Evaluating the sustainability of the physical urban form of sanandaj city, Iran

Abstract

The study of sustainable urban form has received a major attention around the world. It has triggered a growing concern on how cities are planned and designed. Although the concept of sustainability is well known, the appropriate measurements for sustainability context are still being debated by scholars. The rapid urbanization rate experienced in Iran in the second half of the 20th century has mostly manifested itself in the emergence of large cities without any specific elements of Iranian culture. The old cities are slowly losing their identity due to modern development. This thesis assessed the level of sustainability of the physical urban form of Sanandaj City Iran, using five (5) factors, compactness, accessibility, diversity, identity and environment. The city, located in the western part of Iran, has a population of about 400,000. Chi-square test, Binomial method and Analytic Hierarchy Process techniques were used to test variations that exist among four neighbourhoods (Chaharbagh, Adab, Baharam, Taghtaghan) of the city based on these five (5) measurement values. The chi- square and binomial tests result showed that respondents from the middle city neighbourhood were satisfied with the physical characteristics of their neighbourhood while those from inner, outer and pocket neighbourhoods were unsatisfied. In a similar situation, the Analytic Hierarchy Process showed that the level of sustainability of urban form in the middle city neighbourhood was higher when compared to the other three neighbourhoods. Findings of this research indicate that in order to achieve sustainable urban form, policies for developing urban pattern should be changed and attentive approach is required to guide development in the urban areas to achieve efficiency and sustainability. The results of this study also provide insights into the issues that policy-makers and practitioners should consider in designing and developing programs and efforts dealing with the problems of physical urban form especially for Iranian cities.