Karun's lips: etiology of an urban edge Evaluation of urban approaches and actions on relationship of Ahvaz city and Karun River

Prior to Islam, Karun River in south of Iran was a base for emerging many civilizations. The city of Ahvaz which its history goes back to pre-Sasanid era has formed along this river. Karun River’s urban edge of Ahvaz has always been influenced by the interaction between the city and the river. Throughout history, the significance of the Karun for the inhabitants of this region has gone beyond a supplier element for water and provided as the main infrastructure for prospering of the economy of the city. Economy-based relation of the city and the river over the years had caused the formation of the river’s urban edge with commercial use in this region. However, in recent decades, due to the different approaches being taken to deal with Karun, gradually the river has lost its economic role in urban system and subsequently the edge of the city and the river has been disturbed. Therefore, with these approaches it seems that the city has separated its economic life from the river and its development haven’t been formed based on the river. This has damaged the identity of the Ahvaz’s urban edge that has been shaped based on the river over the centuries and subsequently the city faced multiple challenges. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the city of Ahvaz and Karun River throughout the history and to analyze and pathology of the Karun’s urban edge. For this purpose, in two parts, this article addresses firstly the relation between the city and the river in the past and then analysis the approaches and measures have been taken during the last decades towards it.