نشریه مطالعات جغرافیایی نواحی ساحلی
سال سوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 9، تابستان 1401)

From the perspective of cultural geography, Iranian cities with the benefit of worldview and Iranian Islamic culture have the necessary talent to achieve urban creativity. If the conditions are right, Iranian cities will be able to take effective steps to achieve a creative Iranian-Islamic city in competition with other cities in the world. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to measure and evaluate the level of urban creativity based on the Iranian-Islamic components in the city of Dezful. It was applied research in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical-comparative in terms of method and nature. The data collection method was the library (statistics and upstream documents) and survey (questionnaire), which were analyzed using the Mabak technique. The results showed that districts 1 and 2, with 0.323 and 0.030, respectively, have the highest rate of urban creativity, i.e., the conditions for the development of urban creativity and also the adoption of creative city conditions based on Iranian-Islamic components, and district 3. with 0/239 was in a deprived situation, i.e., the need to reform and improve the planning methods of the creative city based on Iranian-Islamic principles. Extended Abstract Introduction The Islamic Iranian city needs creative organizations, creative political culture, creative leadership, multi-level and public participation, and active social participation to promote creativity and benefit from the advantages of the creative city. In Iranian-Islamic culture, the city is a comprehensive concept. It consists of various cultural, social, economic, historical, and natural dimensions that result from the interaction among these factors and the set of their effects and outcomes, shaping its structure. The city of Dezful, as one of Iran's original and historic cities, has a unique identity. The most important factors shaping the city's identity are the Dez River, historic bridges, historic mosques, religious monuments, handicrafts, and Islamic features. Also, in Islamic cities, the emphasis on urban creativity and Iranian-Islamic components and characteristics is one of the most important goals of optimal and sustainable urban development.MethodologyIt was applied research in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical-comparative in terms of method and nature. The data collection method was the library (statistics and upstream documents) and survey (questionnaire), which were analyzed using the Mabak technique. After studying the theoretical foundations and background of research related to the evaluation of urban creativity, the components were extracted in the form of dimensions of urban creativity with an emphasis on the Iranian-Islamic basis. Accordingly, the proposed criteria have been evaluated by local elites. Due to the uncertainty of the number of experts in the field under study, a purposeful sampling and questionnaire survey was performed among 35 people. Then, the collected data were evaluated using SPSS software. The Cronbach's alpha test was used to measure the reliability of the research instrument (α=0.847). Also, the face and content validity tests were used to test the validity. The status of urban creativity was assessed based on the Iranian-Islamic components of the regions, using a t-test. In the second stage, the data was entered into the Excel environment. The urban areas were measured and ranked in terms of urban creativity using the Mabak technique and its process.Results and discussionUsing the MABAC technique, the distance matrix of the urban creativity index has been calculated based on Iranian-Islamic components in urban areas of Dezful. Distance analysis of options has shown that in terms of the creative class, region 2 (0.078) had the highest enjoyment in urban creativity, and region 3 (-0.042) had the least enjoyment in urban creativity. Regarding cultural and religious creativity, region 2 (0.105) had the most, and region 3 (-0.125) had the least urban creativity. Regarding historical creativity, region 2 (0.098) had the most, and region 1 (-0.082) had the least amount of urban creativity based on Iranian-Islamic components. Regarding ecological creativity, region 2 had the most with (0.042), and region 1 had the least with (-0.038) in urban creativity. Regarding economic creativity, region 3 has the highest, and region 2 (-0.041) had the lowest level of urban creativity. Regarding social creativity, region 2 has the highest, and region 1 has the lowest value in urban creativity. Regarding design and architecture creativity, region 2 has the highest urban creativity, and region 3 has the lowest urban creativity based on Iranian-Islamic components. And finally, about the distributing communication creativity in urban areas of Dezful; region 3 with 0.050 in the best and most enjoyable state and region 2 in the worst urban creativity is based on Iranian-Islamic components.ConclusionFinally, according to the results and based on the combination of indicators, it can be said that regions 2 and 1 have the highest amount of urban creativity based on the Iranian-Islamic components, respectively. Region 3, with a value of -0.239, is deprived of urban creativity indicators and distribution conditions based on Iranian-Islamic components. Therefore, it can be said that comparative analysis and indicators of urban creativity indicators in the urban areas of Dezful are distributed unbalanced, and it is necessary to adopt operational and managerial solutions in each of the key indicators to prevent polarization of facilities. Facilities and services in urban areas should also be prohibited in terms of urban creativity based on Iranian-Islamic components.FundingThere is no funding support.Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the workConflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest.Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the persons for scientific consulting in this paper.

This study aimed to identify and analyze the barriers to tourism development on the coasts of the Oman Sea. It was descriptive-analytical research. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The research population included two categories: the incoming tourists to the region, from which 382 questionnaires were randomly selected using Cochran's formula from among the available and responsive tourists, and 30 officials of departments related to tourism. A one-way t-test, multivariate regression analysis, and path analysis were used to analyze the research findings. The results of the one-sample t-test showed that in terms of tourists, tourism on the Oman Sea coast is unfavorable. The average economic barriers (2.920), advertising barriers (2.957), infrastructure and service barriers (2.912), beach sports barriers (2.767), socio-cultural barriers (2.928), and Management barriers (2.857) were all below the desired average (3). The results of linear regression analysis showed that the managerial barriers and economic barriers with beta values ​​of 0.368 and 0.302, respectively, had the most impact and barriers to doing water sports with a beta coefficient of 0.154, social barriers with a beta coefficient of 0.171 barriers to infrastructure facilities and tourism services with a beta coefficient of 0.224 and advertising barriers with a beta coefficient of 0.294, respectively, had less impact on the coastal tourism on the coast of the Oman Sea. Also, the results of route analysis showed that managerial barriers with 0.820 and economic barriers with 0.623 had the most significant impact on the coastal tourism of the Oman Sea, respectively, and the beach sports barriers with 0.154 had the least impact on tourism. Therefore, according to the obtained results, it can be said that the barriers to the development of tourism on the coasts of the Oman Sea depend on factors such as economic, propaganda, management, socio-cultural factors, beach sports, and infrastructure - services. As long as these problems and barriers are not removed, tourism in these areas will not reach proper growth and development.Extended Abstract Introduction Activities on the shores and areas surrounding the seas, such as sunbathing, swimming, boat riding, wave surfing, water skiing, flying in the air, diving, fishing sports, and other water recreational activities, are the main attractions in many parts of the world. Today tourism primarily develops adjacent to the seas, and beach tourism counts among the most significant economic development and job creation models. Tourists travel to coastal regions to visit the shores and use the coastal facilities. Enjoying the benefits of tourism requires removing all the hurdles and challenges facing this activity, such as the lack of management skills, poor marketing, lack or shortage of tourist services, seasonal limitations, and regulation void. To this aim, actions, including building and developing the infrastructures, sustainable advertisement, and marketing, responsible holding of tourist tours, setting the stage for private and non-public investment in beach tourism, prioritizing the demands and goals of locals to satisfy their needs, and designing appropriate laws and regulations. MethodologyThis research is applied in terms of objective. It draws on a descriptive and analytical methodology and utilizes the library method and fieldwork to gather data. Questionnaires are used in the fieldwork. The statistical population of the research consists of incoming tourists to the region (Konārak and Chābahār shores) and the authorities in charge of beach tourism. According to data released by the Ministry of Heritage, Culture, Tourism, and Handicraft, tourists visiting the Sistān and Baluchestān province shores reached over 100 thousand in 2019. Using the Cochran formula, 382 questionnaires were completed by availability sampling from among the tourists visiting the Sistān and Baluchestān province shores. Thirty officials from the office in charge of tourism in Konārak and Chābahār towns were chosen as the second statistical research population. SPSS and EXCEl software packages were employed to analyze data. One-sample t-test, linear regression analysis, path analysis, and factor analysis were used to analyze data. Opinions of 5 university professors and experts were elicited to examine the questionnaire validity, which was confirmed after investigation and revision. The questionnaire reliability was calculated using alpha Cronbach 0.81. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test confirmed a normal distribution of the data. After conducting fieldwork and interviewing local experts, the challenges facing tourism development on the shores of the Sea of Oman were identified and categorized into six groups: Cultural-social, economic, infrastructural, tourism services, management, advertisement, and beach sports.Results and discussionFindings suggest that 138 respondents (36 percent) are female, and 244 (64 percent) are male. Other findings are as follows. Challenges to beach tourism development are cultural and social obstacles, economic hurdles, infrastructural facilities, tourism services, management hurdles, challenges facing the development of beach sports, and advertisement challenges. Given the data's Normal distribution, the one-sample t-test and parametric tests were employed to investigate the obstacles to the development of beach tourism on the shores of the Sea of Oman.ConclusionFindings indicate that the development of beach tourism faces numerous challenges in these regions. These challenges include social-cultural challenges like the lack of familiarity of the locals with the role and significance of tourism in development, lack of complete knowledge on how to treat the tourists, fear of insecurity among the tourists, lack of tourism police in the region, lack of a culture of using tourism resources, and facilities; economic challenges like the tourists' propensity to neighboring rival regions, lack of governmental insurance and financial support of the existing investors, Unwillingness of the native and non-native investors to invest in tourism, local's lack of access to more financial resources, inflation, foreign exchange fluctuations in the country, tourism services, and infrastructural challenges, such as welfare facilities in the tourism sites, and the low quality of tourism services Management hurdles like inattention of authorities to the significance of beach tourism, lack of expert and skilled forces in tourism institutions and bodies, lack of cooperation among organizations in charge of tourism to develop beach tourism, planning and decision-making weakness regarding tourism and beach tourism, neglecting the task of spreading information regarding tourism on the part of tourism authorities, lack of suitable, early-yielding tourism plan to encourage investors in beach tourism, and the lack of sufficient skills on the part of tourism officials in the region to plan tourism development Beach sports challenges like a lack of boat riding tournaments, beach soccer, wave surfing, open water swimming tournaments, international beach sports tournaments, lack of investment in beach sports, neglect of the high potential of beach sports to attract tourists, lack of high skills on the part of tourism officials in the region to plan tourism development, lack of necessary facilities for beach sports Advertisement challenges like lack of radio advertisements on the province's beach tourism, negligence on the part of information-broadcasting institutions such as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in changing the perceptions of the country's tourists toward the province and its shores, a multitude of documentaries and films depicting the area as unsafe, and media exaggeration of the adverse events in the region (insecurity).FundingThere is no funding support.Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the workConflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest.Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the persons for scientific consulting in this paper.

The integration process in less developed or developing countries seems an undeniable necessity due to geography, economic growth, high rural population, deprivation, extreme poverty, unemployment, and inflation (which are common in these countries). Therefore, this study aimed to identify and analyze the factors affecting the success of the agricultural land integration project with an emphasis on global experiences. The research method was descriptive-analytical and applied. The data collection method was library and survey (observation and questionnaire - farmers and experts). The study area included 11 villages out of 35 villages in the Chubar rural district where the land integration plan has been implemented. The number of households in the Chubar district included in the land integration plan was 1137, from which 285 farmers were selected using the Morgan table. Also, 13 agricultural Jihad experts and 7 university professors were selected as the research population for the opinion polls. Findings of the research using the confirmatory factor analysis method showed that based on the coherence and integration of indicators, three influential factors in the implementation of land integration plan and its success were identified, named as follows: 1-The factor of new agricultural technologies with a factor weight of 1.7; 2- Productivity and employment indicators and the underlying factor, which is the management and productivity factor with a factor weight of 1.66; 3- The third influential factor from the experts' point of view is the mechanization factor with a factor weight of 1.464, which is obtained from the indicators of using machines and ease of access to devices and labor. It should be noted that according to the mentioned factors, the success rate of the agricultural land integration plan in Chubar village has been higher than average.  Extended Abstract Introduction The rural economy is closely related to agricultural activities and land productivity. Severe land segmentation as one of the most important challenges of rural economy leads to a decrease in production and consequently individual incomes of farmers, economic and social instability and reduction of food security, decrease in employment and income, and the increase in migration in rural areas. The integration process in less developed or developing countries in terms of geographical status, economic growth rate, and also due to high rural population, deprivation, severe poverty, unemployment, and inflation (one of these countries' commonalities) seems to be an undeniable necessity. Today, the factors contributing to the success of agricultural land consolidation in new land management approaches are using scarce resources to achieve the desired result, the sustainable socio-economic revitalization, and political development emphasizing the "local community" factor. Therefore, increasing farmers' awareness about the economic and social outcomes and the transfer of useful information to farmers by promoters and government support programs to attract the participation of stakeholders and beneficiaries in both the decision-making and implementation stages is an undeniable necessity.MethodologyThe research method was descriptive-analytical and applied. The data collection method was library and survey (observation and questionnaire - farmers and experts). The study area included 11 villages out of 35 villages in the Chubar rural district where the land integration plan has been implemented. The number of households in the Chubar district included in the land integration plan was 1137, from which 285 farmers were selected using the Morgan table. Also, 13 agricultural Jihad experts and 7 university professors were chosen as the research population for the opinion polls.Results and discussionFindings of the research using the confirmatory factor analysis method showed that based on the coherence and integration of indicators, three influential factors in the implementation of land integration plan and its success were identified, named as follows: 1-The factor of new agricultural technologies with a factor weight of 1.7; 2- Productivity and employment indicators and the underlying factor, which is the management and productivity factor with a factor weight of 1.66; 3- The third influential factor from the experts' point of view is the mechanization factor with a factor weight of 1.464, which is obtained from the indicators of using machines and ease of access to devices and labor. The results were in line with Bouzarjomehri and Enzaei (2012), who acknowledged the implementation of the integration plan with the presence of effective criteria for achieving the quantitative and qualitative goals of the plan to achieve potential in rice production, taking measures to equip lands and exploiters to the new knowledge are essential. One of the things that contribute to the quantitative and qualitative development of rice cultivation was the successful implementation of the project in terms of technology. The result was also consistent with Rezaei Moghadam et al. (2014), that farmers with more access to the extension services on integration information had better attitudes and participation in the implementation of integration, therefore more willing to participate in the social activities.ConclusionIn terms of institutionalism, by enacting a law on the property rights in agricultural lands, regardless of the political and social structures of the region, the government can not expect property rights to be observed there. Also, decentralization and leaving decisions on the local issues (development and construction projects) to local members, given that they have a clear picture of local facilities and conditions, is something that can be the beginning of low-level institutionalization and create competition and success of agricultural development projects (land consolidation). From the perspective of communication planning, planning should be operational in such a way that the opinion of all different groups of farmers in the villages is attracted, and the intra-group and out-of-group relationships and communication networks should be strengthened. On the one hand, developing capacity, and strengthening the capabilities of the society, empowers individuals, organizations, and groups in implementing and executing programs. Also, the presence and participation of local community residents is one of the main pillars in the implementation of development projects, so it is important to believe that social capital is the main factor in creating solidarity and collective interest among farmers and is the driving force behind all kinds of active social movements in different areas.FundingThere is no funding support.Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the workConflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest.Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the persons for scientific consulting in this paper.

The city of Bandar Abbas is facing a high risk of earthquakes, which makes it necessary to identify and rehabilitate the decay texture. Improper land use location, inefficient communication network, compact texture, high densities, improper distribution of urban open spaces, etc., are crucial in increasing earthquake damages. This study evaluated the resilience of decayed texture against earthquakes using multi-criteria decision-making methods in district 2 of Bandar Abbas. The decayed texture included the neighborhoods of Nāyland, Khājeh Attā, Chahestāni, and Kamarbandi. In the AHP method, the highest housing resilience was for North Nāyband with 68.6%, Southern Nāyband with 45.8%, and Khājeh Ata with 41% of accommodation was in the next category. At the same time, Chahestāni and Kamarbandi, with 4.6% and 5.7% of the housing, respectively, had proper resilience. Vulnerability analysis also showed that 28.2% of belt buildings and 10.7% of Chahestāni had a high vulnerability. In the ANP method, the slope and distance from the fault with the weight of 0.003 and 0.007, respectively, had the lowest values. The material type and the number of building floors with a weight of 0.119 and 0.072 were the most important indicators. In the GIS environment, the layers overlapped, and the results showed that 69.2% of Nāyband North and 40.9% of Khājeh Atta had high resilience. 32.8% of Kamarbandi using were highly vulnerable, and 43.1% were relatively vulnerable with the first ranking, and the Chahestāni was in the second-ranking. A comparison of the results of the two decision-making methods showed the better performance of the ANP method. Extended Abstract Introduction Natural hazards, with their various types and extent of influence, are recurring and destructive phenomena that have always existed during the earth's life and have always been a danger to humans since the creation of humankind. Therefore, it can be acknowledged that no society claims to be safe from natural hazards, and humans always face harmful mental and objective effects. By reviewing the literature on historical events in the country, it can be seen that Iran, due to its location-spatial structures, has always suffered from many natural crises and has been among the most vulnerable parts of the world to natural hazards. The fact is that natural disasters pose a growing threat to the well-being and development of rural communities, and the damage caused by natural disasters affects the rural community both in terms of recurrence and the damage they cause.MethodologyThe method was descriptive-analytical. First, effective criteria for evaluating the case area's worn-out urban fabric are identified. Then, using the pairwise comparison method, the existing criteria were compared. In this case, each criterion based on the degree of importance was assigned a number between 1 and 9 (1: equal importance, 2: weak superiority of one variable over another, 9: most important). The collected information was analyzed according to database-based methods and using hierarchical analysis models and network and software analysis based on the GIS approach. The steps are as follows:1- Determining the locating criteria using the results of previous studies and research, collecting information based on the defined criteria2- Creating a database and mapping criteria3- Weight of criteria: In this stage, priorities in the form of weights enter the decision model. The purpose of weighting the criteria is to express the importance of each criterion compared to other criteria. In this research, two weighting methods, AHP and ANP, were used, which were briefly described.4- Presenting the results By combining the information layers with the application of the corresponding weight, the zoning of the worn-out urban fabric is determined.Questionnaire informationThe questionnaires were presented as a pairwise comparison matrix of criteria. Twenty-five experts completed questionnaires by random sampling. The mean value was taken from each cell of the matrix. To analyze the AHP method, the data were entered into Expert Choise software, and Super Decisions software was used to implement the ANP method.Results and discussionEvaluation of resilience of dilapidated neighborhoods in Bandar Abbas district 2 using the AHP methodDifferent criteria in location and zoning are not aligned, decision making should be made in a multidimensional space. In such situations, multi-criteria evaluation methods can be used, considering that in these methods it is assumed that each criterion is a separate axis or dimension. The hierarchical structure includes objectives, criteria, or possible criteria and options used in prioritization. Hierarchy is because decision-making elements (decision-making options and criteria) can be summarized at different levels.  Therefore, the criteria are placed in a matrix, and binary comparisons are made between them. In fact, a matrix is formed, and its values are compared in pairs according to the importance of each criterion to each other. After forming the comparison matrix, the relative weights of the criteria are obtained as follows, respectively.Step 1: Calculate the sum of the values of each column in the pairwise comparison matrix.Step 2: The standardization of matrix numbers is so that each component of the matrix derived from pair comparison is divided into the sum of its column, and the normalized pair comparison matrix is obtained.Step 3: Calculate the components' average in each row of the standardized matrix. That is, dividing the total standardized points for each row by the number of criteria resulting from each column matrix. These averages are estimates of the relative weight of the compared criteria. Finally, the final weight is obtained. The final weight is the basis for decision-making and is used as the efficiency ratio of each criterion in achieving the final goal. As can be seen, the total importance coefficient of the criteria is equal to 1, indicating the relativity of the importance of the criteria. One of the advantages of the analytical hierarchy process is the possibility of evaluating compatibility in judgments to determine the importance coefficient of criteria. If this coefficient is smaller or equal to 0.1, the compatibility in judgments is accepted. Otherwise, it should be revised in judgments. In other words, the binary comparison matrix of criteria must be re-formed.ConclusionIn the analytical hierarchy system, the weight of building materials and population density criteria with a score of 0.334 and 0.23, respectively, as the most important indicators and criteria of public open spaces with a weight of 0.023 have the least importance in vulnerability to earthquake crisis. The experience of recent earthquakes has shown that the type of materials used in the structure is more important than other effective parameters in earthquake vulnerability. In such a way, whatever long-lasting materials have been used in the structure, the severity of vulnerability to earthquake decreases, and the resilience of buildings increases. The highest housing resilience belongs to the North Nayband neighborhood with 68.6% of buildings on high resilience floors, the Southern Nayband neighborhoods with 45.8% and Khajeh Atta with 41% of housing in the next categories of resilience against earthquakes. While, Chahestani and Beltway neighborhoods have good resilience in 4.6% and 5.7% of the neighborhoods, respectively. Also, the vulnerability analysis results show that 28.2% of the buildings in the Beltway neighborhood and 10.7% of the uses of the Chahestani neighborhood have high vulnerability.FundingThere is no funding support.Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the workConflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest.Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the persons for scientific consulting in this paper.

Today, the inequality and spatial imbalance between the rural and urban areas is an important issue for regional planners. To balance and reduce the inequality in rural areas, it is essential paying attention to small towns. It was descriptive-analytical research. Using quantitative methods and models such as spatial coefficient (LQ) and centrality index, the present article analyzed the performance of Rudbār cities. In this article, the objectives include explaining the relationship between the function of urban areas in providing services to rural areas of the city, ranking the availability of services, and determining the levels of development of villages in the area of direct influence of Rudbār cities were considered. Location quotient (LQ) showed that Rudbār city in the field of agriculture and industry had a coefficient (LQ) higher than one and was an exporter of manufactured products, but in terms of services (LQ) was less than one and indicated the dependence on the other cities. According to the concentration index, the residents of the cities of Rudbār, Lowshān, Manjil, Rostamabād, and Bare-sar were regular in terms of ranking their domain villages, and the cities of Jirandeh and Tootkābon are irregular. In addition to the forced administrative and political communication that makes the village dependent on the city, in other cases, residents are referred to other towns of the county for economic, social, and cultural relations. Extended Abstract Introduction The occurrence of inequality and lack of attention to the villages within the area has weakened and accelerated the destruction of these settlements and created a spatial imbalance within the area and a one-way flow of services, capital, information, and population to urban centers. To provide services and conditions for creating balance and development in the rural areas, the creation and development of small towns through the promotion of large and talented villages can improve the quality of life in rural areas and prevent migration to the large cities. Since the city and the village have interdependence of social, economic, and environmental, so little attention to the spatial attitude at the local and regional levels and ignoring the urban and rural systems causes disorder in the settlements of the city. Small cities, playing the role of the central market of rural spheres of influence while providing various services in this field, are considered an important stimulus in strengthening and economic strength of rural areas. Spatial inequality and imbalances between the urban and rural settlements are important issues for regional planners. Therefore, creating a balanced and systematic hierarchy of settlements is a basic need to achieve balanced and integrated development in the regional space. In the meantime, paying attention to small towns is one of the ways to balance this situation. In organizing rural areas, strengthening and growing small towns cannot be ignored because these centers provide facilities and services to their rural areas and can play a significant role in the development of the suburban regions. In general, small cities can be considered centers with a significant role in strengthening the drivers of growth and spatial development of their domain of influence. The importance of rural development is due to its impact and relationship with economic growth as well as the establishment of social security. It seems that cities that do not have rural development do not have a proper economic structure and lack infrastructure services and imbalances in the region. This is a factor in increasing unemployment and increasing migration of villagers to cities, followed by many social and economic problems. Based on the results of research and studies (some of which will be mentioned below), one of the most important solutions in this regard is to strengthen small towns in order to better access rural services to urban services, which strengthens and develops areas. It is a village in order to prevent migration and stabilize the population and provide services and create employment in the small towns of this city. The diversity and difference of rural settlements in Rudbar city in the framework of unequal interactions between urban and rural areas, has led to the formation of incoherent networks and disintegration of rural settlements. These conditions necessitate the transformation of the settlements of Rudbar city. In order to achieve a spatial balance between rural settlements and small towns, it is necessary to study the function and performance of cities versus villages.MethodologyRudbār city is located in the south of Guilan province. This city is limited to Rasht city from the north, Qazvin province from the south, Shaft city from the northwest, Zanjan province from the west, and Siāhkal city from the east. Rudbār city, with an area of about 2517 square kilometers, has seven cities named Rudbār, Manjil, Jirandeh, Rostamābād, Lushān, Totkābon, and Bare-sar It also has 4 districts, 7 cities, 10 rural districts, and 205 villages.Results and discussionAccording to the results of the general population and housing census of 2016, Rudbār city has 4 districts, 7 cities, 10 rural districts, and 205 villages. This city, with a population of 100,943 people, has 30,350 households and accounts for 4.07% of the total population of Guilan province. The seven cities of Rudbār are respectively Manjil with a population of 17396 people, Lushbān with a population of 15193 people, Rostamābād with a population of 13749 people, Rudbār city with a population of 10926 people, Jirandeh with a population of 2584 people, Totkābon with a population of 1678 people, and Bare-sar with a population of 1416 people.ConclusionIn examining the function of cities in the development of surrounding villages, it was found that strengthening and equipping the towns will increase income in the cities and villages and also play a role in stabilizing the population of villages.The above results showed that the expected growth rate of small towns in Rudbār city is positive in all cases, which is due to the success of these cities in providing jobs compared to the province. The capital from the production surplus, instead of flowing to larger cities, will be spent on industrial activities in small towns of this city so that currently workshop-industrial units are operating in these towns.FundingThere is no funding support.Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the workConflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest.Acknowledgments The authors thank the esteemed professors of the University of Guilan and the Islamic Azad University of Rasht.

The participatory issue of urban development plans goes back to the reform of the structure of the current planning system of the country and the implementation of sustainable urban management. The current structure of the planning system of Iran is not very participatory and needs to be changed, and create non-governmental institutions in the process of preparing, approving, and implementing urban development plans. This study aimed to explain the spatial structure of urban areas of Guilan province to create a landscape with a participation-based approach based on understanding the performance system and the city's role to investigate the difference or no difference in the landscape of cities in the province. The research method was qualitative. Relying on a combined participatory approach (top-down and bottom-up) and referring to the above documents, such as comprehensive urban plans, development plans, etc., general knowledge of the city was obtained. The studied geographical area is the three cities of Otāghvar in the east, Someh-Sara in the center, and Chubar in the west of the province, and the analysis unit was the citizens, managers, and urban elites. To better understand the urban space and adapt the findings of documentary studies to tangible facts, a survey study of the cities was performed; then, to create a landscape using the SWOT method, the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each city were identified, and the most important strategies were identified and prioritized using the QSPM method. The results indicated that despite the significant distance among these three cities in three different geographical locations and each city's specific capabilities, there is no significant difference in terms of landscape and functional future among them. Because each of their functional nature and aspirations are generally centered around the service activities, especially tourism, in such a way that the perspective of the city of Otāghvar is "the eco-centric city of nature tourism," the city of Chubar is the city of Kiwi with an agriculture tourism approach, and the city of Someh-Sarā is a tourism-transit city with an alternative tourism approach." Extended Abstract Introduction Due to its geographical location and place on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, Guilan province has formed a net of human settlements in which the spatial organization of its urban settlement system, concerning its population density and activities, requires continuous study, control, and monitoring.Field studies and the results of existing documentary reports show that, at present, the urban network of Guilan province is not as dynamic as it should be. The cities of this province are in economic, social, political, environmental, and physical isolation. The hierarchy of the urban system of this province has a lot of ruptures. This province, with 52 urban points, has only one urban point with a regional function (Rasht city with 43% of the province's urban population), which has increased the density of housing and activities in the center of the province with these interpretations. Therefore, if the urban network of Guilan province can be strengthened and suitable functional plans can be defined for small and medium-sized cities, it will undoubtedly reduce the burden of severe congestion in the center of the province. Also, the demand for housing and activity in the entire urban network would be more balanced. In the meantime, it seems that attention to the sustainable urban management system in the form of urban vision, strategic plans, and preparation of long-term, medium-term, and short-term plans with the presence of all citizens with appropriate executive guarantees in the form of participatory approach in Guilan province can guarantee the improvement and development of the urban network of this province. In this regard, the main question of this research can be posed in this way: what is the optimal perspective of the urban network spatial organization in the three regions of east, center, and west of Guilan province, and is there a difference between them in terms of future performance perspective?MethodologyThis study used the mixed method to formulate an urban landscape for 20 years. In this way, to know the totality of cities and understand their challenges and potentials, they referred to the upstream documents such as land management, comprehensive urban plans, development documents, etc. At this stage, after recognizing the totality of cities, adopting the findings of documentary studies with concrete facts, and better understanding the spatial organization of cities, a field study with a participatory approach was on the agenda of the study team. In this way, at first, out of a total of three cities surveyed, 1200 people, on average, 400 people from each city were selected as a sample, and citizens were surveyed in the form of face-to-face and online questionnaires about the city as a whole. Then, using the method of precipitation of thoughts by forming groups including city managers, urban elites, religious and political trustees, and all stakeholders of the urban management system and based on a non-random (targeted) sampling and available people (a total of 145 people) by forming working groups and specialized committees following the management structure of municipalities and the population of that city, the information of the studied cities is collected, coded and analyzed in Excel and SPSS, and after compiling the vision of cities by a collective agreement, i.e., all stakeholders. And the relevant people of the city, using the swot and qspm methods, strategies compatible with each city's vision were developed and then reviewed and exchanged views with the members of the working groups.Results and discussionTo create a vision for each city, first, the upstream documents were studied, then interviewed with the elites and experts in each city. Next, each city's main strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities were examined in three areas. Regarding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in these three selected cities (Someh-Sarā, Otāghvar, and Chubar), which are each located at 3 points in the center, east, and west of the province, it should be acknowledged that in many of the issues due to their location in a similar climate and geographical area, they have commonalities, including the benefits of favorable living conditions due to the temperate climate, the physical stability of urban buildings and the relatively suitable coverage of city streets. Other factors such as adequate plants, a high share of housing gardens in the city, and the supply of various agricultural and livestock products in the city due to being within the sphere of influence of the surrounding villages are strengths in the cities of Otāghvar and Chubar.ConclusionIn this study, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were first examined to achieve an optimal perspective in each of these three cities. According to the findings, these three cities have a lot in common. Also, to achieve these perspectives, the strategies of each of these three cities have been prioritized. According to the results obtained in the city of Otāghvar, these strategies include supporting natural tourism, establishing accommodation centers and commercial and recreational complexes, providing facilities to citizens, providing welfare facilities for tourists in the field of ecotourism and health, redefining or modifying the intersection areas or squares for proper access of travelers to the city, etc. Regarding the strategies in the city of Chubar, we can include such things as attracting investors and benefiting from the existing potential of the city, explaining the plan and urban landscape according to the local architecture of the region, directing the expansion of the city towards the vertical development due to limitations of horizontal development, organizing, and improving the urban infrastructure, etc. Also, the strategies developed in the city of Someh-Sarā are: directing and smoothing the traffic load of the central city thoroughfares with the help of bypass axes and spaces around the city, improving inter-organizational coordination regarding traffic management, locating parking around the main axes, strengthening social capital to deal with social harm, developing regular educational programs aimed at promoting students' culture, using new methods of urban advertising in informing citizens, creating opportunities for social participation for citizens, supporting the non-governmental organizations in the field of cultural affairs and women, strengthening the sense of belonging of citizens by building urban elements, etc. Also, after these steps, studies were selected to accelerate the achievement of the desired perspective.FundingThere is no funding support.Authors’ Contribution Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work.Conflict of InterestAuthors declared no conflict of interest.Acknowledgments We are grateful to all the persons for scientific consulting in this paper.