https://www.manzar-sj.com/ MANZAR, the Scientific Journal of landscape en daily 1 Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0330 Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0330 https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_253701.html On 9 Esfand 1404 [28 February 2026], following the US-Israeli assault, war came to dominate the social and physical landscape of Iran. Attacks on cities and civilians forced large numbers of people to leave urban centers for smaller towns and rural areas. Yet the war continued unabated. In response, those defending the Revolution and the homeland adopted a new form of resistance: nightly gatherings at significant points across the city. From that time onward, these local gatherings gradually became a new form of social presence and participation—one defined by a particular time and place: every night, in a specific location. At first, these gatherings were interpreted as an emotional response to an assault by the most powerful military force in history. Immediately after the signing of the memorandum of understanding to end the war, politicians called for the “field gatherings” to be dismantled and for society to move as quickly as possible toward conditions of peace. Those who regarded the US signature as invalid resisted this move. Ultimately, the leadership of the Revolution brought the dispute to an end by insisting that the gatherings should continue. Whatever it’s other consequences, this decision marked a turning point in the contemporary urban landscape and expanded the meaning of place in Iranian cities. But why, and through what mechanisms? In the contemporary world, as throughout history, political life remains shaped by struggles for power and the domination of the weak by the powerful. Within these struggles, communication has become a central arena of contestation. The greater a groups control over the channels through which societies communicate, the greater its capacity to exercise power. Over five decades of pursuing independence and confronting global powers, revolutionary Iran has consequently been subject to sustained forms of media pressure and influence. Control of the media has become a fundamental strategy for the reproduction of power in the contemporary world. The proliferation and diversification of media may, in part, be understood in relation to their growing importance as instruments of power. It is therefore unsurprising that political powers have developed increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for controlling different forms of media. Against this background, the emergence of a new medium disrupted the established order: the street as media. Because it is local, popular, fluid, and pluralistic, Street Media is not readily subject to centralized or comprehensive control. Over time, the nightly gatherings developed their own distinct identities. Each gathering adopted its own interpretation of events and selected its own slogans and speakers. The arrival of small, handwritten signs brought by individual participants further expanded the range of voices and demands expressed within these spaces, potentially without limit. A medium characterized by a dynamic and pluralistic structure, and shaped by a large number of interacting agents, cannot easily be brought under centralized control—precisely the kind of control sought by groups competing for political power. The power of Street Media derives fundamentally from its spatial and place-based character. This medium is constituted through the interaction between physical space and the society that occupies it. The combination of these two dimensions gives it a distinctive form of power. The street in which an event takes place thus becomes an inseparable part of the lived experience of the city and the homeland. Both participants and observers—even those simply passing through—come to experience the city, the war, and the country through their relationship to that place. Street Media is therefore a medium whose one dimension is place—itself produced through human experience and interaction with space—while it’s other dimension lies in the perceptions and interpretations of those who witness it. It is precisely this complexity that constitutes its power and makes it difficult to control. A body of thought in democratic theory argues that participatory democracy has a distinctive advantage over representative democracy because participation is rooted in geography and place. The same spatial dimension may help explain the particular power of Street Media. Its existence depends upon the physical participation of people, and it is precisely this participation that gives the medium its legitimacy, visibility, and capacity to influence. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247653.html The historical, perceptual, aesthetic, and climatic characteristics of the Persian garden have been the focus of numerous studies. However, the lexical structure of the Persian garden and the way it is organized in the language of historical sources have received far less attention. This is despite the fact that linguistic analysis of historical sources, including documentary records, can reveal new dimensions of the Persian garden. This study aims to reconstruct the Conceptual Structure of the Garden as represented in the language of everyday documents from Shiraz during the Qājār period. It hypothesizes that the concept of the garden in this period was a structured, non-referential construct constituted through a network of lexical items that defined the garden by the relationships among its constituent elements rather than by the intrinsic qualities of any individual element. Accordingly, the study addresses two questions: What semantic relationships exist among the lexical items associated with the category of the garden in Qājār-era documents from Shiraz? How are these relationships organized into a unified conceptual structure? This qualitative study draws upon lexical studies and structural linguistics. A corpus of 32 documents describing the constituent elements of gardens was selected from the National Library and Archives of Iran and the Women’s Worlds in Qājār Iran archive. By examining the semantic relationships among the lexical items occurring in these documents, the study reconstructs the Conceptual Structure of the Garden represented in documentary language. The findings indicate that the documentary Conceptual Structure of the Garden consists of two primary components, ʿarṣeh and ashjār, and is founded upon multiple relationships between land and trees. This structure is organized through a network of circulation routes (khiyābān and rāsmān), a water-supply system (majrā, mamar, and madkhal), and enclosing elements (judrān, ḥīṭān, darb, and dargāh), which together constitute what this study terms the Conceptual Structure of the Garden. This structure emerges from syntagmatic relationships, semantic oppositions, and lexical collocations among the lexical items denoting the constituent elements of the garden in the documents. No individual element occupies a privileged position within the overall structure. Quantitative dimensions, physical form, exchange value, and aesthetic description are absent from this conceptual structure. The garden therefore appears in Qājār-era documents as a self-organizing conceptual structure that differs in significant respects from modern architectural and aesthetic conceptions. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_242497.html Problem statement: In the 1960s and 1970s, Isfahan became a major center for debates on architectural identity in Iran. A series of urban projects and architectural interventions-both within historic settings and in new development areas- created a context in which two contrasting approaches to the past, tradition, and the idea of “Iranian architectural identity” emerged. The key question of this study is how these approaches were represented in official media and professional sources, and what role they played in shaping Isfahan’s architectural image during this period. Focusing on three news-related cases and several key architectural projects, this study examines the tension between two discourses: the “official–touristic” discourse and the “professional–critical” discourse. Each offers a different understanding of the past, the role of tradition, and the prospects of Iranian architecture in the modern era. The aim is to show how these discourses influenced media representations and design decisions related to Isfahan’s architectural identity. The study employs Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis. Data were collected through a systematic review of news and reports in the Ettela’at daily index cards, the Bulletin of the Society of Iranian Architects, and Honar va Memari magazine. These sources allow comparison between the approaches of official institutions and the professional architectural community toward major urban projects in Isfahan. Findings indicate that the official–touristic discourse emphasized historical representation and cultural symbolism to present an “authentic” and appealing image of Isfahan, while the professional–critical discourse stressed architectural interpretation of the past, creativity, and careful engagement with tradition. The analysis of three cases shows that the interaction of these discourses shaped Isfahan’s architectural identity in a multilayered and non-linear way. The study contributes an integrated discursive framework that reveals how differing narratives of tradition and modernity influenced the representation of Isfahan’s architecture. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_242622.html Japanese mountainous communities with terraced rice fields, once sustained through resource circulation and self-sufficient local systems have undergone substantial transformations since the postwar period. Depopulation, aging, and structural changes in rural economies have undermined their traditional sustainability, leading to weakened agricultural capacity and reduced community resilience. This paper aimed to understand how those mountainous communities can regain their sustainability through rural revitalization and activation of a resource-oriented farming based on the circulation of resources. An analytical framework called the five drivers of circularity was utilized for this research to clarify the specific and contextual drivers of circularity divers in the Kamanuma community as a case study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with local farmers, and the analysis followed a thematic approach. Findings show that the natural resource driver forms the foundation of Kamanuma’s circular system. Traditional Tensui (rain-fed) rice farming, the repurposing of rice straw for tools, fertilizer, and handicrafts, as well as charcoal making as part of the Satoyama lifestyle, were identified as key components of resource-oriented farming in the village. These practices support a localized food system in which rice and processed food goods circulate within the community, contributing to multifunctionality, self-sufficiency, and enhanced value for residents and visitors. The knowledge and skills driver highlights the existence of a local network that facilitates agricultural cooperation, knowledge exchange, and the continuation of traditional practices within and beyond the community. However, the study also reveals that the long-term sustainability of Kamanuma depends heavily on securing human resources to maintain terraced farming. Given that farming alone is not financially viable, continuous urban–rural exchange programs, where volunteers from urban areas provide labor and support, play a crucial role in sustaining agricultural activities and enabling resource circulation. Accordingly, balancing urban–rural exchanges with other drivers is fundamental to the functioning of Kamanuma as a whole and to the sustained human–landscape interactions that can contribute to landscape preservation. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_243008.html Throughout the history of Islamic cities, waqf has not merely been a financial or charitable institution, but has also been one of the sustainable tools shaping the spatial organization of the city. However, in urban studies in Iran, the examination of waqf has generally remained at the level of historical description, and its spatial mechanisms, particularly at the neighborhood scale, have rarely been analyzed in a systematic and analytical manner. This study, focusing on the Chaleh Meydan neighborhood in Qajar-period Tehran, aims to explain the role of waqf in the formation of the spatial structure of this neighborhood and to extract a spatial-functional pattern from this process. The research method is based on a qualitative-historical approach and spatial analysis, proceeding on two levels: on one hand, a study of documents including waqf deeds, historical maps, and municipal reports; and on the other, an analysis of the neighborhood’s physical organization in terms of a movement network and the system of waqf spaces. The theoretical framework of the research integrates the theory of space production, spatial organization and movement analysis, the concept of socio-spatial structure, and the language of organized patterns. The results show that waqf in the Chaleh Meydan neighborhood has played a key role in producing and stabilizing the neighborhood’s spatial structure through three main mechanisms: regulating ownership and access relations, organizing public and ritual uses, and creating social gathering centers. Based on this, a network consisting of waqf spaces such as mosques, schools, husseiniyas, and water reservoirs has organically linked with the neighborhood’s pathways, fostering local centrality, strengthening collective life, and sustaining the spatial identity of Chaleh Meydan. The research findings indicate that the waqf-centered spatial organization pattern can serve as an analytical framework for reinterpreting policies for the revitalization of historic neighborhoods and utilizing the potential of traditional institutions in contemporary urban management. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_245459.html Phobia, as a pervasive anxiety disorder, is characterized by a persistent and irrational fear of specific situations or objects, which can cause distress, significant avoidance, and impairment in an individual’s daily functioning. This disorder has its roots in a complex interaction of genetic factors, developmental environment, and traumatic events; on average, one in four people is susceptible to developing specific phobias at some point in their lives. This significant prevalence makes phobias a major challenge in the realm of health and quality of life. From the perspective of architecture and environmental design, this phenomenon is not merely an individual challenge but also a disruptive factor in achieving the utility and comfort (Utilitas) of a space, one of the three pillars of the desirable Vitruvian architecture. This disorder can hinder architecture’s responsiveness to the needs of its users, particularly vulnerable groups. This research was conducted to analyze “place-based phobias”, explain the spatial components of each phobia, and extract design considerations aimed at reducing perceived threat and injury avoidance when confronting each place-based phobia. Data were collected and analyzed through the study of scientific resources and interviews with affected individuals, as well as environmental design specialists. The findings indicate that instead of intervening in the multitude of phobias, architects should focus on spatial components from the initial design stages, such as geometry, proportions, hierarchy, spatial positioning, and the characteristics of spatial elements. Furthermore, four key spatial realms were identified as critical points in the formation or exacerbation of phobias: thresholds, boundaries, signs/spatial cues, and ceilings. The targeted management of these realms through the mentioned spatial components not only prevents the creation of phobia-inducing environments but also takes an effective step towards creating ideal spaces. This approach, based on a deep understanding of human-space interaction, not only does not diminish environmental quality but will also, a fortiori, be acceptable and calming for humans without phobias. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_253462.html The rapid transition from traditional courtyard houses to contemporary apartments has diminished residents’ connection with light, water, vegetation, the sky, and open space, creating a gap between their perceptual needs and the quality of the residential environment. However, the ways in which this landscape transformation affects resident dwelling compatibility have remained unclear. This study aimed to explain the role of residential landscape as an experience arising from the interaction between the physical–natural characteristics of the environment and residents’ perception, meaning-making, and ways of living, and to examine its relationship with resident–dwelling compatibility in two housing types: courtyard houses from the Second Pahlavi period and contemporary housing in Tehran. The research adopted a qualitative and comparative approach, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three groups of residents. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that the effects of physical natural elements on compatibility are not direct; rather, the ways in which residents perceive, use, and attribute meaning to these elements contribute to the formation of a sense of fit or mismatch with the environment. In the narratives of residents of traditional houses from the Second Pahlavi period, multidirectional natural light, courtyards, water, vegetation, and direct connection with the sky were integrated into the structure of everyday life and enhanced feelings of openness, tranquility, and place attachment. In contemporary apartment cases, limitations in natural light, views, and open space reduced sensory interactions and created conditions for perceptual and behavioral incompatibility, prompting residents to adopt compensatory strategies such as adding plants, rearranging furniture, and using balconies. Comparison of the narratives of the three study groups showed that landscape qualities in traditional houses constituted an integral part of spatial organization, whereas in contemporary apartments they were often experienced in limited, mediated, and compensatory forms. Accordingly, the reintegration of natural light, open and semi-open spaces, vegetation, and appropriate views into housing design is proposed as a strategy for reducing the gap between residents’ psychological needs and the constraints of contemporary apartments. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_243373.html With the expansion of AI-based artworks in public spaces, the conceptual and structural analysis of this form of art within urban contexts has become a pressing research concern. Accordingly, this study aims to propose a framework for classifying AI artworks in public art. The main research question is: according to what criteria can AI-based artworks in public spaces be categorized, and how can such a classification contribute to understanding the audience’s experience and the role of the intelligent agent? This qualitative study adopts a descriptive-analytical method and is based on the analysis of nine significant examples of AI artworks presented in urban environments. Drawing on Ahmed’s theoretical framework (2018) on interaction and interactivity, and through a reinterpretation and development of Mendelowitz’s conceptual model (2020), the study formulates a five-part model consisting of generative, reactive, interactive, learning, and static works. These categories are organized according to the type and operational behavior of intelligent agents, the mode of interaction, and the audience’s perceptual experience. The analysis of the selected examples shows that the level of agency, the degree of responsiveness, the source of input data, the stability or variability of system behavior, and the form of audience experience vary significantly across these works. Static and generative works offer a more passive experience that remains independent of the audience, whereas reactive works respond to environmental stimuli, and interactive and learning works, through the use of adaptive and learning algorithms, enable dynamic, participatory, and customizable experiences. The findings indicate that the final classification of each work depends not only on the type of intelligent agent, but also on the relation among system, audience, environment, data, and interaction. The conceptual model proposed in this article can be used both as an analytical tool for understanding the structure of existing works and as a framework for designing future artworks within the context of smart cities. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_244164.html The existence of environmental crisis, urban shrinkage and livability plan as a path to achieving sustainability have made it necessary to pay attention to the livability of neighborhoods in new urban developments. Despite paying attention to the development of large cities whose unbridled growth has had many economic, social and environmental consequences, paying attention to medium-sized cities such as Shahroud, which have the capacity to accommodate population and require future development, can be of great importance. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to improve urban environments, strengthen social welfare and ensure sustainable development in the new settlements of Shahroud and to eliminate the identified shortcomings and increase livability. This study examined livability indicators in four new settlements of Shahroud using 377 researcher-made questionnaires and structural equation analysis (SEM) and importance-performance (IPA). The perception of the importance and performance of the indicators from the perspective of residents and its analysis in the importance-performance matrix allows for the presentation of urban development strategies in the four areas of "consolidation", "revision", "release" and "focus". According to the findings, the existence of a significant relationship between importance and performance confirms that the perception of the importance of various environmental factors affects the evaluation of their performance. The findings indicate a different perception of the "importance" of indicators in the perception of residents, despite the existence of similar social and economic conditions in the studied settlements; Overall, this study showed that there is a low level of urban livability, especially in the component of urban facilities and infrastructure, which has the lowest level of perceived "performance". In contrast, the quality of the built environment has been evaluated better. Among the settlements, Enghelab town showed high livability; while Alborz town has low livability. The need to pay attention to the importance of indicators in prioritizing development programs, to improve the quality of the research process through contextual studies, and to formulate development programs for these settlements according to the performance-importance analysis is one of the research results. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_245458.html Urban walkability depends on more than the physical form of streets. It is also shaped by how pedestrians see, interpret, and respond to their surroundings. Street width, greenery, enclosure, signage, and pedestrian facilities may all affect walking experience. Yet their influence is not only direct. These features first attract, guide, or disperse visual attention. This visual process may then shape how people evaluate safety, comfort, preference, and ease of movement. In recent years, eye-tracking has become an important method for studying pedestrian experience. It allows researchers to record where people look, how long they fixate, and how visual attention changes across different street environments. However, the evidence remains fragmented. Most studies examine specific design features or isolated visual indicators. Few studies explain how visual attention connects street design with walkability-related perceptions and behaviours. As a result, the mediating role of visual attention is still unclear. To address this gap, this study systematically reviews eye-tracking research on urban walkability. The review follows the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Studies were searched in the Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases. The search covered publications from 2016 to 2026. After screening, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The selected studies were examined through four analytical categories. These included country and research context, experimental setting, environmental and design variables, and eye-tracking indicators. The findings were then synthesized qualitatively to identify recurring patterns across the literature. Four main themes emerged from the review. These were greenery and natural elements, spatial openness and scale, walkability infrastructure, and microscale elements and landmarks. Across the reviewed studies, vegetation, spatial coherence, and high-quality pedestrian infrastructure were often linked to more stable and focused visual attention. These features were also associated with higher perceived safety, stronger environmental preference, and better restorative experience. By contrast, visual clutter, excessive information, and spatial discontinuity tended to disperse attention and increase cognitive load. Overall, the findings suggest that visual attention can act as a mediator between street-level environmental characteristics and walkability outcomes. In other words, pedestrians do not simply respond to urban form as a physical condition. They first process it visually. This visual processing influences how they perceive, evaluate, and use street environments. The review therefore provides a basis for future causal models and supports more human-centered approaches to street design. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247429.html The intensification of water scarcity and the growing physical unsustainability of urban environments have highlighted the urgent need to rethink conventional approaches to sustainable urban design. A major knowledge gap in contemporary research lies in the absence of a structured framework capable of explaining the interrelationships between technological layers of water management and their spatial outcomes within urban environments. Accordingly, the novelty of the present study resides in proposing an integrated structural–conceptual model that combines smart water management and sustainable urban design through a simultaneous data-driven, smart governance, and citizen-centric approach.This study focuses on the city of Hamedan as a critical case within Iran’s semi-arid climatic region, where annual groundwater table decline reaches approximately 2 meters and the share of winter snow cover has decreased from 20% to 7%. The research aims to analyze the structural components of smart water management and their implications for urban spatial planning. In terms of purpose, the study is applied research, while methodologically it adopts an exploratory–analytical mixed-method approach.Indicators extracted from the literature were validated through the Delphi technique with the participation of fourteen experts, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.89. Subsequently, interrelationships among variables were examined using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and MICMAC cross-impact analysis.Findings derived from the five-level ISM model reveal that “Digital Water Resources Governance” and “Integrated Data-Driven Management” occupy the foundational level of the hierarchy and function as the principal driving forces of the system. Meanwhile, “Technology-Enabled Citizen Participation” and “Spatial Matching of Water Supply and Demand” are positioned at the intermediate level, serving as linkage and mediating variables within the spatial planning process.The results demonstrate that the structural outcome of smart water resource management is the creation of enabling conditions for the implementation of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) principles and the development of tangible Green–Blue Infrastructure (GBI) layers, including permeable parks and rain gardens. At the highest level of the structural model, these interventions lead to dependent system outcomes, notably the realization of spatial–water justice and the enhancement of urban climate resilience. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247430.html Statement of the problem: The efforts of urban designers and landscape architects to improve the aesthetic quality of neighborhoods without considering the priorities of residents and their lived experience will not lead to satisfaction and a sense of belonging and loyalty to the neighborhoods.Research objective: The objective is to explain the priorities of intervention in improving the aesthetic quality in the central context of Shahrood city with an emphasis on physical characteristics, and to analyze the gap between the importance and perceived performance of indicators in order to make realistic decisions that are in line with the demands of residents.Research method: By integrating importance-performance analysis (IPA) with structural equation modeling (SEM) and interpretive analysis, data were collected from 384 residents through a structured questionnaire that evaluates 15 aesthetic indicators in three dimensions of formal aesthetics, sensory aesthetics, and symbolic aesthetics.Findings: SEM findings show that perceived importance predicts perceived performance (β = 0.475). Performance significantly influences satisfaction (β = 0.496) and directly influences loyalty (β = 0.271). Satisfaction emerges as the strongest predictor of loyalty (β = 0.690). Mediation analysis confirms a sequential path with significant indirect effects. IPA reveals strengths in subjective perception, especially urban identity and psychological well-being, which indicate the emotional resilience of residents despite shortcomings in access to public spaces and functional diversity. Interpretive analysis showed that the inconsistency between the valuable historical-economic structure of the context and new interventions such as high-rise buildings blocking the skyline, visual pollution, material deterioration, as well as the allocation of resources to low-priority indicators, has disrupted the causal chain.Conclusion: Improving the quality of materials, reducing visual pollution, and improving the skyline are among the intervention priorities in the research sample for aesthetic enhancement based on perception and its impact on increasing satisfaction, promoting loyalty, and realizing sustainable urban neighborhoods are among the research results. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247431.html Problem Statement: Historic urban fabrics, as settings of cultural and social identity, have experienced weakened residents’ emotional bonds and declining quality of life as a consequence of rapid urbanization. Under these circumstances, place attachment has emerged as a key component in preserving identity and sustaining social life. However, the mechanisms underlying the formation of place attachment, particularly within the lived experiences of residents in historic urban fabrics, have received limited attention through integrated qualitative investigations.Research Objectives: This study aims to analyze the mechanisms underlying the formation of place attachment and to identify the factors influencing it in the historic Dabbaghan neighborhood of Qazvin. Specifically, it seeks to answer how place attachment is formed in this historic context and which factors contribute to its strengthening or weakening.Research Method: This study employed a qualitative research approach with an applied orientation. Data were collected through 45 structured interviews with long-term residents (more than five years of residence), aged between 20 and 70 years, selected through purposive and snowball sampling to ensure balanced gender representation and diverse lived experiences. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and a three-stage coding process (open, axial, and selective coding) in MAXQDA software. A total of 249 open codes were extracted and organized into 23 subcategories and 6 main categories.Conclusion: The findings indicate that place attachment in this historic neighborhood is a multidimensional phenomenon emerging from the interaction of place identity, lived memories, and social interactions. Local lifestyle, the authenticity of the historic fabric, and the cohesion of neighborhood social networks emerged as the principal factors strengthening place attachment, whereas physical deterioration, demographic changes, and economic pressures were found to weaken it. Overall, place attachment in Dabbaghan is a context-dependent phenomenon shaped by the interaction between residents’ lived experiences and the physical–social structure of the neighborhood. Accordingly, strengthening place attachment requires integrated socio-spatial regeneration strategies that simultaneously address residents’ lived experiences and the continuity of historic identity in everyday life. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247432.html Problem Statement: The conservation of historic cities has progressively moved beyond object-centred, fabric-focused perspectives toward understanding the city as a dynamic milieu shaped by the interplay of natural, cultural, and social processes. Nevertheless, the existing literature still lacks a coherent theoretical account that integrates historical values with environmental values in pursuit of sustainability goals.Research Objectives: Addressing this theoretical gap, the present study examines the mediating role of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach in fostering synergy between two distinct domains — urban heritage conservation and urban ecology — and seeks to articulate the shared theoretical foundations of these two fields for an integrated understanding of the historic city.Methodology: The research adopts a qualitative–exploratory approach grounded in the interpretive analysis of theoretical texts. Drawing on grounded theory logic, shared categories between the two domains were extracted and formulated through theoretical sampling, systematic concept coding, and comparative analysis of the literature.Conclusion: The findings reveal that the two domains converge toward a shared understanding of the historic city — one that conceives of it as the outcome of non-linear, multi-scalar, and cumulative interactions between human and environmental processes. This convergence crystallises around five foundational common grounds: a relational understanding of the historic city; a multi-scalar and context-sensitive reading of the urban environment; adaptive continuity in place of static preservation; accumulated memory and knowledge as the infrastructure of continuity; and the interdependence of heritage, environment, and liveability as the basis of sustainability.The principal contribution of this research lies in articulating the mediating mechanism of the Historic Urban Landscape approach for linking the logic of heritage conservation with the ecological understanding of the city — an approach that, by redefining the unit of analysis from an aggregate of discrete elements to the unified totality of the landscape, provides a theoretical foundation for future research in historic urban conservation and sustainability. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247433.html Today, the lack of attention to the biophilic urban landscape and its impact on the mental health of citizens, due to the uncontrolled growth of the urban body, has severed the inherent connection of citizens with nature and marginalized the biophilic landscape in order to induce positive effects on the mental health of citizens. The purpose of the research is to read the biophilic urban landscape based on the impact on the mental health of citizens in Mehrshahr, Karaj, and the question is how to explain a model of reading the biophilic urban landscape based on the impact on the mental health of citizens in Mehrshahr, Karaj, between the Boulevard Arms and the Municipality? The qualitative-quantitative research method and the method of collecting information are library and field studies using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The statistical population of the study consisted of 357 people passing through the two-axis intersection of Eram Boulevard and the Municipality and 50 experts in the field of biophilic urban landscape, both of whom were selected through purposive sampling. The questionnaires were analyzed using regression, T-test, and one-way variance tests, and semi-structured interviews with open, axial, and selective coding. The results showed that the biophilic urban landscape in Mehrshahr, Karaj, focusing on key components (nature in space, natural analogs in artificial places, people's relationship with nature, social factors, nature-oriented activities, and urban landscape), with mutual influence on each other, not only improves environmental quality, but also guides the mental health of citizens towards sustainability. Also, since the biophilic urban landscape is related to the components of citizens' mental health; Therefore, for the biophilic urban landscape to have an impact on the mental health of the citizens of Mehrshahr Karaj, it is essential that nature and natural resources, and the things that lead to the interaction and connection of citizens with nature, such as the components of the urban landscape and activity, be transferred from the margins of urban life to its context. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_247655.html Harandi Garden is one of the valuable historic gardens of Kerman. Despite its architectural and historical significance, previous studies have paid limited attention to its formal and spatial structure, particularly the relationship between the pavilion and the garden. This study aims to identify the spatial structure of the pavilion and its position in relation to the garden’s main axis, as well as to examine the similarities and differences between Harandi Garden and other prominent examples. To this end, it conducts a comparative study of four gardens: Biramabad, Fathabad, Shahzadeh Mahan, and Harandi. Using a mixed descriptive–analytical research method combined with architectural typology, the study examines and compares such components as the location and role of the main axis, the plan of the main pavilion, and its main façade.While the findings indicate common characteristic of Kerman gardens, they show that, like the other gardens, Harandi Garden employs square geometry in both its plan and façade, as well as a five-part façade composition. However, in all of the gardens studied except Harandi Garden, the main axis plays an effective role in linking the garden entrance to the pavilion. Moreover, in these gardens, the first-floor façades of the pavilions establish a stronger visual relationship with nature than the ground floor through the use of semi-open spaces. Symmetry in plan and elevation, along with a central access pattern on the ground floor, are among the other shared features of these gardens. In contrast, Harandi Garden demonstrates fundamental changes in the role of the main axis and spatial organization compared with the other three gardens. These include reduced influence of main axis on the arrangement of garden elements and the symmetry of the main pavilion plan, a lack of symmetry in the main façade, and a shift in the access pattern from a central to a linear arrangement. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_248383.html Background and Objective:This research aims to introduce solutions for developing sustainable urban landscapes by comparative study of ecological landscapes such as oasis in central regions of Iran. A complete understanding of native landscapes as oasis and the foundations of Iranian gardening and a comparative study with the conditions of landscape sustainability and reduction of water resource consumption form the basis of these studies.Research Question and Objective: How has the durability and performance of Iranian gardens in hot and dry regions been in terms of harmony with natural, historical and social background. And how can the development of today's landscapes be generalized.Research Method: Since the study in question is not exploratory and the aim is to explain the needs by adapting sustainability criteria using the target land, the studies are based on the sustainable oasis landscape style of the Iranian garden. Therefore, the method of work is library studies and comparative studies with case studies, and the meta-analytic result is presented as a solution.Findings and results:By comparative study of the Dolatabad Garden complex with the dimensions of the contextualization of the oasis model, especially its location at the time of construction relative to the old city, it was determined that the Dolatabad Garden complex has functioned well as an oasis (a residential and living complex) on the edge of the desert. In addition to looking at the sustainability of its lifeline (aqueduct) with renewable water, the complex has functioned as a self-sufficient economy. Looking at the context in the overall location of the garden and also the layout of the different spaces of the garden has been fully observed. Looking at the climatic, geographical, historical, cultural and social context in the Yazd region has also been observed in the construction of this oasis in general in elements and details. The economic sustainability and prosperity of the Dolatabad Garden complex has caused the prosperity of the urban area of ​​Yazd and the surrounding areas in its time. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_250358.html Research Problem: Alley is an important space in continuous residential contexts. The function and meaning of this place have been weakened in most cities today. Revitalizing the alley requires achieving a correct understanding of it. The history of the alley in Iran associates this place with experiences of living and meanings that are embedded in the collective memory of Iranians.Research purpose: An attempt is made to analyze the lived experience of Iranians of the alley by referring to Persian literature and to construct a theory about the alley. The questions are: “What characteristics does the alley have and what behaviors and meanings does it contain?” and “What role does it play in relation to the houses around it?”Research Method: The research paradigm is “constructivist” and its strategy is “Straussian Grounded theory. The data referring to poems, stories and travelogues, until theoretical saturation was reached and analyzed in the open, axial and selective coding stages.Conclusion: The axial categories reveal a general aspect (being a path) and three specific aspects (organizing, mediating and landscape) of the alley. The specific aspects of the alley fall under the concept of "being orchestrator". Accordingly; if the space adjacent to the houses is a limited area, with linear proportions and in between, the doors open directly to it and the houses have a visual connection with it through openings, this space becomes a "path that is orchestractor the houses". In residential contexts where residents are consistent, have a long-term presence in the residential environment, the axial phenomenon of the alley is formed. The axial phenomenon gives a human aspect to the alley and transforms it into a “path that is orchestrator of houses and inhabitants.” There are intervening conditions that strengthen or weaken the physical and human aspect of the alley.Keywords; house, alley, residential contexts, lived experience. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_252036.html Smart city is a multidimensional phenomenon consisting of multi-level stakeholders that interact and change in time and space, and despite the expansion of studies, the lack of focus on the governance model to shape and strengthen the urban innovation ecosystem in harmony with the context is noticeable. In this regard, the aim of the research is to provide a conceptual-explanatory framework for analyzing the smart city in the urban innovation ecosystem and its comparative study in three leading cities with different contexts. For this purpose, the reinterpretation and integration of the six-helix model of innovation in interaction with the context and governance mechanism was used to provide a conceptual framework. In general, the aim of innovation governance is a set of institutional, political, technological, etc. mechanisms that focus on achieving the goals of the smart city through the six-helix of innovation. The present study was conducted with a qualitative method and documentary strategy and case study and presented the applicability of the conceptual framework in three cities with diverse governance and context (Singapore, Shanghai and Amsterdam) with comparative text analysis. The findings indicate that the different input of each city played a decisive role in shaping the management strategy. So that in Singapore with a centralized structure, a combination of technocratic and platform-based approaches with adaptive packages was used, in Amsterdam with bottom-up policymaking, a platform-based approach was used, and in Shanghai with a centralized government, a technocratic approach with government transparency was used. Finally, the ISO conceptual framework (input-strategy-output) was presented with the interaction between outputs, inputs and strategies and the possibility of conceptual feedback as an analytical lens for more informed decision-making. Based on this, it can be concluded that to realize a successful smart city, governance strategies must adapt to the innovation ecosystem of each context. Because urban issues with a common nature in different contexts require their own appropriate strategy and technology. Also, the complementary use of these approaches with cultural and popular support can lead to operational added value to achieve a smarter and more sustainable city. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_252037.html This study aims to provide a rigorous, coherent, scientific, and epistemologically grounded interpretation of the concept of the “fourth dimension in architecture.” It seeks to liberate this concept from the limitations of superficial readings, rhetorical usage, pseudo-scientific simplifications, and purely formalist reductions. The central argument of the research is that the fourth dimension should neither be understood as the addition of a new geometric axis beyond the three recognized spatial dimensions nor as a poetic metaphor for the “sense of time.” Rather, it should be redefined as a perceptual-temporal, embodied, and phenomenological quality that emerges through the lived experience of human beings in space.Through a critical examination of modernist, phenomenological, and digital approaches to the interpretation of the fourth dimension, this study proposes a new conceptual framework in which the relationship between modern physics, the philosophy of perception, and the Iranian-Islamic intellectual tradition is articulated not through superficial synthesis but through a theoretically grounded and interactive dialogue. Despite the widespread use of the notion of the fourth dimension in architectural discourse, the concept has often remained theoretically ambiguous and methodologically underdeveloped. In many architectural writings, it is either reduced to a formal-geometric extension of three-dimensional space or employed as a metaphorical reference to temporality without sufficient epistemological clarification. This ambiguity has generated conceptual inconsistencies and has limited the analytical potential of the concept in understanding architectural experience. The present study addresses this gap by proposing a more comprehensive interpretation that situates the fourth dimension within the dynamic relationship between perception, embodiment, temporality, and spatial meaning.The research adopts a qualitative, interpretive, and analytical methodology based on documentary study, conceptual analysis, interdisciplinary inquiry, and comparative critique.The findings suggest that the fourth dimension in architecture does not manifest through the “addition of another dimension,” but rather through a transformation in the mode of spatial existence as experienced by human beings. It becomes actualized only through the interaction of body, movement, light, memory, and time. This conclusion provides a theoretical foundation for rethinking contemporary architecture and for advancing a more profound analytical understanding of spatial experience. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_252201.html Problem Statement: Education, as an organized process for the transmission of knowledge and skills, plays a decisive role in developing cognitive and professional capacities, as well as individual and collective capabilities. The architectural design studio, as a collective setting for education and design research, serves a similar role. Nevertheless, conventional approaches to design education alone appear insufficient to address the environmental complexities of the present day, particularly climatic considerations.Research Objectives: This study aimed to revisit the role of climatic considerations in the architectural design studio by examining conventional teaching practices alongside an educational intervention emphasizing climatic considerations. It addresses two questions: (1) How is the educational intervention associated with changes in learners’ design decision-making processes? and (2) How is the link between climatic data and design decisions strengthened throughout the studio process?Research Method: The study adopted a comparative action research approach structured around cycles of observation, planning, action, reflection, and redesign. It was conducted in two Architectural Design II studios at the North Tehran Branch of Islamic Azad University during the first semester of 2024, with the participation of ten two-member learner groups. Data were collected through structured observation, analysis of design documents, semi-structured interviews, a climate literacy test, and stage-based evaluation of design proposals, and were analyzed at three scales: macro, meso, and micro. Given the qualitative nature of the action research, numerical values and diagrams were used solely to support and clarify the observed patterns of change.Conclusion: The findings indicate that, within the limited scope of this study, the educational intervention was associated with a relative improvement in learners’ ability to translate climatic data into design decisions. This improvement was particularly evident in spatial zoning and organization, solar control, shading strategies, and certain material-related characteristics. However, comprehensive site analysis and details related to moisture and envelope layering still require greater educational support. Overall, the structured integration of climatic considerations into the architectural design learning process provides a basis for strengthening the application of climate-responsive approaches in design decision-making. https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_253009.html AbstractStatement of the Problem: The smart city, as one of the dominant paradigms in contemporary urban planning, has largely evolved ‎through an emphasis on technology, data, and managerial efficiency. In many cases, this approach has ‎reduced the city to a set of digital infrastructures while marginalizing its social dimensions, particularly ‎gender differences in citizens’ lived experiences. Under such conditions, technology is not merely a ‎neutral tool; rather, if social diversity is overlooked, it can contribute to the reproduction of structural ‎inequalities within digital urban systems.‎Research Question: This study seeks to answer the question of how urban governance patterns and gender-related policy ‎approaches influence the design and orientation of smart cities. The main hypothesis argues that the ‎institutionalization of gender justice and participatory mechanisms in urban governance fosters the ‎emergence of human-centered, care-oriented, and justice-oriented smart city models. In contrast, within ‎technocratic and developmentalist models, smart cities are primarily shaped around institutional ‎efficiency and economic competitiveness.‎Objective: The aim of this research is to explain the relationship between urban governance models, gender policies, ‎and the logic of technology implementation in smart cities, as well as to analyze their implications for ‎social justice, quality of urban life, and urban inclusiveness.‎Methodology: This research adopts a qualitative approach using descriptive-analytical and comparative methods. ‎Through a comparative case study framework, six cities with different governance models—Vienna, ‎Barcelona, Oslo, Umeå, Singapore, and Dubai—were selected. Data were collected through documentary ‎and policy-based sources and analyzed using thematic analysis and systematic comparison.‎Conclusion: The findings indicate that the smart city is not merely a technological phenomenon but a socio-political ‎and gendered construct shaped within specific governance structures. In welfare-oriented and ‎participatory models, technology is employed to enhance quality of life, spatial justice, security, and ‎social participation, leading to the formation of human-centered and care-oriented cities. By contrast, in ‎technocratic and developmentalist models, smart urbanization is primarily directed toward data ‎management and economic competitiveness. Moreover, the gender data gap may reproduce inequalities ‎within smart systems. Therefore, integrating gender considerations and strengthening participatory ‎governance are essential prerequisites for achieving an inclusive and equitable smart city.‎ https://www.manzar-sj.com/article_254281.html Bridges, as integral components of the historical road network of Iran, were not merely technical structures built to overcome natural obstacles. In many cases, they functioned as landscape nodes embedded within the spatial and experiential structure of movement corridors. This study aims to interpret the bridge as landscape through the lens of the concept of a “bio-communicative pattern” in historical roads. It focuses on four historic bridges of Isfahan, namely Shahrestan Bridge, Marnan Bridge, Si-o-Se Pol, and Khaju Bridge, all situated along the Zayandeh-Rud River. The central question of the research is how these bridges mediate between the natural system of the river, the movement structure of the road, and the lived experience of users.The study adopts a qualitative methodology grounded in an interpretive-phenomenological approach. Data were collected through documentary research, historical analysis, and comparative examination of the selected case studies. In order to analyze the bridges as landscape entities rather than merely as transportation structures, a four-layer analytical matrix was developed. This matrix includes: the natural setting, the movement organization, the quality of stopping space, and the traveler’s lived experience. Through this framework, the study seeks to reveal how different bridges generate distinct modes of relationship between infrastructure, environment, and human presence.The findings indicate that the selected bridges represent a spectrum ranging from a predominantly connective function to a more threshold-like and place-based spatial quality. Shahrestan Bridge and Marnan Bridge primarily emphasize continuity of movement and adaptation to the natural river setting. Their spatial logic is more strongly aligned with the functional and environmental dimensions of historical circulation. By contrast, Si-o-Se Pol and Khaju Bridge demonstrate a fuller manifestation of the bio-communicative pattern, as they extend beyond circulation to accommodate pause, social interaction, visual engagement, and the accumulation of collective memory. These bridges do not merely connect two sides of a river; they produce an intermediate realm in which movement is transformed into experience and infrastructure becomes meaningful place.The study therefore argues that reading the bridge as landscape in historical roads requires moving beyond a purely structural or functional understanding. In this perspective, the bridge is conceived as a dynamic infrastructural organ shaped through its encounter with the natural context and its capacity to host human presence, perception, and memory. Such a reading highlights the bridge as a mediating spatial device that links natural systems, patterns of mobility, and social life within a unified experiential framework.In conclusion, the historical bridges of Isfahan can be understood as more than engineering artifacts; they are spatial and landscape formations that materialize different degrees of interaction between route, river, and human dwelling. The concept of the bio-communicative pattern provides a useful interpretive model for explaining this interaction and for rethinking the relationship between infrastructure, landscape, and social life in contemporary design practice. Accordingly, the study contributes to broader discussions on historical infrastructure by showing how bridges may act as meaningful landscape structures capable of shaping lived experience and cultural memory over time.