Examination and Evaluation of Authenticity of Urban Development Plans in Historic Textures (A case study: Imam Ali Square Revitalization Plan, Isfahan)

Paying less attention to the authenticity of historic textures causes a serious damage to local community heritages. Although the concept of authenticity has been used in the urban planning literature in recent decades, but very few studies have examined and assessed the criteria of authentic urban planning. The main objective of this article is to extract functional criteria for depicting the authenticity from comprehensive and interdisciplinary studies. This research, using an inductive-dituctive research method in urban planning and social sciences fields of study, introduces three criteria: preserving and enhancing place identity, non-attendance to anti-authenticity approaches and paying attention to authentic urban planning strategies. Each of these criterion are devided into some sub-criteria. Responding to community needs and presenting frameworks and holistic functions are the two criteria of authentic urban planning. ‘Form follows fiction’, ‘fear’ and ‘finance’ are the anti-authenticity criteria; form follows fiction means that copying form from other places and from oter times to present, and form follows fear refers to racial and financial desegregations as effects of urban development plans. Also presenting holistic frameworks and action plans are necessary for preserving the authenticity of urabn development plans. Because of these holistic plans, there is possibility for adopting plans and policies in the endless process of responding to the variable needs. In this study, after introducing those criteria, the authenticity of Imam Ali Square revililazation plan is assessed using an AHP method. The result of this assessment indicates that although this plan is reasonable to be authentic but it isn’t desirable enough for abstaining from anti-authenticity approaches.