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Articles
Publication Date: 2026
International Journal of Urban Sciences (12265934)
In an era where the quest for sustainable and accessible urban life aligns with the 15-minute cities, grasping the complexities of residents’ engagement with their nearby urban surroundings is pivotal. This study examines the facilitators and obstacles inhabitants of self-sufficient neighbourhoods face in three Iranian cities regarding leveraging local services and amenities. Employing structural equation modelling (SEM) and analyzing data from 703 surveys conducted in Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan, the study unveils that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control forecast the intention of residents to utilize neighbourhood facilities. Moreover, it reveals that habits, accessibility, perceived safety, affordability, service quality, and proximity significantly influence residents perceived behavioural control and attitude toward utilizing local services. As a result, 15-minute city initiatives might not achieve their goals if they neglect to incorporate considerations for pathway safety and accessibility, along with service quality and affordability. © 2026 The Institute of Urban Sciences.
Publication Date: 2025
2025 29th International Computer Conference, Computer Society of Iran, CSICC 2025pp. 19-31
This chapter includes a detailed explanation of the rationale behind the selection of countries and describes each case study. It presents the main lines of comparison among national spatial planning systems and highlights their limitations. This chapter also outlines the features of spatial planning instruments at the urban level, particularly focusing on spatial plans. The classifications made are then linked to the aims and research questions of the book. Following this, this chapter discusses the unique characteristics of the spatial planning systems in the countries under study, with an emphasis on their common features. It explains how these features should be described and related to the different systems of each country. Additionally, this chapter indicates the research limitations. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Maciej J. Nowak; individual chapters, the contributors.
Publication Date: 2025
Climate Change Management (16102002)740pp. 179-198
Since ancient times, humans have consistently sought to shield themselves from threats to their health and well-being. This enduring pursuit of safety and comfort—whether explicit or implicit—has played a significant role in shaping the design and organization of human settlements. In the contemporary era, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges it posed, the notion of “healthy housing” has gained renewed prominence within academic discourse. Despite its widespread use across technical and policy-related domains, the concept is often treated as self-evident and examined primarily through operational or implementation-focused frameworks. As a result, its historical roots and conceptual foundations have received comparatively little attention. Adopting a genealogical approach, this paper traces the evolution of the “healthy housing” concept across various historical periods, illustrating how it has been shaped by shifting social, economic, and cultural forces. It further explores the ways in which the features of healthy housing contribute to the protection and promotion of residents’ health—examining elements such as indoor environmental quality, housing design patterns, and the broader external environment. The paper concludes by outlining potential directions for future research on healthy housing, offering a roadmap for the development of housing strategies capable of addressing post-pandemic health challenges. It also proposes actionable solutions to support the role of healthy housing in an era marked by climate change. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Publication Date: 2025
Climate Policy (14693062)
Migration decisions are made within a risky and uncertain environment affected by climate and environmental change as well as market, social, and economic forces. This study sheds light on the characteristics and causes of ineffective migration in the context of climate change and their consequences for maladaptation to climate change effects. It identifies how they undermine local livelihoods and increase the vulnerability of sending and receiving communities. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic review of 89 studies that have discussed issues related to human mobility in the face of climate change and maladaptation. The results are presented in three parts: the migrant households, destination communities, and the origin communities (which include migrants’ households left behind and trapped populations). This review explains how climate-influenced migration can lead to persistent poverty, food insecurity, increased inequality, exclusion, and isolation due to poverty, insufficient income, remittances, low skills and education, unequal access to rights, and language barriers. This study contributes to the literature by providing a clearer understanding of the dark side of migration in the context of the climate change and adaptation nexus. It can help policymakers and planners make better-informed decisions about managing climate-induced migrations. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2025
2025 29th International Computer Conference, Computer Society of Iran, CSICC 2025pp. 5-18
This chapter defines the key terms and theses that will be discussed subsequently. It provides a literature-based overview of the relationship between spatial planning and climate change adaptation. An in-depth analysis of climate challenges is followed by a theoretical framework for linking spatial planning instruments to these specific challenges. This chapter also identifies the main barriers from a theoretical perspective. Emphasis is placed on how urban areas respond to climate challenges, with a particular focus on the protection of green spaces. Additionally, this chapter examines the unique climate challenges faced in different parts of the world, including their varying intensities. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Maciej J. Nowak; individual chapters, the contributors.
Publication Date: 2025
Computational Urban Science (27306852)5(1)
Amidst rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and smart city technologies, this paper argues that the Metaverse, as a virtual form of smart cities, offers the potential to advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in education, innovation, and sustainable urban development. However, goals related to inequality reduction and climate action are underrepresented. We argue that the Metaverse holds transformative potential to advance the SDGs, but its trade-offs for equality and environmental sustainability must be carefully considered. This requires adopting ethical and inclusive governance frameworks that are based on systems thinking. © The Author(s) 2025.
Publication Date: 2025
Cities (02642751)161
The United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to address a multitude of complex challenges facing today's world. Concurrently, the concept of smart cities has evolved to embrace advanced digital technologies and artificial intelligence for urban management and sustainability. Within this context, the Metaverse has emerged as a virtual extension of smart cities, offering a revolutionary space to reimagine urban life and governance. This systematic review explores how the Metaverse, as a virtual form of smart cities, aligns with the SDGs. It focuses on identifying potential co-benefits and trade-offs between the Metaverse and SDGs. The results indicate that research primarily focuses on SDGs related to health, education, innovation, sustainable cities, and responsible consumption and production. In contrast, less attention is given to SDGs related to reducing inequalities, climate change, environmental sustainability, peace, and partnership. The synthesis highlights the potential of the Metaverse to enhance smart cities' operational efficiency, transparency, and evidence-based decision-making through big data analytics and virtual collaboration. However, it also identifies risks such as exacerbating disparities and increasing environmental burdens. While the Metaverse can offer transformative solutions for smart urban environments, its benefits must be balanced with equitable access and environmental sustainability to effectively contribute to the SDGs. This requires addressing the digital and technological divide and environmental concerns to foster inclusive urban societies that uphold peace, justice, and strong institutions. The review underscores the need for strategic policy frameworks to mitigate risks and maximize the positive impact of the Metaverse on sustainable and resilient urban development. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd
Publication Date: 2025
pp. 81-106
This chapter delves into the issue of geographic disparity and its impacts in Iran, particularly concerning urban green spaces. It provides a critical analysis of the spatial policies implemented by the Iranian government in its national development plans since the 1979 revolution. The examination covers various aspects, including the content, context, processes, and key stakeholders involved. It reveals that these spatial policies tend to be ambitious yet unrealistic, often lacking clarity and prioritization, and are generally formulated without a long-term strategy, following a top-down approach. Factors such as a centralized governance system, the country’s vast land area, uneven distribution of environmental resources, political tensions, armed conflict, and natural disasters have hindered the prioritization of geographic disparity on the national agenda. These findings highlight significant implications for enhancing public policy in Iran. Geographic disparities can greatly affect the distribution and accessibility of urban green spaces, which are vital environmental assets, especially in a country like Iran that boasts diverse topography and socio-economic conditions across its various regions. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Maciej J. Nowak; individual chapters, the contributors.
Publication Date: 2024
Town Planning Review (1478341X)95(2)pp. 197-217
This article analyses (based on multidimensional criteria) land-use plans at a local level (using selected cities as examples) and their relationships to crucial planning issues identified at both national and local levels. The planning approaches of cities from the following countries were compared: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Ghana, Iran, Mexico, Mongolia, Portugal and Poland. These countries are diverse in terms of their legal, political, cultural and geographical perspectives. Across these diverse countries, comparisons were made of local spatial plans (as enacted in specific cities), with regard to their legal features. From this, directions for a possible universal debate of local-level spatial plans as currently emerging is proposed. Based on the comparison undertaken, it is possible that the spatial plans studied designate zones of land use and detailed principles (including parameters) of development for cities. In some countries, attempts have also been made for the plans to solve spatial problems more broadly, for example by linking strategic planning objectives with the spatial development sphere. Copyright © 2024 Liverpool University Press. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2024
Urban Science (24138851)8(1)
This research aims to analyze the relationship between environmental justice and urban green space connectivity in Tehran, Iran. The evaluation of green space connectivity in this study is conducted through two distinct cost layers: one aimed at enhancing existing connections and another focused on establishing new green spaces. Key factors influencing connectivity, extracted from the relevant literature, were identified to facilitate this analysis. Employing graph theory and least-cost analysis, the results determined critical resistance factors, current connectivity and cost status, the varying degrees to which different districts benefit from green space ecosystem services, and the most effective routes for establishing green corridors. Research findings highlight significant disparities in access to these services, particularly in the underserved central districts of Tehran. Moreover, spatial analysis reveals a higher potential for enhancing east–west ecosystem service corridors due to the higher density of green hubs and lower costs in this orientation, while north–south connectivity faces more challenges. By exploring land use/land cover, and physical and socio-economic factors affecting urban green space connectivity, this study provides urban and environmental planners with a novel methodology and comprehensive insights for effective decision making, resource allocation, and land use planning. © 2024 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2024
Natural Hazards (15730840)120(5)pp. 4507-4526
The expansion of urban areas and increasing marginalization has resulted in the proliferation of inappropriate settlements susceptible to significant hazards like earthquakes. Unsuitable land use, inadequate building construction and design, and deficient urban infrastructure contribute to the vulnerability of human settlements. This study aims to evaluate the resilience of Koi Nah Dareh, a neighborhood situated on the outskirts of Mashhad, and identify the factors rendering it vulnerable to earthquakes using exploratory factor analysis. The study focused on disadvantaged areas with poor physical conditions and numerous inefficiencies, including aging residential units and areas with unfavorable natural conditions for construction. The present study adopted the Analytic Hierarchy Process to assess the relative importance of vulnerability factors and indicators and identify the vulnerability zone. The findings revealed five key factors: convenient access to services, physical retrofitting, environmental adaptation, improvement of the road network, and enhancement of public transportation. Convenient access to services held the highest importance coefficient (0.315) as the top priority followed by physical retrofitting with an importance coefficient of 0.184, signifying its significant impact on earthquake vulnerability. The assessment demonstrated that all habitable areas of the neighborhood exhibited high vulnerability indicators, indicating a low level of resilience to earthquakes. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024.
Publication Date: 2024
Sustainability (Switzerland) (20711050)16(12)
Despite growing interest in community-based ecotourism as a pathway to sustainable development, there is a critical lack of research on how localized configurations of marketing and policy factors shape ecolodge performance at the village level. This study addresses this gap by pioneering a comprehensive, contextually grounded analysis of the availability and desirability of key marketing and policy indicators across 25 rural villages in Iran’s culturally and ecologically rich Hawraman region. By employing an innovative mixed-methods approach blending statistical analysis, GIS spatial modeling, surveys, and interviews, the research reveals striking heterogeneity in ecolodge constraints and opportunities, even within a localized setting. Spatial analysis uncovers distance decay effects, with peripheral villages facing exacerbated accessibility deficits compared to centrally located ones. Substantial variations in marketing effectiveness and governance capacities underscore the inadequacy of one-size-fits-all tourism planning. The findings make a novel contribution by demonstrating the imperative for transitioning from monolithic interventions to hyper-localized, place-based strategies tailored to each village’s unique barrier and asset profiles. Embracing this paradigm shift promises to enhance the equity and sustainability of ecolodge tourism in rural contexts globally. The study provides an original methodological blueprint for harnessing multi-modal diagnostics to unpack complex tourism dynamics and catalyze transformative, community-centric solutions. © 2024 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2024
Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events (19407963)
Climate change poses significant challenges to the tourism industry, making understanding the factors influencing businesses’ adaptive responses crucial. This research investigates the complex interplay of social discourse, belief systems, perceived costs, risk perceptions, response efficacy, and self-efficacy in shaping tourism professionals’ adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. Focusing on businesses near Iran’s Lake Urmia, the study employs the model of private proactive adaptation to climate change on a sample of 320 tourism businesses. The findings highlight the positive impact of climate change-related discussions on perceptions and behaviors, the critical role of strongly held beliefs, and the barriers posed by perceived costs. Risk perception emerges as a central driver of decision-making, emphasizing the importance of raising risk awareness. The study also reveals how response efficacy and self-efficacy impact adaptive behavior, while maladaptation presents a significant challenge. These insights are valuable for developing strategies to enhance tourism resilience to climate change in vulnerable destinations. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2024
Journal of Safety Science and Resilience (26664496)5(3)pp. 330-343
Floods and earthquakes are the most common natural disasters, causing significant damage and casualties in urban communities. Although academic research has focused on assessing cities' ability to withstand these natural disasters, there is a lack of established frameworks for evaluating resilience against multiple hazards. This research integrates the earthquake and flood resilience indicators to create a comprehensive resilience assessment framework. This study integrated seismic and flood resilience indicators and categorized them into 27 clusters. It also used the DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method to determine the significance of clusters and prioritize them. This research identified 13 cause clusters and 14 effect clusters of indicators for seismic and flood resilience. The ‘response capacity’ cluster has the most impact on seismic and flood resilience, while the ‘transportation and accessibility’ cluster is the most affected cluster. This article presents a framework for evaluating flood and seismic resilience and makes suggestions for future research. © 2024
Publication Date: 2024
Smart Cities (26246511)7(4)pp. 2094-2109
This paper delves into the rapidly progressing 15-Minute City concept, an innovative urban planning model that envisions a city where residents can access essential services and amenities within a 15-min walk or bike ride from their homes. Endorsed by UN-Habitat as a critical strategy for sustainable urban regeneration, this concept has gained considerable worldwide recognition since its introduction in 2016. The 15-Minute City framework aims to enhance accessibility, sustainability, and social cohesion by emphasizing mixed-use development, compact urban design, and efficient transportation systems. Nevertheless, the swift expansion of this concept has surpassed the production of academic literature on the topic, leading to a knowledge gap that calls for alternative research methodologies. To address this gap, our paper adopts a mixed-method approach, systematically analyzing the scholarly literature, gray literature, media articles, and policy documents to offer a holistic understanding of the 15-Minute City concept, its real-world application, and the primary principles embraced by policymakers. By investigating the various manifestations of the 15-Minute City model and its potential advantages, challenges, and implications for urban planning and policy, this paper contributes to the ongoing conversation on sustainable urban development and planning. Through this study, we aim to inform policymakers, urban planners, and researchers about the current state of the 15-Minute City movement and its possible future trajectory. © 2024 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2024
Cities (02642751)146
Despite the wealth of research on smart cities, there is a lack of studies examining interlinkages between smart cities and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In other words, there is limited research on how implementing smart city solutions can lead to co-benefits and/or trade-offs for achieving SDGs. This systematic literature review was conducted to fill this gap. Results show that responsible development/implementation of smart city solutions and technologies could contribute to the progress toward SDGs. The literature is mainly focused on SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). More work on other SDGs is needed. There is a bias toward reporting the benefits of smart cities. These include accelerating economic growth, improving efficiency, strengthening innovation, and raising citizen awareness. These benefits indicate that smart cities could catalyze the transition to sustainable development and address climate change challenges. However, this requires addressing trade-offs related to issues such as privacy and cyber security, costs of infrastructure upgrading, rebound effects associated with efficiency improvements, biased decision-making, reproduction of social biases, digital divide and lack of skills, misuse of AI, and limited legal setup. This review elaborates on these trade-offs and offers solutions to minimize them. Results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased attention to the interactions between smart cities and the SDGs, particularly those related to health and climate action. However, it has also cemented many new unethical practices. This review highlights governance/policy challenges that should be addressed to ensure smart cities can better contribute to the SDGs. It concludes that multi-scale and transparent governance mechanisms and regulatory frameworks are crucial for ensuring that smart city solutions support the transition toward sustainable and resilient cities. © 2023 The Authors
Publication Date: 2024
Environmental Hazards (17477891)23(3)pp. 241-264
Human mobility in the context of environmental change has become a pressing issue in the last four decades, leading to a vast body of literature that this study seeks to analyze. This paper utilises bibliometric tools to provide a comprehensive overview of the structure, themes, and conceptual evolution of climate migration research over the last four decades. Specifically, the study analyzed 476 publications indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases using VOSviewer and SciMAT software. The results indicate that the conceptual evolution of the field occurred primarily between 2007 and 2015. It identified four thematic clusters: water-related hazards, forced migration, climate change and adaptation, and population studies and policymaking. These findings offer important insights for scholars and decision-makers, providing a better understanding of the current state of knowledge and highlighting promising new research areas as well as gaps that require further exploration. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2024
Urbani Izziv (18558399)35(2)pp. 84-95
The literature on urban planning and spatial planning increasingly emphasizes the need for a more thorough analysis of the impact of pandemics on urban spatial policymaking. This article identifies critical proposals for change regarding urban spatial policies that emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic and relates these to literature on spatial planning. The focus was on two issues directly relevant to this topic: urban spatial planning and environmental protection. The use of the analytical-comparative method, preceded by a literature review, allowed a preliminary characterization of the selected works. The following research questions were posed: 1) What critical spatial planning topics have been addressed in discussion of the pandemic? and 2) Have publications on both the pandemic and urban planning made a vital contribution to the broader discussion on institutional aspects of urban planning? An important conclusion is that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the consequences of ignoring theoretical findings in public policymaking, which can lead to social and environmental inequalities on a global scale, and differences in pandemic restrictions across political and social systems. © 2024 Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2023
International Planning Studies (14699265)28(3-4)pp. 219-238
This study sheds light on the state of knowledge on shrinking cities over the past four decades by identifying major thematic clusters, conceptual evolutions, and key players. The bibliometric analysis tools of VOSviewer and SciMAT were used to analyze 562 documents indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases. The publication trend was divided into three subperiods: the genesis period (1978–2004), the growth period (2004–2015), and the rapid growth period (2015–2021). The most significant conceptual evolution in the field occurred between 2004 and 2015. Three thematic clusters were identified: (1) urban policy and planning, (2) physical and ecological planning, and (3) demographic and regional development. This review highlights that issues related to governance and regional, physical, and ecological planning have attracted more attention. Moving beyond past research, we provide four promising areas for further research in shrinking city studies. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2023
Sustainability (Switzerland) (20711050)15(3)
This article reviews existing research and discussions on urban policy in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis focuses on the first pandemic period in the European Union and the Middle East. A search was conducted in available databases and search engines (Scopus, Google Scholar). A critical bibliometric analysis of publications from the first pandemic period was carried out. The most frequent topics covered were spatial organization, transport, environment, and social issues. The analysis showed that the quantitative scope and depth of the selected topics in the European Union and the Middle East differ. Activities defined as “exploitative” should be considered a particularly interesting point of reference in both analyzed regions. © 2023 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2023
Land (2073445X)12(2)
The 15-minute city concept was introduced as a post-COVID strategy to support more sustainable recovery from the pandemic and develop complete, climate-sensitive, and resilient neighborhoods. This review examines key neighborhood planning movements to identify the origins of the 15-minute city concept. These include the garden city, neighborhood unit plan, modernist urbanism, post-modern urbanism, and eco-urbanism, which have emerged since the late 19th century. The results of the study show that the concept of the 15-minute city has ten basic characteristics: proximity, density, diversity, mixed-use, modularity, adaptability, flexibility, human-scale design, connectivity, and digitalization. The concept has been successful in advancing theoretical debates on sustainable urbanism. However, some criticisms of past planning movements also apply to the 15-minute city. Similar to the neighborhood unit and modernist urbanism, the concept follows a philosophy of physical determinism, setting goals without specifying how or by what means they will be achieved. At this point, one can only speculate about the future of the concept. A more detailed study of the real-world applications of the concept is needed before one can thoroughly discuss its strengths and weaknesses. © 2023 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2023
Progress in Planning (03059006)173
The global population has rapidly urbanized over the past century, and the urbanization rate is projected to reach about 70% by 2050. In line with these trends and the increasing recognition of the significance of cities in addressing local and global challenges, a lot of research has been published on urban studies and planning since the middle of the twentieth century. While the number of publications has been rapidly increasing over the past decades, there is still a lack of studies analyzing the field's knowledge structure and its evolution. To fill this gap, this study analyzes data related to more than 100,000 articles indexed under the “Urban Studies” and “Regional & Urban Planning” subject categories of the Web of Science. We conduct various analyses such as term co-occurrence, co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and citation analysis to identify the key defining thematic areas of the field and examine how they have evolved. We also identify key authors, journals, references, and organizations that have contributed more to the field's development. The analysis is conducted over five periods: 1956–1975 (the genesis period), 1976–1995 (economic growth and environmentalism), 1996–2015 (sustainable development and technological innovation), 2016–2019 (climate change and SDGs), and 2020 onwards (post-COVID urbanism). Four major thematic areas are identified: 1) socio-economic issues and inequalities, 2) economic growth and innovation, 3) urban ecology and land use planning, and 4) urban policy and governance and sustainability. The first two are recurring themes over different periods, while the latter two have gained currency over the past 2–3 decades following global events and policy frameworks related to global challenges like sustainability and climate change. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, issues related to smart cities, big data analytics, urban resilience, and governance have received particular attention. We found disproportionate contributions to the field from the Global North. Some countries from the Global South with rapid urbanization rates are underrepresented, which may have implications for the future of urbanization. We conclude the study by highlighting thematic gaps and other critical issues that need to be addressed by urban scholars to accelerate the transition toward sustainable and resilient cities. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
Publication Date: 2023
Cities (02642751)132
The purpose of this study is to explore the 15-minute city concept's underlying principles, sustainability contributions, and implementation challenges. We show that it relies on the seven basic principles of human-scale urban design, density, diversity, flexibility, proximity, digitalization, and connectivity. These principles can contribute to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in various ways. However, the 15-minute city can also been criticized for being physically deterministic, failing to take into account the needs of different social groups, biodiversity, energy-efficiency, clean energies, and culture and heritage. © 2022
Publication Date: 2023
Sustainability (Switzerland) (20711050)15(17)
Implementing appropriate policies is crucial for adapting the agricultural sector to climate change. However, adopting incorrect policies can exacerbate unsustainable development. Hence, this study investigated the unintended consequences of agritourism development policies as a climate change adaptation strategy in the villages of Shahrud, Iran. It demonstrated how such policies have inadvertently heightened farmers’ vulnerability to climate change impacts. Data were collected through 44 semi-structured interviews, which underwent thematic analysis to identify emerging patterns. The study’s findings indicate that the rapid expansion of Agritourism in Iran, aimed at addressing climate change, has failed to achieve its intended goals. Inadequate government support, increased supply, legal gaps, and lack of empowerment were identified as contributing factors leading to unsustainable development and financial losses. Consequently, smallholder farmers were found to harbor negative perceptions of agritourism and expressed dissatisfaction with existing policies. These findings underscore the necessity of comprehensive policies and support systems to facilitate the effective implementation of sustainable agritourism by stakeholders in Iran. © 2023 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 241-252
National and local governments have made climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies a priority. New technologies have allowed cities to decrease their ecological footprint while maintaining economic operations. This chapter aims to conduct a typology analysis of smart city initiatives and identify implemented solutions to improve good governance and sustainable management of the transportation, water, and energy sectors. We developed a global database of 50 smart city projects and used descriptive analysis to describe them. We gathered information about the projects’ size, ownership, geographic focus, smart city solution type, dimension, and the relationship with climate change. The four key directions of smart transportation projects are promoting sustainable travel behavior, smart parking management, public transit development, and active and low-carbon transportation development. The four key directions of smart governance projects are promoting participation, public services, and openness. Some smart city initiatives use smart lighting, low-carbon building materials, and electric vehicles (EVs) to save energy. Finally, smart cities have prioritized water resource management, intelligently establishing initiatives to manage water supply systems, consumption, and wastewater disposal. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2022
Area Development and Policy (23792957)7(1)pp. 101-122
In Iran, as in other developing countries, the existence of shrinking cities has been observed. In the case of 13 medium-sized cities in Khuzestan province in 1977–2011, demographic growth trends differ widely, but there was no significant overall relationship between urban population growth and employment, activity development or indeed with indicators of social environmental and ecological development in these cities. Demographic growth is principally a result of natural increase and intra-regional rural–urban migration in a geopolitically important but relatively disadvantaged border province that suffers from net outmigration and the devastating effects of the Iran–Iraq War on the distribution of the population, infrastructure and important economic centres, and ports such as Abadan. © 2021 Regional Studies Association.
Publication Date: 2022
Sustainability (Switzerland) (20711050)14(5)
Global connectivity facilitated tourism and redefined economic landscapes, highlight an interest in better understanding tourism retention factors. Today, in view of the global COVID-19 pandemic, this is made even more important as the world prepares to lift lockdown restrictions and to re-engage in cross border circulation; reiterating needs to understand tourism satisfaction and revisit intentions. This study thus sheds light on the predictors of tourists’ intention to the explorative and exploitative use of Smart Tourism Technologies (STTs) and memorable experiences in tourism destinations via an integrated model and a self-administered questionnaire—distributed among domestic tourists visiting Tehran—employing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The results indicated that tourists’ attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control toward STTs had significant positive impacts on their explorative and exploitative intentions. Furthermore, tourists’ explorative/exploitative intention and perceived behavioral control exercised significant, positive effects on their memorable experiences. Finally, the results demonstrate that tourists’ memorable experiences significantly influence their satisfaction and intention to revisit smart destinations. This study expands existing literature by exploring a new model for enhancing memorable experiences and revisit intention using STTs, and presents findings applicable to the city of Tehran, while adopting a model which can be replicated in other geographies looking at better understanding its tourism landscape. Finally, the results in this study can be helpful for both researchers and policy makers in their quest to rejuvenate local post-pandemic economies via tourism measures. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 199-217
Along with sustainability, smartness, and resilience are two key concepts that have dominated the scientific literature and policy discourses on cities over the past 2 decades. Multiple issues related to these concepts have been studied in the literature, and there are also many tools and indicator sets for assessing the smartness or resilience of cities, neighborhoods, communities, and projects. However, limited efforts have been made to probe interactions between smart cities and urban resilience. In particular, there is a lack of tools and indicator sets for assessing the contributions of smart city solutions and technologies to urban resilience. To fill this gap, in this chapter, we propose a set of indicators related to multiple dimensions of smart cities, namely, environment, economy, people, data, living, mobility, and governance. Overall, 98 indicators have been identified, and their potential linkages to resilience abilities are also highlighted and discussed. The proposed indicators can be used to develop tools for assessing the resilience of cities using smart city indicators. This could provide further opportunities for integrating the two concepts and contribute to developing resilient smart cities that facilitate addressing societal challenges, such as climate change, environmental degradation, and inequitable access to resources. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 49-67
The chapter sheds light on the genealogy and the key definitions of the smart city concept. It reviews the underlying principles of smart cities and highlights their main contributions to dealing with climate change. The chapter points out that the concept has undergone many changes during the past 2 decades, promoting from a technology-oriented to a human-oriented approach. The COVID-19 pandemic is evaluated as a pivotal event in the concept's development, paving the way for broader acceptance of smart city initiatives within cities. The emphasis on achieving sustainable development and quality of life through ICT is considered a common theme among definitions for smart cities. The chapter outlines eight fundamental smart city principles: livability, sustainability, efficiency, security, resilience, productivity, inclusion, and transparency. Finally, the contributions of smart cities to climate change management are addressed in the six action areas of citizens, government, economy, mobility, and living. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 69-92
Climate change impacts become more clear every passing day as humans continue to emit greenhouse gases into Earth's atmosphere. These include a wide range of impacts such as extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and increased and more intense storms. Even if stringent climate policies and actions lead to low- and zero-carbon societies, climate change impacts will continue to affect humans and economies for decades to come, due to historical emissions. Recognizing this, climate change adaptation is now increasingly promoted on part with climate change mitigation. Through text mining of bibliometric data archived in the Web of Science, this chapter seeks to provide an overview of existing research at the intersection of climate change adaptation and smart technologies. This way, it aims to discuss actual and potential contributions of smart city solutions, related to various urban systems and to climate change adaptation. Based on outputs of bibliometric analysis (term co-occurrence) obtained from the VOSviewer software tool, issues related to urban planning, buildings, transportation, waste management, energy and water resource, economy, urban infrastructure, and urban governance are discussed. It is argued that smart solutions and technologies have high potential to contribute to climate change adaptation and resilience. Use of smart technologies might, however, lead to some potential trade-offs and rebound effects. Such trade-offs and effects have also been discussed. Further, the need for integrated systems that accommodate different urban sectors is highlighted. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 93-116
Efforts aimed at addressing climate change have gained significant momentum in the past few years and following the Paris Climate Agreement. Recent data show that global temperatures are already about 1.1°C above preindustrial levels and the window to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C is rapidly closing. Cities account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions, indicating their significance for achieving climate stabilization targets. Recognizing this, many cities around the world are increasingly developing plans and strategies to contribute to climate change mitigation. In the meantime, smart technologies are rapidly becoming ubiquitous in many cities around the world and governments and local authorities have used this as an opportunity to develop and implement smart city programs. While the impacts of smart city programs on urban CO2 emissions are not yet fully examined, it is hoped that they can contribute to meeting climate change mitigation targets. Through text mining of bibliometric data archived in the Web of Science, this chapter seeks to provide an overview of existing research at the intersection of climate change mitigation and smart city solutions and technologies. The chapter aims to discuss actual and potential contributions of smart city solutions, related to various urban systems, to climate change mitigation. Based on outputs of bibliometric analysis (term co-occurrence) obtained from the VOSviewer software tool, issues related to urban planning, buildings, transportation, waste management, energy and water resource, economy, urban infrastructure, and urban governance are discussed. It is argued that smart solutions and technologies have high potential to contribute to climate change mitigation. They can also provide co-benefits for climate change adaptation and sustainable development. However, appropriate planning and regulating measures are needed to avoid potential trade-offs and rebound effects. Such effects and trade-offs have also been discussed. Further, the need for integrated systems that accommodate different urban sectors is highlighted. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 345-351
Cities are increasingly playing leading roles in the battle against climate change. The main thrust of this volume was to build on the existing knowledge of the potential and/or actual contributions of smart city solutions and technologies to climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities. In this concluding chapter, we summarize some of the major contributions, elaborate on the need for integrated approaches to maximize co-benefits and minimize trade-offs, and discuss policy-relevant issues for a transition toward climate-resilient cities. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2022
Sustainability (Switzerland) (20711050)14(22)
Transformational resilience is at the forefront of academic and policy initiatives on sustainable development, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction as a result of successive and complex changes in global dynamics. While the literature on transformative resilience is growing, there is no comprehensive analysis of its trends and development. This paper aims to close this knowledge gap by presenting a multifaceted bibliometric overview of transformative resilience literature, revealing its trends, focus areas, transitions, and intellectual foundations. This is based on 415 Web of Science-indexed articles published between 1996 and 2021. According to the findings, the concept has developed primarily around four key presentive domains: vulnerability and climate change adaptation, urban and regional disaster resilience, sustainability management and institutional transformation, and COVID-19. While priorities and subjects of research have evolved over time, key concepts such as resilience, adaptation, and climate change have recurred. Influential authors and documents from three interrelated resilience schools, including sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction, have shaped the field’s intellectual foundations. We contend that a greater variety of contexts is required to facilitate transformative resilience’s investigation, description, and experimentation. © 2022 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2022
pp. 1-364
Uniquely focused on the contributions smart cities can make to climate change resilience, Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation offers evidence-based scientific solutions for improving cities’ abilities to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to global climate-related events. Beginning with the observation of global environmental change, this book explores what sustainable smart projects are, how they are adopted and evaluated, and how they can address climate change challenges. It brings together a wide variety of disciplines such as planning, transportation, and waste management to address issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities.In general, many social science researchers lack cohesive, broad-based literature knowledge; Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation bridges this gap and informs different types of stakeholders on how they can enhance their preparation abilities to enable real-time responses and actions. Therefore, it is a valuable reference for researchers, professors, graduate students, city planners, and policy makers. Application-focused throughout, this book explores the complexities of urban systems and subsystems to support researchers, planners, and decision makers in their efforts toward developing more climate-resilient smart cities. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021
Sustainable Cities and Society (2210-6707)70
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought questions about the desirability of compact urban development to the fore. There are some concerns that high density may be a risk factor that makes it challenging to contain the pandemic. This study aims to investigate the link between density and pandemic spread through a case study of Tehran that has been the epicenter of the pandemic in Iran. Based on data obtained from an online platform and analyzed using structural equation modeling, we found that density alone cannot be considered a risk factor for the spread of COVID-19. In fact, density alone did not explain the geographic distribution pattern of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths across the 22 municipal districts of Tehran. We, therefore, argue that efforts should be made to minimize concerns about living in dense urban environments. Indeed, residents of high-density districts can live safely when an outbreak occurs, provided they make some changes in lifestyle and follow public health instructions. Based on the findings, and considering other benefits of compact cities (e.g., climate change mitigation) planners and policy makers are encouraged to continue promoting compact urban forms. They can also use the results of this study in their efforts towards developing appropriate mechanisms and guidelines for effective management of future pandemics in cities. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Publication Date: 2021
Sustainability (Switzerland) (20711050)13(14)
Since its emergence in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept through many cities around the world, claiming millions of lives and causing major socio-economic impacts. The pandemic occurred at an important historical juncture when smart solutions and technologies have become ubiquitous in many cities. Against this background, in this review, we examine how smart city solutions and technologies have contributed to resilience by enhancing planning, absorption, recovery, and adaptation abilities. For this purpose, we reviewed 147 studies that have discussed issues related to the use of smart solutions and technologies during the pandemic. The results were synthesized under four themes, namely, planning and preparation, absorption, recovery, and adaptation. This review shows that investment in smart city initiatives can enhance the planning and preparation ability. In addition, the adoption of smart solutions and technologies can, among other things, enhance the capacity of cities to predict pandemic patterns, facilitate an integrated and timely response, minimize or postpone transmission of the virus, provide support to overstretched sectors, minimize supply chain disruption, ensure continuity of basic services, and offer solutions for optimizing city operations. These are promising results that demonstrate the utility of smart solutions for enhancing resilience. However, it should be noted that realizing this potential hinges on careful attention to important issues and challenges related to privacy and security, access to open-source data, technological affordance, legal barriers, technological feasibility, and citizen engagement. Despite this, this review shows that further development of smart city initiatives can provide unprecedented opportunities for enhancing resilience to the pandemic and similar future events. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Publication Date: 2021
Future Transportation (26737590)1(2)pp. 268-289
The proliferation of ridesourcing services has raised both hopes and concerns about their role in cities. The impacts of ridesourcing services are complex and multi-faceted. Through reviewing the literature, this study aims to identify the social, economic, and environmental impacts of these services and highlight opportunities and challenges that lay ahead of them for resolving issues related to urban transportation. According to the results, ridesourcing services offer safe modes of transport that provide convenient mobility options, improve transit availability in disadvantaged and remote areas, and respond to taxi demand fluctuations. They can create new job opportunities by employing new human resources that have not been used before, provide flexible working hours for drivers, and are more efficient than taxi cabs. These services provide other opportunities to extend or complement public transit, reduce car ownership and congestion, and minimize parking supply. However, they are criticized for unfair competition with traditional taxis, limited compliance with social legislation, and lack of affordability. They are not available in all places and exclude some vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups. Labor rights are not secure in this industry, and driver income is not stable. Finally, there is also evidence showing that, in some cases, they contribute to the growth of VMT, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and congestion in cities. © 2021 by the authors.
Publication Date: 2020
Planning Practice and Research (13600583)35(4)pp. 466-484
While there is a growing body of scholarship on regional competitiveness, little attention has been paid to the planning methods that can pursue this objective. Public planners are mainly relying on conventional methods that have come under increasing criticism. This study aims to introduce Meta-SWOT as a novel planning tool in urban and regional studies. Meta-SWOT provides competitive and realistic strategies for planners. It systematically tries to present strategies rooted in internal resources and capabilities while acknowledging the challenges posed by the external environment. Nevertheless, it has several limitations that should be considered when applying to urban and regional planning. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2020
Science of the Total Environment (0048-9697)749
Since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis the scientific community has constantly been striving to shed light on various issues such as the mechanisms driving the spread of the virus, its environmental and socio-economic impacts, and necessary recovery and adaptation plans and policies. Given the high concentration of population and economic activities in cities, they are often hotspots of COVID-19 infections. Accordingly, many researchers are struggling to explore the dynamics of the pandemic in urban areas to understand impacts of COVID-19 on cities. In this study we seek to provide an overview of COVID-19 research related to cities by reviewing literature published during the first eight months after the first confirmed cases were reported in Wuhan, China. The main aims are to understand impacts of the pandemic on cities and to highlight major lessons that can be learned for post-COVID urban planning and design. Results show that, in terms of thematic focus, early research on the impacts of COVID-19 on cities is mainly related to four major themes, namely, (1) environmental quality, (2) socio-economic impacts, (3) management and governance, and (4) transportation and urban design. While this indicates a diverse research agenda, the first theme that covers issues related to air quality, meteorological parameters, and water quality is dominant, and the others are still relatively underexplored. Improvements in air and water quality in cities during lockdown periods highlight the significant environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities and provide a wake-up call to adopt environmentally friendly development pathways. The paper also provides other recommendations related to the socio-economic factors, urban management and governance, and transportation and urban design that can be used for post-COVID urban planning and design. Overall, existing knowledge shows that the COVID-19 crisis entails an excellent opportunity for planners and policy makers to take transformative actions towards creating cities that are more just, resilient, and sustainable. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Publication Date: 2019
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2352409X)25pp. 486-497
Since the study of remaining spaces from the past could lead to a vivid understanding of the political, administrative, social, economic, and cultural structures of the societies which have created them, the issue of space has turned into a priority in archaeological studies. Therefore, spatial archaeology as an interdisciplinary science can play an important role in reconstructing of the spatial system of historical cities and understanding the behavior of the people who lived in the past. This study is an attempt to open a new investigation into the role of various social classes in the formation of spatial organization of historical cities of Iran during late Islamic period (Qajar era from 1785 to 1925). The study targeted Golchinan district of the city of Yazd, Iran, in Qajar period. The results showed that economic factors have played a leading role in the spatial organization of the district. In fact, due to a higher power, the wealthy class has benefited from a series of economic, social, and spatial advantages that the ordinary people were deprived of. This issue has affected the spatial organization of the district. Also the financial prosperity of the residents had significantly affected the spatial distribution of residential units. In other words, economic differences had led to social classification resulting in better access for the rich to the public facilities. These would make the aristocratic class keep on the side of the power centers. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Publication Date: 2019
Sustainable Cities and Society (2210-6707)47
The desire to improve the quality of life and to avoid environmental degradation has prompted human beings to migrate across the world over time. Through a survey regarding the contribution of different drivers on migration out of the shrinking cities of Khuzestan province, the study shows that climate changes and environmental degradation have a considerable influence on out-migration. Overall, these environmental factors exert both direct and indirect effects. The former, which is proven through a quantitative analysis, implies that the climate and environmental changes are so influential that they have compromised the human habitability in this area of the Middle East. Therefore, having reached the risk threshold, people are increasingly persuaded to leave the shrinking cities. Besides, the extent to which environmental changes contribute to the intensification of the economic downturn, unemployment, addiction, corruption, violence, crimes, and the disruption in the urban infrastructures in this region, underscores the importance of the indirect effects of climate and environment changes in migration from the shrinking cities of Khuzestan province. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Publication Date: 2018
International Journal of Urban Sciences (12265934)22(1)pp. 104-122
Despite the accelerated urbanization that has occurred over recent years, urban shrinkage has emerged silently as a step of urbanization in developing countries. However, without identifying the main causes of this shrinkage, managing it seems impossible. This study aims to make a comparative assessment of economic and environmental inequality between the shrinking cities and growing cities in the province of Khuzestan, Iran, using the statistical Mann-Whitney test. The results of the study showed no significant difference between the shrinking and the growing cities in terms of economic and physical-environmental conditions. In this regard, it is suggested that the current shrinking cities in the province have experienced a process much different from the shrinkage of a vast majority of cities in other countries, particularly in developed countries. This difference can be due to the rentier nature of the Iranian government, the impacts of certain external factors, and the tax-free speculative transactions in the housing sector. © 2017 The Institute of Urban Sciences.
Publication Date: 2018
pp. 248-262
With increasing prevalence, severity, persistence, and geographical incidence, cities have faced shrinkage during the past half century. Urban planners have paid special attention to shrinking cities. The concept of urban shrinkage has turned into a fixed base of research for many urban studies. While urban planning debates of recent years have mainly focused on the economic and environmental dimensions of shrinking cities, social dimensions are usually neglected despite their importance. This chapter aims at the socio-spatial differences and the relationship between the negative rate of population growth and the level of social development in the shrinking cities of Khuzestan province as an oil-rich province in Iran. The results show that there are great differences among the shrinking cities in terms of social factors, and surprisingly, the cities that have experienced more shrinkage have more social development. © 2018, IGI Global. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2018
Journal of Urbanism (17549175)11(2)pp. 202-232
According to many researchers and scholars, religious beliefs can be considered as the most influential factor in forming Muslim urban spaces and their architectural elements. In fact, historical cities reflect the culture and beliefs of their residences. Among all historical places in Iranian cities, the historical texture of the city of Yazd, especially the quarters since the age of Qajar dynasty, are well preserved. The present study aims at identifying the Islamic principles and values influencing the formation of architectural spaces and the extent of their applications in one of the historical quarters known as Golchinan. The results of the conformation of the theoretical findings with the data acquired from field studies revealed that almost 90% of the urban and architectural spaces (e.g. residential areas, mosques, bazaars, and pathways) in Yazd are directly influenced by Islamic principles. In other words, there is a strong conformity between the accepted Islamic values of the society and what actually was applied to urban constructions during Qajar dynasty. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2018
Urban Book Series (2365757X)pp. 105-118
This study focuses on this fact that shrinking cities are the other side of changes in a liberal space. They occur as a result of the uneven performance of neo-liberalism in urban and regional developments. This uneven performance in development is due to the competitive spaces between the processes of production and accumulation. In addition, since neo-liberalism always needs to impose its own institutional array and market-oriented social and spatial norms on a city and a region, an explanation of the process of urban shrinkage in a liberal space is placed within a neo-liberalism creative destruction mechanism. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.
Publication Date: 2017
Event Management (15259951)21(1)pp. 119-129
The purpose of this study is to provide a new strategic plan for tourism development using the SOAR framework with a focus on the religious event of Muharram in the province of Yazd, Iran. Muharram ceremony is a religious event based on the culture and religion of Shia Muslims, which could introduce a tourist attraction in the form of an event to other countries. The SOAR framework is a strengths-based strategic planning matrix that focuses on strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (SOAR). This framework is an alternative for SWOT analysis. Participants are asked to identify the most important strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results after interviews, because SOAR uses a participatory approach to strategic planning. Finally, the measurable results of this research are to provide tourism with a comprehensive way of planning this ceremony, to improve facilities in and near tourist attractions, to attract public investment for the reconstruction of mosques and religious sites, and to hold exhibitions with a focus on Yazd tourism potentials like handicrafts, customs, and traditions. © 2017 Cognizant, LLC.
Publication Date: 2016
Area Development and Policy (23792957)1(2)pp. 266-277
The phenomenon of urban shrinkage is found in developing as well as in developed countries but the patterns differ. In developing countries, socio-economic inequality can explain population mobility between cities. A comparative study of shrinking and growing cities in Khuzestan Province in Iran showed that social conditions in the former were significantly worse than in the latter and that these conditions played an important role in the decisions of residents to leave. The impacts of the Iran-Iraq war, post-war reconstruction and the attractiveness of some cities such as Ahvaz (the provincial capital), Tehran, Esfahan, and Shiraz played a part. © 2016, © 2016 Regional Studies Association.
Publication Date: 2015
Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning (20693419)6(1)pp. 19-25
One of the sites that may be developed in urban areas is the industrial town. Selecting a location for an industrial town is a complex problem that involves the evaluation of several factors of different types. This paper deals with the problem of finding an optimum site for such an area in Yazd Township, Iran, using Fuzzy GIS methods. Nine criteria including road, fault, rail road, water resource, urban area, mountain, agricultural land, soil-protected area, wildlife and slope were determined and split into two categories, anthropological and geographical criteria. As a result, after making fuzzy maps and integration maps using fuzzy operators, appropriate locations were spotted for industrial areas in Yazd Township. The most suitable areas were extensively found in eastern, northeast and southeast part of Yazd city. © 2015, Cluj University Press. All right reserved.
Publication Date: 2015
Tourism Planning and Development (21568324)12(3)pp. 321-332
Abstract: Planning of sustainable tourism development actually concerns planning of the environment preservation, and it encompasses a variety of research and analysis before making a decision on determining the direction of any development. This concept involves balanced economic, social, and cultural developments without endangering the environment, which enables the development at the same or a higher level. On the other hand, the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (SOAR) framework enhances strategic planning and implementation of processes by using a positive guiding approach to inquire into strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and measurable results. This study, with the aim of providing a suitable framework for sustainable tourism development, introduces the SOAR framework as a strategic model that is compatible with the different aspects of sustainable development including economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects. Finally, as a new SOAR framework compatible with tourism studies, the model provides economic, social, cultural, and environmental points of view at each level that may be postulated in a SOAR framework (i.e. strengths, opportunities, apparitions, and results). © 2014 Taylor & Francis.
