria presented here may recover Khorramshahr’s sprit and identity during reconstruction. Hope that studies from this kind have positive influence on designing criteria and enhance the quality of housing construction.

Urban quality of life is one of the important areas of urban studies in different countries. This importance stems from the increasing attention to monitoring public policies and its role as efficient tool in urban management and planning. The unprecedented growth of urbanization in developing countries specifically in Iran, the cities now present a multi-structural fabric which show considerable difference regarding to their quality of life and accessibility to neighborhood facilities and public spaces. Public spaces are a vital part of our daily life in cities; streets where we pass every day to reach our work place, places where children play and religious locations where our holy duties take place. So the quality of our access to different urban facilities could increase or decrease the quality of our life. Accessibility to urban public spaces and facilities can be one of the main factors for the urban residents. There has been especial attention toward measuring accessibility in advanced nations. Accessibility is in turn an important factor which impacts all aspects of public space in both direct and indirect ways. Accessibility can be defined in different ways, and once more objective and subjective dimensions are important. It is a long tradition in urban planning that objective factors are used for study of urban life; however, this approach could be useful in first place to illustrate the level of resident's satisfaction and their environmental quality of life. But the reality is that concentrating only on the objective characteristics regardless to the subjective characters could be misleading because researches show that an objective quality necessarily does not mirror the subjective one. The present paper focuses on both objective and subjective approaches to measure quality of life in the city of Maragheh. Thus, regarding to the scarcity of research on smaller cities of Iran the research tries to examine urban accessibility to public space. The methodology of the research is based on descriptive-analytical methods which applied TOPSIS and FUZZY logic in GIS extension 9.3. The results revealed that the new parts of the city showed considerable differences by objective and subjective accessibility. On the base of research findings, the new neighborhoods of the city illustrated higher disparities in accessing urban facilities by objective and subjective approach. It could be discussed that due to recent physical expansion of the areas, still many urban facilities are not created here and so the level of objective accessibility decreased. But in old and rural sections of the city people have more facilities to use and therefore the level of accessibility increase in both areas. It should be mentioned that despite the attractions of newer parts of cities still there is a kind of sense of place in older parts of the city which attached its residents to stay here. Also, the findings of the study accentuated the importance of integrated objective-subjective dimensions of accessibility to proper understanding of urban quality of life to distribute main urban facilities by urban planners and designers.