High-rise construction is one of the controversial issues in the urbanism, both theoretically and practically. The various opinions and the agreements and oppositions that exist for it and the need to take a correct position on this matter indicate the necessity of analysis and Critique of this issue. What makes the issue more sensitive in a country like Iran is the connection between identity, culture, Islamic-Iranian lifestyle and religious beliefs with high-rise construction. The approval of the supreme council of urbanism and architecture of Iran regarding the location and criterias and regulations for the construction of high-rise buildings in the city of Tehran (1400) and its content also doubles the need to investigate this issue. Therefore, these questions are raised: What are the consequences of high-rise development in physiological, social, economic, transportation and traffic, environmental, physical and visual dimensions, and how it is evaluated from the perspective of Islamic worldview, Islamic culture and jurisprudence? How has the approval of the Supreme Council of Urbanism and Architecture of Iran paid attention to the results of various researches and the values of Islamic worldview, Islamic-Iranian culture and Islamic jurisprudence in relation to high-rise construction? What strategies can be pursued to avoid the disadvantages of high-rise construction in the country?
The purpose of the current research is to provide an analysis and explanation of the consequences of high-rise construction in the country with an identity and cultural perspective and with an emphasis on the criteria of Islamic worldview, as well as criticizing the approval of the supreme council of urbanism and architecture of Iran, and finally to provide appropriate strategies for high-rise construction. This is achieved by examining the history of high-rise construction in the world and Iran, meta-analysis of various researches on the evaluation of consequences of high-rise construction and precision in the opinions of researchers in this field.
The results of the research indicate that high-rise construction - especially in residential use - in spite of the benefits have been mentioned for it, works against its primary goals in the long run and it imposes various negative effects in terms of physical-spatial, environmental, transportation, social, economic, landscape, etc. on the city and citizens. Examining the criteria, principles and values of the Islamic worldview, Islamic-Iranian culture and lifestyle, and jurisprudential opinions also show that high-rise construction conflicts with them from various aspects. This has left extensive damages in social interactions, lifestyle, quality of people life and especially the foundation of the family. Therefore, the development and promotion of high-rise construction is not logical, it does not improve the quality of living in the city, but it also causes its degradation. So, the action of the supreme council of urbanism and architecture in approving the high-rise construction permit in Tehran is not evaluated positively and can be the source of future problems for Tehran. The recent resolution of this council is flawed in terms of theoretical approaches, necessity, goals, possibility, implementation guarantee and content. Most of the goals that are mentioned in the justification of this resolution are due to the acceptance of the current flawed trend governing economic relations in cities, especially in the field of land and housing, which is based on capitalists' speculation, personal gain, monopoly and hoarding in the land and housing market. Clearly, the consequence of such a view results in high-rise construction. While in this regard, it is necessary to reform the economic system of the cities and eliminate the brokerage and speculation market, and the realization of the goals should be sought in them. According to the studies, the following strategies and solutions are presented to solve the damage of high-rise construction and to move away from this model:
- Short-term strategies and solutions:
- Exclusion of high-rise buildings to commercial, office and similar uses in specific and planned areas and serious avoidance of allocating them to residential use.
- Revision of high-rise construction criteria based on Islamic values and the qualities of Islamic-Iranian architecture and urbanism.
- Prevision of the supervisory institution with a detailed description of duties to monitor the implementation of high-rise construction criteria and also the provision of effective punitive policies in order to prevent the occurrence of violations.
- Prevision of financial and tax mechanisms to eliminate hoarding of land and housing.
- Provision of necessary services and infrastructure, especially in the field of transportation and urban traffic in high-rise built-up areas.
- Long-term strategies and solutions:
- Revision of land preparation plan considering the existence of sufficient land in Iran and the possibility of sustainable and regulated horizontal expansion of cities and settlements.
- Adopting economic measures based on Islamic teachings in order to convert land, building and housing from capital goods to consumer goods.
- Extraction of urban development patterns based on Islamic-Iranian identity and culture and by using the historical records and experiences of cities and hidden semantic values in them.
- Revival of suitable agricultural, industrial and commercial areas and directing the population of metropolises, especially Tehran, to these areas.
- Laying the foundation for increasing production and providing facilities for residents of villages and small and medium towns to prevent migration to metropolises and increase reverse migration.
- Revival of the neighborhood system in the existing high-rise built-up areas and creation the basis for increasing the socio-cultural interactions of high-rise buildings residents, in order to reduce the socio-cultural damages.
