International Journal of

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The increasing rate of urbanization and rate of population growth over the 20th century has led to various problems such as traffic congestion, air pollution, and lack of open and green spaces that have affected the cities and their citizen's life. This condition has led to increasing demands for more land use, homes, and work places, more public transport and mass transit systems and modern infrastructure, so new approaches must be found to better utilize space available. Considered use of underground space creates new methods for solving these challenges. The urban underground spaces have great untapped potentials. If these potentials are managed correctly, it would chip in considerably to the urban sustainable development. Nevertheless seeking of spaces and shelter within the earth is no new idea, man and animal alike have exploited the protective and insulative properties of the soil long before recorded history. During the history of communities have existed in areas all over the world including Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia, China, North Africa, and the American Southwest, to name a few. Some of the best examples of man’s symbiotic relationship with nature are Nushabad in Kashan, Sāmen in Malayer and Kariz in Kish Island. These underground cities and Constructions offer many opportunities and lessons for underground development in contemporary cities. This study aims to discuss the ancient settlements of Nushabad, Sāmen and Kariz for their unique and creative underground space use and also explore the potential of developing underground spaces in order to achieving sustainable development . The basic hints of discussion are the physical geography and dominating forms of underground space use.

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Over the last few decades, some newly developed areas in the city of Isfahan have had serious problems in providing such urban design qualities as legibility, and this has led to various problems for the citizens like difficulty in way-finding, orientation or addressing. In order to solve this problem and enrich the legibility of newly developed areas, planners and designers should utilize appropriate principles extracted from the inhabitants' cognition and expectations. This paper attempts to understand how people form their cognitive maps in urban areas and find their way within urban places. Hence, it tries to identify and evaluate different kinds of urban elements (the most important elements which provides legibility) by using casual-comparative methods on the basis of such factors as the reason of being distinctive, the type, context, function, adjacency, heritage value and type of the adjacent route that residents of Isfahan have used in shaping their cognitive maps. The findings of this research showed that the most important characteristics which affect the distinctiveness of urban landmarks in the citizens cognitive maps include: having distinctive form in their surrounding environment; being located along the urban main streets or near the junctions; being established in a central area or having heritage value; having such urban functions or land uses as tourism, commercial, leisure, religious or transportation.

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As one of the pivotal qualitative attributes inherent in urban neighborhoods, the sense of place functions as a crucial link between individuals and spatial settings, endowing locales with distinctive personality and identity. The incorporation of this concept into the framework of new urban developments, devoid of historical precedents, necessitates careful consideration of multifaceted factors, including but not limited to identity, vitality, memorability, sense of belonging, and place attachment. Regrettably, contemporary oversight in the conscientious establishment and cultivation of urban spaces, founded upon the principles of "sense of place" and "place attachment," coupled with a disregard for historical continuities, has given rise to adverse consequences. These consequences encompass the erosion of identity, diminishing residents' sense of connection to their surroundings, diminished social interactions, and a proliferation of various social detriments.
This present study endeavors to delve into the nuanced concept of the sense of place within newly developed urban environments. Specifically, it seeks to discern the factors influencing the genesis and enhancement of this phenomenon within such contexts through an exhaustive examination of three site and services areas situated in the city of Yazd, Iran. Employing a correlational research design, the study leverages statistical tools such as the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Pearson Correlation tests, and stepwise regression analyses to elucidate the intensity and directionality of relationships between dependent and independent variables.
The findings of this investigation reveal that temporal considerations, the sense of belonging, the personal dependence of residents, and identity emerge as paramount variables exhibiting the highest correlation with the advancement of the sense of place in novel urban developments.