International Journal of

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Throughout the early and mid 1990s, there was widespread faith in the compact city model's ability to provide urban sustainability. However, where compact city policies had been implemented, follow-up studies began to show the predicted benefits did not happen as they should be. The article tries to peruse two opposite approaches of "Urban Sprawl" and "Compact City", with an analytical - critical procedure and their consistency with sustainability. It also compares sustainability strategies of the new urban design paradigms (such as New Urbanism, Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Smart Growth) with compact city considerations. At the end, the article discusses about the question that does the compact city paradigm creates an obligatory context for sustainability? In fact, This article supports the belief that instead of concentrating on one particular solution, there is a need to recognize and accept the fact that a divers urban futures are likely to exist within a city and that urban compaction should only be seen as one way of achieving sustainable urban form. As indicated in the article ,each country should adapted the compact city considerations that best suits the local conditions and makes the best contribution to urban sustainability in a way that is both acceptable and feasible in their local environments. Because of the many challenges that the compact city concept faces, the focus should be on creating a diverse urban forms and sustainabilities that are most likely to 'fit' the area they are to be implemented in. Indeed, there should be a greater focus upon the processes, functions and design of the city and how they contribute to sustainability, rather than just the density dimension of compact city which occupied most of the literature throughout the 1990s. By concentrating on a more micro level scale, urban design can help overcome acceptability and feasibility critiques of the compact city that correctly highlight the radical cultural, political, social and institutional changes that will be required to move away from the sprawl.

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Generally, more than 60 percent of land in cities and around 40 percent in small towns are utilized as housing areas. The present research aims to investigate the price of urban housing lands in Iran during the years 2001-2011 in different provinces. The method of research used in this paper is descriptive/ analytical method. After gathering the data in this regard via the Central Bank of Iran, using Moran Coefficient in GIS software and GeoDa software, the spatial autocorrelation was calculated and the correlation between variables like the price of urban housing land, percentage of urbanism, the average of the area of housing units and the level of development in different Iranian provinces was calculated. The findings of this study reveal this fact that in 2011 only in some provinces is there a significant relationship between the price of urban housing lands and the level of development of provinces. Also, the price of urban housing lands in Iran during 2001-2011 is not correlated with variables of urbanism percentage and the average area of urban housing units in different provinces. Further, we can state that the price of urban housing lands in Iran during the years 2001-2011 has moved from an accidental distribution toward a cluster distribution and during this same period, the average index of changes in the price of urban housing lands all over the country has been equal to 877.32 percent; with such provinces as Ardebil, Hamedan, Razavi Khorasan and Bushehr respectively having the highest index of change in prices and such provinces as Northern Khorasan, Khuzestan, Tehran and Yazd with the lowest index.

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Change is an essential element to Humans and foundation of their lives. Each change though requires its unique
conditions. But Change may result in total destruction instead of exaltation if it takes place without considering conditions
regarding it’s time, place and also without scientific evaluations. There are many factors and reasons for change and
transformation and once it happens, consequences would follow. Due to social, managerial and historical events, Iran’s
society has undergone changes during its modern era. Consecutively, Iran’s architecture has too experienced a drastic
transformation during the past hundred years and especially in the past six decades which some call this an interruption.
Interruption means, the connection between past and present has been cut off. Today as result of this interruption, Iran’s
society is experiencing an increase in individualism and decrease in social relations. This would seriously question objectives
of a utopia.This study is looking to clarify the interruption process and events influencing it in Iran’s architecture and
urbanization base on three fundamental questions: 1. What are the causes of interruption in historical textures and which
factor plays the main role? 2. What is the orientation of master plans, the thinking of the inhabitants and the authorities of the
historical context regarding the issue of interruption and continuity? 3. What is the relationship between social relations
governing the formation of architecture in historical contexts and the issue of interruption and continuity?This study will be
using qualitative paradigm and historical research method to review the selected time intervals. As we progress through the
study, we will have a look at the consequences of the disconnection from past in Iran’s architecture and urbanization. There is
also a time graph which includes influential historical events projecting delicate turning and decision points. Moreover,
explaining the consequence of the interruption in Iran is the achievement of this study which would assist others with the same
interest with a clearer path throughout the time.

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