International Journal of

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Accessibility is one of the important factors in public open space design and the creation of equitable neighborhoods. Limitations caused by physical disabilities should not be a barrier for accessing desired spaces and people must be able to live with the greatest possible independence regardless of mobility limitations. The purpose of this paper was to identify the inclusive criteria of pedestrian design and explore the physical characteristics of equitable neighborhoods in Iranian cities. People who experience disabilities have equal rights to have access to the physical environment, communication devices and different services for education, recreation, social participation, accommodation, health and employment. This study was based on the analysis of the morphological characteristics of the Iranian traditional towns (Yazd and Nain), the socio-historical information, and the direct observation of the spaces, and interviews. The findings of the research showed that social equity and shaping an inclusive community are among the problems of developing countries. Based on the findings related to physical limitations of people with special needs and their attitude toward the varied problems they face, some key solutions have been proposed to guarantee better independent movement and achieve equity of access. People with disabilities should be equal to others in terms of their access to urban spaces, regardless of gender, ethnicity and type of disability. Safety and convenience are some ways for promoting public health especially its mental aspects. Finally it can be said that inclusive pedestrian networks will provide the people especially those suffering from physical disability and moving limitations with more accessible routes and help them participate in personal and social spheres of life more effectively.

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the light of the Genius Loci theory. The theory has been verified in many studies by the traditional-Islamic philosophers. Proving the closeness of these two viewpoints in extent and type of the environmental influences on disposition can open a venue for applying the theory of Genius Loci to establish a basis for environmental design in regions with Islamic and traditional cultures. This research traces the origins of this theory to the ancient Islamic philosophy. In the first step, the relationships between environmental and cultural characters are explained in four climate-dispositional patterns using Christian Norberg-Schulz’s theory of Genius Loci. The second step deals with the philosophical origins of the theory within the Islamic thoughts through four patterns. Islamic philosophers have considered the types and the extent of climate’s influences on disposition and have distinguished different faculties and behavioral affordances for various temperaments and four climates - “hot and dry”, “hot and wet”, “cold and dry” and “cold and wet”. Temperament and the hot and dry climate have shown to be suitable for the moral training of the mankind and assume the character traits of the God. The findings of the present study, the phenomenologist’s ideas concerning the character type and environmental/cultural characters in different climates, and the association of the environment and human, have over lapses with the theories of the Islamic philosophers.

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Rest areas have been built on the freeway to avoid traffic accidents and drowsiness so that road travelers can rest. These supplemental rest areas are very small-sized resting facilities located between the larger regular rest areas, which is a unique design. However, the management of rest areas and their accommodations need to be improved by considering the effective factors involved. In this spirit, the purpose of this research is to study the effect of users’ preferences into planning parameters in rest areas. The study examines several rest areas, their roles and services. Customer satisfaction includes check-in time and purchase, type of service for travelers, intention to use the rest areas service, and satisfaction with the rest areas service.
A survey study was carried out among 360 passengers of four rest areas in different locations in Iran. The participants claimed that providing praying room (M= 4.13) is the service most expected from rest areas. They also expected better landscaping of these places in providing shaded spaces (M= 4.13) to mitigate temperatures in hot seasons. The results also show that there is a significant difference between genders in terms of recreational activities (t= 2.81, α= 0.005), landscape amenities (t= 2.01, α= 0.044), welfare services (t= 3.05, α= 0.002), where women prioritized these factors more than men did. The findings of this research can be used in better management, accommodating, and designing of future crossing rest areas according to tourists’ preferences.
 

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Wind as an atmospheric element has some annoying aspects, therefore, controlling it and reducing its speed is one of the most important matters, which should be examined in landscape engineering. Natural windbreaks such as rows of trees with different gap distances between them are used to decrease wind velocity. The current study numerically investigates the effect of trees with irregular canopy form on wind speed reduction in urban open spaces and green belts. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate airflow through the trees as 3D forms. Quercus sp. is chosen as a typical tree with irregular crown shape. The influence of some criteria such as; 1. Number of tree rows, 2. Gaps between trees, 3. Trees arrangement patterns, and 4. Height levels on wind speed reduction are examined at this study.  According to the results, the best reduction is observed for the heights above 5 meters with 0.50 m gap distance between trees. The results also reveal that rectangular two-row arrangement of trees with irregular forms is more effective than the other arrangements in reducing wind velocity.

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This study aims to investigate how lighting design can be used as an environmental design feature within historic sites in cities to turn a space into a place through placemaking processes. Accordingly, the research question is: What artificial lighting design aspects need to be taken into account in historic sites within cities through a placemaking process? Naghshe-Jahan Square’s in Isfahan, Iran, is chosen as the case study as it is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This research uses ethnographic research methods as a qualitative research method for collecting data about the lighting scheme of Naghshe-Jahan Square. Based on the main aim of placemaking which is to Strengthen people’s connection with the public places they share in order to maximize shared value, this research uses two ethnographical techniques; behavior observation and semi structured interviews with the visitors of the historic site. Accordingly, people’s behaviors and interaction with the site and their opinions on how the lighting of the site makes them feel and facilitates their needs is collected. The findings of this study suggest that artificial lighting can positively influence turning historic sites to places at night-time and accordingly improve the quality of people’s lives in cities.

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The demand for energy has increased all over the world, and the construction industry makes up a high percentage of energy consumption. Different design components, construction, and exploitation regarding the field of construction energy consumption and the drive towards sustainability have been taken into consideration; however, energy conservation with an emphasis on the user's behaviors has been ignored. The purpose of this research is to provide a quantitative definition of the impact of behavior on energy consumption in three residential, institutional, and educational occupancies in one apartment through survey and simulation. In this research, by allocating three different occupancies to one building in Qom, the cooling and heating loads for each occupant have been compared in a one-year interval. First, the building modeling was carried out in Ecotet software and put in Energyplus software. Then by assuming a single building and describing three different patterns of using the space in Energyplus, the outcomes were compared. The results show that the reduction or increase in energy consumption in each occupancy was influenced by the number of users and the patterns of their activities or clothing. Reducing the duration of presence or changing the work hours in warm seasons of the year can significantly help reduce energy consumption in educational and institutional occupancies in hot and dry climates. The residential users' economic motives can be one of the reasons for reduced energy consumption in residential occupancies, compared to institutional occupancies.

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This study aims to investigate the relationship between inside and outside in traditional Yazd houses from the late Safavid period until the end of the Qajar period. The methodology involves a combination of psychological and phenomenological approaches, and two perception levels are observed: accessibility and social-cultural perceptions. Parallel to the literature survey, the field study analyzes observations of episodes and sequences of the transition from exterior to interior, which were identified and studied utilizing 39 case studies (28 Muslims and 11 Zoroastrian houses). In addition, semi-structured interviews with 11 residents and in-depth interviews with 18 experts who have lived in such houses were performed. Analysis shows that there is a convergence between inside and outside in reacting to both perceptual aspects in the participants' cognition and behavior. Inside and outside of the cases, there are non-net boundaries at both perceptual levels, and they are overlapping and related together. According to the findings, the inside-outside relationship has taken place in at least four layers: outside out, outside in, inside out, and inside in. The inside-outside couple develops a hierarchy based on the 4-layer conceptual model, having the outside guard the inside. The hierarchy's length changes from case to case and gets more extensive or compact. It has also resulted in decisions on the size, quantity, and quality of the house's courtyard(s), as well as neighboring enclosed areas. Furthermore, there are inside-outside social interchangeable relationships that result in social-cultural fluidity in houses when family life is not routine for some social activities. Boundaries are created and altered in this respect based on the situations and requirements of the inhabitants.
 

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Nowadays, global climate change makes urban planners and designers pay more attention to thermal islands to enhance thermal comfort conditions in cities. The present study aims to investigate the effects of evergreen and deciduous tree placement patterns, tree canopy height, and tree canopy diameter on the enhancement of ambient temperature and improvement of thermal comfort conditions. The ENVI-met model was used to replicate the research region and site. It was validated by comparing the outputs of the model with the values from field measurements. Finally, the recommended scenarios were simulated in the model to discover those scenarios with better performance in enhancing outdoor thermal comfort and temperature on days with low temperatures. At low-temperature situations, planting evergreen trees irregularly had a stronger impact on the improvement of thermal comfort (PMV) compared to deciduous trees. Furthermore, in all models, Populus nigra and Platanus showed the worst performance in boosting ambient temperature. Landscape designers and urban planners might use the findings to improve urban green space, construct sustainable cities, and enhance air temperature.
 

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The realization and sustenance of spatial justice within urban environments encounter substantial hurdles arising from the imbalanced expansion of cities and ensuing socioeconomic crises. According to available statistical data on Iranian cities, these crises and challenges have contributed to an escalation in the number of urban inhabitants perceiving a state of impoverishment. Many researchers believe that the indices measuring the development and welfare of a city serve as indicators of its overall quality of life. The objective of this investigation was to examine how the urban quality of life, as facilitated by access to urban services, influences the perception of poverty among urban residents. Considering that objective urban quality of life transforms into subjective urban quality of life through individual perception, and recognizing that the sense of poverty is also a subjective phenomenon, it becomes imperative to explore the interconnection between these two aspects. Initially, the study formulated its conceptual model. Subsequently, the historical district of Shiraz City was chosen as the sample for examination. A structured questionnaire was devised and disseminated among the residents of this specific district. The collected data were subjected to analysis utilizing SPSS 23. The findings revealed that within the residents of the historical district of Shiraz City, the perception of poverty is influenced by three key factors: "employment and economy," "housing," and "recreation and entertainment." Furthermore, the results indicated that proficient urban management, particularly in the provision of urban services, holds substantial potential for alleviating the sensation of urban poverty.
 

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The acceleration of decision-making processes within urban planning has instigated significant transformations across various facets of cities, encompassing economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions. Consequently, heightened emphasis has been directed towards the cultivation of urban entrepreneurial environments as instrumental mechanisms for enhancing societal decision-making capabilities. Recognizing the pivotal role of this approach in fostering sociocultural and entrepreneurial dynamics within urban settings, the imperative to organize vibrant locales, currently grappling with formidable challenges and deficient planning strategies, has become increasingly pronounced. Aligned with its defined objective, the present study employs the meta-synthesis method to articulate a conceptual model aimed at elucidating the interplay between the "urban regeneration" and "urban entrepreneurial ecosystem" paradigms in the formation of entrepreneurial locales. To ascertain the qualitative criteria and components, the Delphi technique was utilized to validate the criteria derived from the applied quantitative methodology, thereby achieving a more precise validation grounded in expert opinions. Through an in-depth exploration of the core tenets and principles underpinning these two pivotal approaches, the findings of this study culminated in the identification of six components encapsulating the attributes, interdependencies, intervention modalities, constituents, resources, recommendations, perspectives, policies, and conceptual frameworks germane to the synergistic interaction between the aforementioned approaches. Consequently, a comprehensive framework is delineated to facilitate the establishment of entrepreneurial locales through mechanisms such as sociocultural engagements, elevation of societal well-being, sustainable generation of financial resources and employment opportunities, integration of intelligent systems within the societal fabric, and the cultivation of knowledge dissemination and educational initiatives. Moreover, this research underscores fundamental pathways for prospective investigations in this domain, thereby laying the groundwork for future scholarly endeavors.

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In the current century, the crisis of meaning and the loss of individual identity underscore the need to focus on self-actualization as a viable solution. Self-actualization is a psychological necessity, and it is crucial to leverage all environmental capabilities to facilitate individuals' self-actualization. This study aims to introduce a causal model for the design components of residential complexes centered on residents' self-actualization. The research was conducted in three phases: 1) document analysis using the Delphi method, 2) a survey-based second phase, and 3) correlation analysis. The study begins with an examination of resources, supplemented by expert insights gathered using the Delphi method, which was chosen for its capability to achieve group consensus through expert judgment. A researcher-made questionnaire was developed for users, and design components effective for self-actualization were identified using R-factor analysis. The theoretical model of the research components was presented, and its validity was assessed using Amos software. The results indicated that the factors influencing the design of residential complexes, based on self-actualization, included Creative Environment, Eventful Environment, Diversity, Collaborative Environment, Interactive Environment, Environmental Safety, and Discoverability. Consequently, it can be acknowledged that a social environment that is safe and secure, where environmental events can occur, and where creative participation is encouraged, can significantly support individuals' self-actualization. This study contributes a novel causal model that elucidates the relationships among the design components of residential complexes, with an emphasis on promoting residents' self-actualization.