هوشمند علیزاده

The concepts of smartness and informality are seen as two opposing concepts and functions in urban discussions. However, the mentioned concepts may be more similar than different. For example, the development of informal settlements and their public spaces follows self-organizing and daily patterns, similar to what is found in smart developments. Smartness is evolving in the third generation of definitions and components, which, in addition to technology and well-being (present in the first and second generation), puts more emphasis on social concerns that seem to have similarities with the way of life in informal settlements. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to consider the opportunity to conceptualize smartness by referring to public spaces in informal settlements based on an interpretive approach and using the qualitative content analysis method, in which data collection is also based on the library method and document study. The results indicate that the concept of smartness in the public spaces of informal settlements with the components of flexibility, social and ethnic pluralism, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, mobility and dynamism (slow progress), transparency, participation, social capital, social cohesion and unity, local communities Active, bottom-up performance, collective awareness, social trust, supportive systems and networks, social power and sense of belonging are recognized.

Cities are currently facing significant challenges. Urban life has been profoundly impacted by climate change. The rise in the Earth's average temperature is a key factor driving the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, which directly affect the lives and well-being of millions of people and the environment. Additionally, cities are rapidly expanding, consuming land and water in surrounding areas, often at the expense of agricultural lands. Many cities around the world suffer from inadequate infrastructure and unequal access to essential services, which disproportionately affect vulnerable groups. Urbanization and growing competition among different land uses and economic sectors are making water an increasingly scarce resource. Climate change further exacerbates these pressures by heightening the risk of floods, droughts, and heatwaves. These challenges demand a systemic approach and a shift in urban planning and water management. Traditional urban water management systems provided services such as water supply, wastewater management, drainage, and flood control. However, urban water management is now increasingly integrated with broader goals of livability and sustainability. In recent decades, several countries have developed new approaches to urban water management. These approaches all embrace sustainable development as a core objective, with the concept of Water Sensitive Cities emerging as a notable model. This concept is linked to a new paradigm in urban water management that advocates for the use of decentralized water systems. Since the introduction of practical water-sensitive indicators, substantial efforts have been made to implement them in cities with diverse social, organizational, and biophysical conditions worldwide Iran is not exempt from this crisis, and its water resources are far from ideal. Situated in the arid and semi-arid belt of the world, Iran is considered one of the countries with limited water resources. Its share of the world’s fresh water is relatively low compared to other regions. With Iran’s growing population, the annual per capita renewable water resources decreased to about 800 cubic meters in 2021, below the water scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters. The decline in groundwater resources is a clear sign of unsustainable management and national water bankruptcy. At the current rate of exploitation, 12 out of 31 provinces in Iran will completely deplete their groundwater reserves within the next 50 years. Tehran, the capital, faces one of the most critical water resource conditions. Factors such as population growth, urbanization, green spaces, industries, unsustainable water consumption, lack of rainfall, and evaporation contribute to water loss in the Tehran area. Tehran Province, which accounts for more than 20% of the country's population, occupies less than 1% of its land area. It is evident that providing water for this dense population is a challenging task. Over the past two years, Tehran has been recognized as the country’s highest water-consuming city. The city of Tehran comprises 22 districts and 376 neighborhoods, each differing in physical, environmental, and cultural aspects. One of Tehran’s neighborhoods, Tajrish in District 1, has been particularly notable because of itshistorical significance and location. This neighborhood is noteworthy in terms of water management because it has numerous active Qanats. Additionally, the presence of the Darband River Valley is one of its unique features. A review of Iran’s flood history shows that one of the most destructive floods occurred in this neighborhood, highlighting the need for measures to achieve sustainable water resource conditions. This study aims to evaluate the Tajrish neighborhood based on Water Sensitive Cities (WSC) indicators and to answer the question of how Tajrish stands in terms of WSC criteria. It also seeks to provide solutions for achieving water sustainability in Tehran. Implementing the necessary measures to become a Water Sensitive City can help reduce costs and foster a sustainable and socially committed approach to urban water resource management.

This research is an applied study aimed at assessing the status of the Tajrish neighborhood based on the indicators of Water Sensitive Cities. To achieve this objective, we employed multiple methods for data collection and analysis, which are detailed below:In the first phase, we gathered information using library and documentary methods, which included documentary studies, library research, and a thorough review of the literature. In the next step, we used a questionnaire to collect information for assessing the status of the Tajrish neighborhood in relation to a Water Sensitive City, utilizing the Likert scale. These questionnaires were distributed among 30 water and urban planning experts and reached theoretical saturation. After distributing the questionnaires among the experts and scoring each criterion and sub-criterion, we used the one-sample t-test in SPSS software to determine the status of each of these criteria and sub-criteria in this neighborhood relative to a Water Sensitive City. Subsequently, we categorized these criteria into five ranges, from very weak to very good.

To identify the most significant deficiencies among the main components and sub-criteria, we use a classification method. In the t-test, we considered the highest level, representing a Water Sensitive City, as one, and we ranked the criteria into five groups within the range of zero to one. According to experts, Tehran has the smallest gap regarding equity and equality compared to Water Sensitive Cities, while the worst situation pertains to efficiency and performance. By examining each criterion and sub-criterion based on their importance in the Tajrish neighborhood, we found that most indicators fall within the range of 0-0.2, which is weak, and 0.21-0.4, which indicates moderate conditions. Only three sub-criteria—equitable access to safe and reliable water resources, equitable access to a safe and reliable sewage network, and vegetation cover—were classified as good.

Population growth and the lack of consideration for water elements in urban planning have resulted in significant challenges for today's cities regarding water resource availability, impacting their sustainability. It is evident that traditional urban water management models are insufficient, and modern cities require the adoption of new approaches for urban water management. The Water Sensitive Cities model, which has emerged in the past two decades, represents a novel approach to urban water management, advocating for the use of decentralized water systems. This model aims to maximize opportunities for better living conditions and efficient resource utilization, including the reuse and management of water and wastewater, to promote and support human health while minimizing the impacts of urbanization on the natural environment and the water cycle. In this study, we assessed the status of the Tajrish neighborhood based on the indicators of Water Sensitive Cities using the one-sample t-test. The results indicated that Tajrish predominantly falls within the weak and moderate categories for these indicators. Only three sub-criteria—equitable access to safe and reliable water resources, equitable access to a safe and reliable sewage network, and vegetation cover—were classified as good. Consequently, Tajrish requires long-term planning across all dimensions and strategies ranging from micro to macro levels.

The current research aims to investigate the status of quantitative and qualitative indicators of housing and to identify the key and influencing factors on the future of this sector in the Tabriz metropolis. The current research method is practical in terms of its purpose, and the description of the evolutionary process of quantitative and qualitative indicators of housing in the last 40 years and the analysis of factors affecting the future state of this sector have led to the fact that the current research is descriptive-analytical in terms of research method. To collect data from statistical yearbooks, censuses of different periods and the environmental survey method, and to analyze the data and determine the key factors, the interaction/structural effects analysis method with MICMAC software was used. The results of the research show that from 1976 to 2016, most of the quantitative and qualitative indicators of housing in the metropolis of Tabriz have improved. In the same way, 61 factors in five areas that have the greatest influence on the future state of housing in the municipality of Tabriz were selected using the method of environmental scanning. Among the mentioned factors, using the mutual/structural effects analysis method, 11 key factors that play the most significant role in the future state of housing in the metropolis were selected. Tabriz has been extracted, which includes: economic growth, inflation, household income and savings, land and housing prices, sanctions, exchange rate changes, banking facilities, unemployment rate, political changes, purchasing power and management style. Among the above 11 factors, economic factors have the largest share with 82% share and political-management factors are the next with 18% share. Therefore, the improvement of the housing situation in the metropolis of Tabriz depends to a large extent on the improvement of the economic conditions.

Demographic changes in recent decades have led to rapid changes in Iran's urban system and its hierarchy, with one of its consequences being the increase or decrease in the ranking of cities in this system. The present study examines the position of Tabriz metropolis in the urban system of Iran from 1335 to 1395, and by forecasting the population of this metropolis by 2031, it tries to determine the future position of this city in the urban system of Iran. This study is practical in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and research method. The data in the present study were obtained through document analysis and field study (questionnaire and interview). Interviews were used to understand the causes of emigration and a questionnaire was used to understand the causes of fertility decline in Tabriz metropolis. The sample sizes for both instruments were determined based on the saturation principle. The exponential model, Spectrum software, and rank mobility index were used to predict the demographic factors, population forecast, and the study of metropolitan rank changes in the urban system, respectively. The obtained results showed that the decrease in fertility rate and migration are the main reasons for the sharp decline in population growth in the metropolis of Tabriz, with the economic reasons being the main reason. In addition, assuming the fertility rates of 1.5, 1.8, and 2.1 in Tabriz, we will see 1.64, 1.69, and 1.74 million increases in the population of the city, respectively, as well as a decrease in the population of minors and a doubling of elderly population over 65 by the year 2031. The results of population forecast show that the position of Tabriz metropolis will be stabilized as the sixth largest city of Iran's urban system by 2031, but its distance from the seventh metropolis (Qom) will be less, which requires special attention and proper management to prevent its rank from falling again.

Equitable spatial distribution of facilities and resources between urban regions, as one of the most important pillars of desirable urban life, is one of the requirements of establishing a dynamic, coherent and progressive society. Considering importance of the issue of equality in the spatial distribution of facilities and its role in human societies, in the present study, we intend to analyze Tabriz metropolitan areas, in terms of development indicators. Therefore, the present study is descriptive-analytical in nature and in terms of purpose it is an applied type. Required data collected from statistical yearbook, comprehensive plan of 2011 and 2016 as well as other valid data of urban organizations in the form of 58 important indices including data related to economic, social, physical, welfare components , Educational and environmental. For data analysis we used Shannon entropy, coefficient of variation and Promethee technique for weighting, dispersion analysis and level of determination, respectively. ArcGIS software was also used to display the results on the map. The results of the research indicate that there is no balanced development indicators between the regions of Tabriz. As only regions 5 and 2 have higher levels of Economic, social, welfare, physical, environmental and educational indexes, regions 7,3,1 and 4 are among the deprived regions and region 10 is among the most deprived regions with not having the mentioned indicators. Overall, the research results show that the situation in the regions of Tabriz is not consistent with the balanced spatial distribution and requires proper attention and management.

Man’s unsustainable use of environmental resources needs to be tackled from different perspectives and at multiple levels of land use. Ecological Footprint (EF) is a renewable resource accounting tool that assesses the environmental impacts of urban land uses, and measures the impact of human activities on the environment with respect to the underlying issue of sustainable consumption. EF compares the level of consumption with the available amount of biocapacity to demonstrate how human beings are using natural resources faster than they can regenerate them. It was developed originally as an indicator of the environmental impacts of nations, individuals, or human populations or of organizational and corporate environmental performance and even product sustainability. Given this capability, the environmental impact of the University of Kurdistan campus as a major urban land use in the city of Sanandaj, Iran was evaluated in this study using the component-based footprinting method. Actual data on the five environmental indicators of natural gas, electricity, water, food, and waste were collected during the 2014-2015 academic year. The results indicate that the University of Kurdistan ecological footprint index in the above academic year is -0.56. On that basis, the function and performance of the university has been unsustainable with respect to the examined indicators. In addition, the results indicated that the University of Kurdistan ecological footprint is about 16,675 global hectares, which means that an area of land 165 times larger than the university is needed to compensate for the amount of natural resources consumed and the resulting waste. It can therefore be stated that the University of Kurdistan campus exhibits unsustainable performance in the 2014-2015 academic year. Furthermore, the energy (natural gas and electricity) and water indicators show the highest and lowest levels of environmental impacts with 72.03 and 0.97 percent of total ecological footprint, respectively. Therefore, the environmental impact of energy consumption is about 2.5 times that of the other indicators investigated here (water, food, and waste). As suggested in the literature, the most important indicators used in the ecological footprint model at various universities around the world include energy, fuel consumption in transportation, materials, food, water, waste, and paper consumption, among which energy exhibits the highest level of environmental impacts, as suggested by the results obtained for the University of Kurdistan. On that basis, the University of Kurdistan campus ranks second after the University of Algarve campus (Portuguese) in terms of impact on the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize energy consumption in the university policies and plans for reduction of natural resource consumption. For that purpose, a comprehensive plan should be developed firstly to monitor the environmental impacts of natural resource useand secondly to modify the consumption pattern and thus reduce the impact of the university on the environmental resources.

Ecological Footprint Assessment (EFA) is one of the methodologies attracted more attention at political, educational, and academic levels. The growth of Sanandaj population affects the traffic congestion which is a main problem of the city. This study addresses this gap as well enhances the environmental conditions by reducing fossil fuel consumption. For this purpose, Ecological Footprint (EF) method was applied to evaluate the sustainability of the current transportation system and consequently an optimized model was suggested for 2026. Comparing EF of the current transportation system with the world standards, demonstrated that many transportation types such as minibus, taxi, and private cars have a high level of EF. Based on the predicted population for 2026, 457390 people, the optimized transportation percentage shares were proposed, including 6.71, 57.02, 16.31, 19.08, and 0.88 for minibus, bus, taxi, private cars, and motorcycle respectively. Applying the new plan can save 16132 litre fossil fuel as well as 11 tons CO2 annually.

In the last decade the quality of the urban environment has become a specific significant issue and research shows that the urban environment include the environmental quality components. The efficiency of the urban environment will be reduced if these components are neglected. Thus, this study aims to identify semantic- perceptual factors that affects the quality of the urban environments. Also, this paper aims at studying the relationship between these components and their role in the quality of the environment in Sanandaj Qatarchyan neighborhood. This is an applied research in which descriptive -analytic method is used. Data collection tools of this research has been questionnaire which consists of the semantic- conceptual expression of the quality of the environment: identity, sense of belonging, legibility and security.This paper aims to investigate the spatial- physical environment quality of Sanandaj Qatarchyan neighborhood from residents’ point of view based on demographic variables (Age, gender, residence history and education) and to look for more scientific explanation and more expertise view on factors influencing the environment quality. Accordingly, the theoretical literature on environment quality and related conceptual framework has shaped principles and theoretical model of study. Theoretical model has hierarchical structure and is based on empirical research perspective and according to questionnaires received from residents’ perception of study subject. In this model, conceptual- perceptual component of environmental quality includes four indicators of identity, sense of belonging, readability, safety and security; each of its sub- criteria was the base of study for the questionnaire.This study is applicable in terms of objective and is descriptive- analytic in terms of research methodology. The sample size of questionnaire for district (Sanandaj Qtarchyan neighborhood) was 343 inhabitants using Cochran formula and considering the maximum heterogeneity hypothesis. Questionnaire validity was studied and confirmed according to experts and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (0.75). SPSS software and one- sample t-test were used in order to analyze the data and investigate the semantic- conceptual quality, ANOVA and LSD post hoc test were used in order to compare the views of people in terms of demographic variables and finally, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used in order to examine the relationship between demographic variables and twenty-three components of semantic- conceptual component of environment quality.Residents consider functional- activity, perceptual- conceptual and aesthetic- appearance components significantly more than average among the second level criteria of experimental model. Quality of environmental factor is significantly lower than average level. This result can be due to a lack of green space, contradiction of work and environment, congestion of cars and dilapidated buildings atmosphere in study area. It was found that three criteria of identity, sense of belonging and readability are significantly higher than average and security is significantly lower than average. Visual and symbolic pollution, neglecting the needs and constraints of low income and lower-middle-class residents in designing space, narrow passageways and damaged buildings in city context are among the negative factors affecting the low security of mentioned area.According to results, the age and authenticity, symbolic values, religious identity, maintaining professional identity, collective identity and strong mental memory, personal-social dependency, collective memory, meaning of space are related to body-sense understanding of the elements of the neighborhood, that are fit between the pause and movement. Finally, the presence of local residents of the indicators is a positive correlation.Living history of authenticity, symbolic values, maintaining local identity, human identity, collective identity, strong mind and memory, personal-social dependency, meaning of space are in a positive correlation. Also the presence of space is negative and significant.Findings focus on the fact that four perceptual- conceptual components have significant and positive correlation with environment quality. This indicates that a combination of semantic- conceptual indicators can predict environmental quality. The results show that environmental quality of Sanandaj Qtarchyan neighborhood is significantly higher than average (1 <3 <08 <5). The inhabitants of the criteria in the second model, the functional components - activities, semantic-conceptual and aesthetic form- are significantly higher than the average. Quality as well as environmental factors are significantly lower than the average level. This result can be due to lack of green space, lack of fitness activities in the environment, congestion of cars and dilapidated buildings in the study area. Residents complained only from safety among four semantic- conceptual components of environment quality. Also, there is significant relationship among people perspectives on semantic- conceptual quality in terms of demographic variables.

Urban spaces, as arena for everyday life of all citizens, were influenced by some environmental factors which increased crime-prone areas and then affect the level of people’s presence in public spaces. In this regard, the city centers which contained the primary domain for public places and urban spaces because of its valuable cultural and historical assets faced with major challenge of crime. This creates a kind of negative sense of security in urban spaces of these areas. In recent decades, the concept of Place-Based crime Prevention has been developed by environmental design strategies to develop safer and sustainable communities and improve people’s quality of life in urban areas. In this regard, this paper aims to investigate the city center of Sanandaj using place-based crime prevention principles particularly the principles of “safer and sustainable places” to present and prioritize the strategies, policies and action plans to enhance safer urban spaces and quality of life in this part of the city. The findings show that among critical principles of “Safer and Sustainable places”, Access and movement, Management and maintenance and Structure have the most significant role in regeneration of urban spaces in the city center of Sanandaj. Also to achieve the best results, the people’s participation is essential in the process of application of these recommendations. In addition, a legal framework is required to facilitate this approach for the whole city. The police in particular have a key role to play in working with the public and communities to prevent and control crime, through community-oriented policing, working parties and similar approaches that encourage consultative and collaborative arrangements between police and citizens.

Public spaces are the main element of urban structure, in which the stage and backdrop to the drama of public life is shaped. Comfort is a prerequisite for a successful urban space, and an important integrative dimension of the urban experience. In this regard, climate comfort, as the most influential factor, is applicable when the balance is maintained between the temperature released and the temperature absorbed by the skin in the environment. This balance is affected by the environmental elements of temperature, relative humidity, wind flow, and appropriate orientation of urban physical structure. The last element can be recognized as the lowest cost effective factor in climatic comfort of the citizens in public open spaces. In this research, the correlation method is used to determine the appropriate orientation for the public open spaces in Bandar Abbas. Accordingly, at first, a comparison between eight cardinal directions was calculated in terms of the extent of exposure to the sun using analysis of variance method (ANOVA) in R software based on a fixed rectangle form corresponding with these direction during a year. Then, by removing the disruptive winds of comfort, these directions were prioritized using the extent of climate comfort. Based on the results, the north-south orientation is significantly more important than others and the east-west is the most undesirable orientation for public spaces physical orientation in Bandar Abbas. This can be a guideline for future development of the city concern public open spaces. However, other climatic factors, including cover, materials, etc. have been neglected in this study. Other factors and variables must be considered in future researches to study the climatic comfort of citizens comprehensively with the intervention of all variables.

Due to the nature of development which is mainly concentrated on the cities and that more attention paid to physical and geometric aspects than social ones in urban development plans، cities have faced a kind of negative cycle of socio-economic and environmental imbalances. This created many challenges in terms of poverty، crime and delinquency، cultural conflicts، declining quality of life، social disorganization and etc. Sustainable development approach usually considers small unit of urban structure، namely the neighborhood، in planning and urban management of cities and tries to identify existing potentials across the neighborhood regarding its social dimension to restore and improve existing conditions and make it more flexible and resilience to future problems. In this regard، residents'' attitudes towards the neighborhood are great important because their views reflect general conditions of the neighborhood and more details of people''s living environment. Moreover، people''s perception of the neighborhood can clarify the reality of the environment، those aspects which are so important social dimension of planning. The main goal of this research is to examine the level of social sustainability in the neighborhood of Faizabad، Kermanshah based on the residents view of their neighborhood. The results can pave the way for some strategies to restore and refresh social sustainability. The main research strategy is quantitative which utilizes a kind of descriptive – analytical method based on the correlation analysis to identify social sustainability measurements of the neighborhood. Based on the results، all criteria have a direct impact on the neighborhood social sustainability، but the intensity of their impact is different. In this respect، satisfaction، social security and social stability measurements have the highest correlation with the concept of social sustainability in the neighborhood. This means that they were recognized by the residents as the most effective factors affecting the level of social sustainability in Faizabad neighborhood.

The overlap between neo-traditional neighborhoods and the provision of transit services became an incentive for Peter Calthorpe to codify the concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in the late 1980’s. As a new approach, it has been developed in direction of sustainable urban development in recent decades. It aims to integrate land use and transportation planning system through the construction or extension of a rapid transit system along with the creation of compact, and walk-able neighborhoods (mixeduse communities) around transit stations will encourage people to live near transit station areas and use it to reduce the use of individual car and creates more safe, dynamic and friendly communities. This means that “TOD” developed as a new approach based on sustainable development principles. Since transit systems promote more efficient resource usage, cities are increasingly applying transit-based strategies to solve urban sprawl and urban planning dilemma. Considering this background and the existing challenges of Iranian cities including car-dependency, traffic congestion and hence the traffic-related pollution problems, and particularly the pattern of urban sprawl which is extending due to the wave of urban and rural migration, it is necessary to use such new approaches to reduce such challenges and create a driving force for sustainability of urban areas. In this regard, Sanandaj has been selected as case study of the research to pursue some aspects of TOD regarding its mixed-use corridor type for Pasdaran Boulevard. Sanandaj is situated in west of Iran and according to the 2011 Iranian census; the total population of Sanandaj is 375280. As the capital of Kurdistan province, it contains a wide range of industrial and institutional services. The same as other Iranian cities, Sanandaj also experienced the pattern of sprawl development mainly due to the topographic features of the city’s natural context, the wave of migration from rural areas and inadequate and unaffordable housing provision within the city. Residents of sprawl areas are commuting cross- suburbs to city and vice versa each day to reach urban services and homes. This daily movement which\ increases the number of trips by private cars is also worsening the Sanandaj’s urban challenges. Within this context, the study location is a 6.4 km corridor on Pasdaran Blvd which formed the main north-south corridor in Sanandaj. This corridor begins in downtown Sanandaj at Azadi sq., and runs across the Blvd through Deedgah Park to Jahad Sq. at the gateway to Kermanshah. This corridor serves as the primary gateway to Kermanshah and between the city and Baharan district and as an important principal corridor to move traffic north-south across the whole city of Sanandaj. Considering the above points, the study has been adopted a kind of Descriptive-Analytical method regarding the results of records and field survey conducted in spring 2012 to cover the following 1. Creating a comprehensive development approaches for the Pasdaran corridor that Takes advantage of its location and public transportation resources. 2. Creating an interconnected system of opportunities for transit station areas within the corridor 3. Intensifying development in proximity to the transit stations along Pasdaran corridor Regarding to the questions such as: the capabilities and limitations of land use, density of urban texture, characteristics of public transport such as traffic problems, accessibility and mobility, pedestrian and bicycle issues, bus services and parking facilities has been studied along the Pasdaran corridor. For more details, the Pasdaran corridor has been divided into two sections based on common physical, functional and traffic characteristics. For strategies and prioritizing them, a multi-criteria decision-making method including AHP has been used regarding to the certain aims including increasing sustainability and creation of people-friendly and dynamic environment, accessibility and providing sustainable transport options and reducing environmental challenges. The following strategies have got highest priority regarding each section to maximize TOD potential and benefits to the boulevard: Section one: Reducing car dependency, Pedestrianization along with development of public transport, Beautification of the public buildings sustainable architecture and paying more attention to the quality of public places Section two: increasing access to public transport, connectivity of main roads, improving pedestrian movement and access and more mixed-uses and transferring Incompatible functions Due to the proximity of first section to the city centre, its strategies are mainly in relation to the identity and sense of place preservation along with pedestrian-oriented development approach. On the contrary, the strategies of second section focus on the accessibility to public transport and car-dependency reduction. To achieve such strategies, it is necessary to create a legal framework for city’s spatial planning. Also, it is essential to integrate various sectors including private, public and government to pave the way for implementation of such strategies.

Social capital is a relatively new concept that has been identified as the key explanatory factor in economically prosperous territorial communities. It is a collection of actual or potential resources that emerges as a result of the institutional ties in the context of social networks which can improve citizens’ life. Since these social relations have a spatial dimension, so too the social capital. Depending on the kind of the ties and interactions, different types of social capital may exist. This, in turn, may include different spatial dimensions of social capital. In this regard, as social capital can have a great role through being integrated into the concept of neighborhood, the context which contains common interests and face-to-face relationships of its inhabitants, this study aims to investigate the level of social capital in three spatial layers at the community level in order to recognize the presence or absence of social capital and to identify the reasons behind them. The research strategy is primarily a quantitative one, in which three neighborhoods has been chosen as three different spatial layers (Informal settlements, old/central and planned neighborhoods) in the city of Sanandaj. Their social capital has been investigated through field survey using a designed questionnaire in summer 2012, where 150 questionnaires were randomly distributed among residents of each neighborhood. The administration method of the survey involved face-to-face interviews with residents. Data was analyzed using AHP method to determine correlations between the variables (comparative analysis of the three neighborhoods). This involved testing factors associated with social capital, identifying the key relationships and where the differences were between the neighborhoods. The results of this study indicate that the maximum level of social capital is in Abbas Abad (the informal settlement), the average level in Ghatarchian (downtown) and the minimum level in Mobarak Abad (the planned) neighborhoods. However, this classification mostly covers the content of bonding social capital and the next two dimensions of social capital (bridging and linking) are relatively the same across the neighborhoods. In other words, the highest level of social capital in the field study is associated with the bonding dimension of social capital and the least level of social capital is related to bridging and linking dimensions of social capital. The study reveals that the ‘concept of “neighborhood” is not a fixed one according to the survey findings and based on residents’ perceptions of their neighborhood boundaries. Another finding is related to the level of social capital. While the level of social capital is a good indicator of the ‘quality of the neighborhood’, the social capital cannot be seen as the factor which ‘causes’ neighborhoods to be ‘better’ places to live. The findings of this study suggest that social capital of positive community will tend to occur in neighborhoods with associated positive impacts, rather than causing it.

Regarding the key theme of the paper, visual privacy, it is first necessary to review the content of urban studies to find out why/how has privacy been discussed or ignored in urban studies to date. Instead of direct reference to the privacy, the urban studies literature mainly highlights the concepts of territoriality and personal space, two ways in which people create different types of boundaries to regulate their interaction with others in their environment. These two implicitly define the concept of privacy as both have acquired spatial and social dimensions. Alongside these two concepts which were mainly borrowed from behavioral studies, there are some references to the concepts of privacy and community together in urban studies as well. In line with these, privacy is more concerned with private domain or intimate sphere and community with public one. Thus, the way of their organization and relationship spatially can affect the level of privacy which is culturally specific. Within the urban studies reference books the privacy is still with the concept of territoriality and it has not been defined as a specific concept with separate explanation. Therefore, review of the urban and architectural studies shows that there is a lack of direct reference to the visual privacy. This is mainly due to the nature of built environment, especially the interface between the private and public sphere. In western culture, changes since the eighteenth century onwards has diminished private sphere as the institution of the family loses monopoly control over its privatized domain and ensured access to the public sphere, thus, the dichotomy of public and private space was mitigated. For this reason, direct reference to the concept of privacy which is more concerned with private domain has been ignored in urban and architectural studies in western culture.
On the contrary, within the urban context of eastern culture especially those of the Muslim world the privacy is an utmost concern due to the nature of life was contextualized based on the Islamic law. Based on the holy Koran, as the main source of the Islamic law, the private domain has acquired prime importance because the family unit was recognized as the base of entire socio-cultural structure and a self-sustaining institution which ensures ideological and cultural stability over the entire spectrum of society. For this reason, there are many writings which directly deal with privacy and its effects on the urban form of the settlements within the scope of Islamic cities. The important of this concept was such that it was recognized as a fundamental formula controlling the physical organization of the Islamic city as it also led to the premises of development from interior to exterior. It is evident from this review that the concept of privacy is a ritualized and societal concept which has had a great influence on the urban form of the Islamic cities. Its diffusion throughout Islamic lands and its continuity from the pre-Islamic era made it a timeless and placeless concept transmittable to successive generations. Therefore, we can point out that, the core shaping forces underlying the Islamic cities are based upon the concept of privacy and its ground rules (internalized structure based on constraints and thresholds), which emanated from Islamic law. This defined a particular urban form in all Islamic lands which differs greatly from that referred to as the Western model. Therefore, in contrast to the thinking of some orientalist scholars, we can recognize that Islamic settlements are neither fortuitous nor amorphous in their organization, but they are expressions responding to patterns of social intercourse and allegiance particular to Islamic society and its natural context. The logical consequence of the concept of privacy and its relevance to the selected context concerns the way this concept and its relevant features determine the organization of space. It mostly contextualized a kind of layout to protect women from the eyes of strangers and to create clear distinctions and hierarchical spaces to highlight the role and the character of women in the building of the Islamic cities.

Due to the fast growing trend of urbanization in the third world countries and the disparities between urban and rural areas in terms of income, employment and the availability of basic infrastructure and services, it is important to pay more attention to the rural settlements to create a balanced development across each region. This will pave the way for a kind of sustainable urban community in future. Since the development is a multi-dimensional concept which includes reorganization of the entire economic and social system, it is essential to investigate its different levels and identify the rate of development across the regions as important step in such reorganization and planning. Apart from rural areas, this is more important from regional point of view. Regarding this, the following research questions became a starting point to organize the methodology and the sources of information: 1. Does the distance of rural settlements from the centre of province affect the rate of development? 2. Does the frontier location of the province affect the rate of rural development? 3. Is there any link between the rural settlements development and mountainous features of the province?The research commenced with a comprehensive literature and document analysis and due to its major approach, is in line with applied research to recognize differences between the regions. For this, different indices have been characterized and used regarding different Social, economic, physical, health, and cultural aspects of development from two National Population and Housing Census of 1996 and 2006. Considering these indices, the level of development across the rural areas ofKurdistan province has been identified using factor and cluster analyses and the results classified and mapped by GIS. The research results show that there is an inequality in the level of development across the rural areas of the province. In this regard, the rural settlements of Kamyaran, Bejar and Saqez can be classified as Middle-developed and Marivan and Baneh as less-developed areas in 1996. In 2006, the rural settlements of Bejar, Qourveh and Sanandaj have been classified as developed, Kamyaran, Devandareh and Sarvabad as Middle-developed and Saqez and Baneh as lessdeveloped areas in Kurdistan province. This inequality is mainly associated with the level and amount of agricultural land ownership, distance and proximity to the main roads, distances to theborder, geographical and environmental conditions and situation of the villages. Therefore, the counties of eastern part of the province which are close to the main roads had better conditions than other counties of western part.

Introduction Mass volume of traffic in city centers cause to some problems like traffic congestion and pollutions. Hence new movements such as Transit- Oriented Development (TOD) with emphasis on compact development، people-friendly and livable neighborhoods introduced as useful tool for reducing use of car. Wisely use of land around transit stations is one of best solutions to achieve objectives of this approache. According to distribution of urban uses، land use pattern has high influence on travel behavior of people. In fact the land use pattern by its different characteristics determines travel behavior of people. About this، Todd Litman introduces some factors sush as land use mixture، density and etc. as effective factors on sustainable travel behavior. In recent decades، Sanandaj''s boundary and use of cars due to daily trips of people city has been increased. City center of the Sanandaj with high value in physical، social and cultural aspects today has considerable problems like traffic congestion that are mainly due to incompatible policies according to spatial and transportation planning. Therefore، this paper tries to evaluate important factors that are effective on trips mode of residents in center city of Sanandaj and want to present strategic recommandatios based on TOD criteria for achieving sustainable city center. 2-Theoretical bases 2-1-Transit-Oriented Development TOD approach presented by Peter Calthrope based on «pedestrian pocket» concept for facilitating spatial communications and consequently achieving high social and economic correlations. This approach relates to residential and commercial centers that designed based on maximum access to public transportation and non-motorized modes. Hence public stand (rail and bus station) will locate in central position and surrounded by dense developments to 800 meter radii then will decrease. Some of specialists have been citing that TOD projects can include variety of forms and station areas but are supplements in the system functionally. Reconnecting America and CTOD introduced eight forms of TOD including regional center، urban center، Suburban center، transit town center، urban neighborhood; transit neighborhood، special use/employment district and mixed-use corridor. 2-2-Advantages and disadvantages of TOD TOD، as one of the most visible forms of smart growth، is increasingly viewed as an antidote to traffic congestion، the isolation and detachedness felt in many suburban communities، affordable housing shortages، and inner-city decline and disinvestment. Evidences show that in development with more compactness، people 30 to 40 percent lesser use vehicles that has health and economic benefits. Also in this development، investments in public transportation due to increase of riderships، have more benfits for all stakeholders and provide accessibility for all. In addition، with developing pedestrian and bicyle routes and emphasis on green transportation with low level of air and noise pollutions، TOD can create livable communities. But some of specialists believe that TOD planning، derived from beautiful urbanism that without attention to social behavior، emphasis on physical design. Deficit of advocacy legal bases، high cost of primary financing، dependency on people tendency and low investments from investors and lenders are other barriers for TODs. 2-3-Land use management and urban transportation Between Land use pattern and Travel behavior exist near relationships. As land use planning by impact on distances between origin and destination، emphasis on decreasing trips. Planners present different factors that affect on mode choise of resident. Cervero (1989) believs that level of density، land use mixture and design of site have maximum impact on transportation factors like pollution emission، vehicle mile of travel (VMT)، fuel consumption and car ownership. Todd Litman (2012) consider different factors such as Density، Mix of uses، Regional Accessibility، Centeredness، Connectivity، Roadway design and Management، Walking and Cycling conditions، Transit Accessibility، Parking supply and Management، Site design and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) as important factors. Some land use management strategies are introduced for achieving integrated planning. One of these is TOD strategy that wants to decreasing ownership and car use by locating residential and commercial building near transit stations with joint development. 3-Discussion For assessing land use factors in city center of Sanandaj، based on TOD planning principles، transit center of Naser-Khosro has selected and 600 meters radii area around the transit center has evaluated that contains 101 hectars. 3-1- Assessing land factors in study area based on the Litman pattern In this stage، the study area is identified based on above factors. Main factors include dominance of private car movement، relative mix of uses، high density of residential and commercial unit relatively، low connectivity of routes، deficit of accessibility and low quality of services of buses، large lots parking near the station and lack of roadway design. 3-2-Assessment of condotions with SWOT analysis SWOT as evaluation method has useful results in urban studies. In this stage of research، positive and negative qualities of the study area will evaluate based on four dimentions of SWOT and Litman factors. In fact، the evaluation is a basis for strategy presentation. 3-3- Determinig priority of factors For achieving best results in providing strategies، effective factors are prioritized. Priority of each factor calculated by urban planners and transportation specialists so that priority of them combined in Expert Choise software based on AHP method and final prioprity achieved as shown in the following table. Mix Density Connectivity Regional Accessibility، Centeredness Walking and Cycling conditions Public transportation Parking management Site and roadway design TDM Factor 0. 66 0. 72 0. 69 0. 36 0. 123 0. 266 0. 102 0. 071 0. 195 priority According to above table، Transit Accessibility، Walking and cycling conditions and Transportation Demand Management factors fall into the high-priority strategies that impact on resident''s behavior in city center of Sanandaj. 3-4-Strategic recommendations According to positive and negative qualities of the site and calculated prioprities for each factor، the key five strategic recommendations presented based on objectives. These are based on the aim of research that wants achieve sustainable center for Sanandaj. Strategic recommendations include change in density، management of land use، improving road networks condition، Strengthening the social dimension and identity of neighborhoods and Regeneration of old areas and Buildings with historical value. 4-Conclusion Residents in sprawled area for access to daily services must be traveled to city center by vehicles that it causes some challenges. Hence in this paper after identifying practical principles of TOD and land use impacts on travel behavior in the study area، by use of paiwaise comparison in AHP method، important factors are identified. Therefore access to public transportation (0. 266)، TDM (0. 195) and walk and bicycle conditions (0. 123) have maximum effect on traveling pattern of residents. Hence first hypothesis of research proved. Then recommended plan presented for the area in form of practical strategies. Finally for achieving research objectives، recommended strategies provided that include Strengthening the social dimension and identity of neighborhoods، Regeneration of old areas and Buildings with historical value، Improving road networks condition، Development of sustainable and integrated transportation system، Changes in density and development of user friendly and public transport supportive land use. Above strategies based on main criteria of TOD planning affect on sustainable travel behavior of residents and also will have significant role in achieving to sustainable urban centers that is proving second hypothesis of the research.

Informal settlements are tangible feature of urban poor in developing countries and can be recognized as a possible choice for them to build/buy a house with minimum cost and time consuming in urban areas. They have usually come up illegally either on the government land or private land in a haphazard manner in and around the city. They are unplanned and violating all norms of government planning. Bad houses with inadequate light, air, toilet and bathing facility; overcrowding and high density of population are some of the features of these informal settlements. They range from high density, squalid central city tenements to spontaneous squatter settlements without legal recognition or rights, sprawling at the edge of cities. Some are more than fifty years old, some are land invasions just underway. Due to the process and conditions of construction, environmental conditions, and other features, they are known by many different names around the country yet share the same miserable living conditions. To pursue this diversity in the informal settlements, a kind of comparative approach has been adopted regarding the typology of informal settlements in two cities of Kermanshah and Sanandaj. Regarding the economic characteristics, Kemanshah has attracted more migerations due to its location in the West of the Country, Accordiing to the fact that the migration to Kermanshah includes ethnic and cultural diversity so the variety of informal settelments has been more obvious. The results shows that the informal settlements of these cities can be classified based on the main factors of origin of formation, process of formation, location, size of settlements, and other sub-factors. This classification also revealed that there are different types of informal settlements in these cities regarding the geophysical conditions of the cities setting, historical process of cities development, and war. With a long record of history, the city of Kermanshah which located in a fertile plain surrounded by a strong rural hinterland and more contemporary changes has contained different types of informal settlements. On the contrary, the city of Sanandaj which surrounded by mountains and contained a limited and unified number of rural hinterlands has comprised less diversity in the typology of informal settlements. Within these cities, the most type of informal settlements is in relation to the successive division of agricultural land by individuals and speculators and in limited cases after the revolution, there is a type which can be classified as forcible seizure of land. Due to the geophysical setting, incorporated villages into urban built-up areas are the main type of informal settlements in the city of Kermanshah. Slum state is a kind of poor neigbourhoods of Kermanshah that was shaped by government but squatted by migrants of Iraq war. Although these public housings were built for public officers and acquirers, it was never evacuated by war immigrants and consequently they became slum states. regarding the” despair and hope” theory, the settlements are mainly the slum of Hope kind in both cities, Only Chaman neigbourhood can be some how interpreted as a slum of despair in Kermanshah.

Human beings are rooted in nature, and when we travel in greenery areas, we become more aware of this connection. As we are more immersed in nature, we become more relaxed and comfortable and likely to make generous decisions. But rapidly growing urban population and changing patterns of work and live have increasingly removed our societies from the natural world and allowed ourselves to be encapsulated in an artificial environment. This created a widening gap between people and natural settings in modern era. For this reason, urban greenery areas, in addition to the aesthetic values, can make a significant contribution to well-being, health and also improve the quality of life by providing a setting for people gathering and social life interaction. Urban parks, as part of urban greenery areas and open public spaces, can generate tremendous values by providing open space and recreational opportunities. In this regard, it further contributes to larger urban policy objectives, such as job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community building. Apart from this, urban parks in developing countries are generally facing great problems due to the poor urban management, rapidly urban growth which is almost geared towards the automobile and resource crunch for the maintenance of existing parks/gardens and for the creation of new ones. Considering these, Deedgah recreational complex (Mellat Park) located along Pasdaran Boulevard, as the main north-south corridor in Sanandaj and gateway to Kermanshah, has been selected as case study of the research. Due to its location, function and long historical background, it gained a symbolic identity in the collective memory of the people. In recent years, its social life of the park is threatening due to some improper management practices concerning two underpass bridges have been built to ease traffic congestion. To reach the main aim defined as the title of research, a kind of descriptive-analytical method has been used regarding the results of literature review and field survey conducted in autumn 2011. For more information regarding the users’ view, the questionnaire and interview with experts has been used. To evaluate the existing conditions and for strategies and prioritizing them, SWOT and AHP as a decision-making methods has been used regarding certain spatial elements. The results show that Viability, Environmental health and Permeability respectively fall into the high-priority strategies for maximizing Deedgah recreational park function. This means that the proposed action plans should be more in line with the prioritized strategies.

Nowadays fast growing population with social and economical challenges brought by cities has created a new form of urbanization. This has made it difficult to provide residents need properly in cities. The main problem of such form of urbanization is in relation to the challenges of equitable access to adequate quality services for all residents. The city of Sanandaj was selected as the case study of this research to assess particularly the social justice situation across the entire socio-spatial structure of the city. Therefore, the dispersion index of Williamson and Morris was used to conduct the field work. In this regard, the distribution of social, economical and physical indicators and residents accessibility has been surveyed across21 districts of the city. Then, the correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship among the level of socio economic statues of the residents and the degree of accessibility to urban services. The results show that there is a significant variation among indicators by household socio economic statues. It means that the pattern of urban land use (services) was mainly in line with the socio economic statues of residents. Those neighborhoods with high level of urban services also contain wealthy economical groups. Eventually this conveys that the spatial structure of the city is not equitable to promote the level of social justice across the whole city.

Iranian cities which had grown up during historical periods based on national creativityand innovations in an endocrine form were gradually changed wholly in the course of somedecades. In fact، they lost their skeletal and cultural values، social، artistic and historical features. The gradual changes started from the Constitution Movement and spread since 1920’s by accepting modernity and pursuing western models. The trend of urban settlement and urban development in the new ear، on one hand was not perfected due to lack of observing Iranian land model and features and on the other hand، it did not accept western model in a proper and pre-planned grounds. Imitating the west and capitalistic world under the not so much healthy relations of Iran and the western countries، that trend took shape and changed. These changes made the disruption of old textures of Iranian cities. Having accepted the external models and spreading it in all areas of centralization، it gave rise to the spread of problems such as density of population، air pollution، margin settlements first in Tehran and then in all large cities of Iran. In such a condition، developing urban pilot projects in modeling the western patterns were abolished. The reason was that no body was attaching value to planning at national، regional، urban and local levels in a hierarchical form، so that it could not bring about changes through basic orientation of cities and giving orders to their developments and growth. The present article studies the roots and factors of formation of western ideas imitations and its consequences for the urban development plans in Iran.

Many scholars see Islam as an urban religion، which favors communal practice on individual worship. Although، piety is the only source of appraisal، it is widely accepted that most of Islam''s teaching is best practiced in an urban setting. This means that Islam has been a religion with a strong urban orientation. Regarding this، an assumption took shape that، whilst rural peoples or desert anchorites could indeed be faithful Muslims، the good Islamic life could best be lived in an urban community where (as an obvious manifestation of group solidarity) the faithful could gather in a congregational mosque for Friday worship. For this reason، it is not surprising that Islam made particular emphasis on the urban form and design of the city enabling it a greater functionality and responsiveness to meet the socio-economic and cultural needs of the community. From this point، this study investigates the main approaches to the concept of Islamic city to narrow the view to the specific one which encompasses all factors affecting the structure of the Muslims Historic cities in general. This has been done through literature review and content analysis of them. The results show that the formation of the design concepts of the Islamic city is closely bound up with Islamic cultural values and beliefs. These are mainly rooted in the essence of the Islamic law (the holy Koran and the Sunna – the main source of the Islamic law and its cultural values) which regulates all aspects of the lives of Muslims. From this point، the realization of the Islamic law can be traced in all levels and in all contexts of the built form، which resulted in a particular spiritual dimension with a thoroughly religious character for the Islamic city. Apart from those general notions، the work discussed has made clear that we no longer can rely on the notion of the Islamic city as a typical one for all Islamic lands because each region has different natural and socio-cultural circumstances which require particular approaches namely socio-spatial one. This means that the Muslims historic cities are highly place specific and its shaping principles and structuring elements need to be conceived from natural laws expressed through weather conditions and topography، religious and cultural beliefs and social principles (social organization of the urban society).