Feasibility Pattern of Indigenous Indicators of the Biophilic City Case Study: 9th and 10th District of Tehran Metropolitan

Document Type : Article extracted From phd dissertation

Authors

1 PhD student in Geography and Urban Planning, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Planning, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Planning, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

 
Extended abstract
Introduction
Nowadays, cities are increasingly dominated by buildings, and, they have become as laboratories for the supply of human ambitions among the fortresses of concrete, steel and glass with the least natural space, so that the lack of biodiversity in these cities is quite noticeable. This has led to disrupt natural spaces with urban spaces, evacuate cities from natural environments, divert urban residents from their inherent needs for communication with nature and also it causes change of their perceptions of the natural environment. The existence of these issues and the recognition of humanity's inherent need to communicate with nature has led to biophilic as a new approach. The aim of present study is to analyze the ranking and feasibility of biophilic approach indicators in 9th and 10th districts of Tehran. These districts due to the proximity and uniformity of the environment have same conditions and according to the lack of green spaces, open space, their geographical location in the city, the presence of worn-out textures and so on , a greater portion of different types of pollution and environmental issues have been devoted to them than other ones. Accordingly, these two districts were selected in order to reduce environmental problems and provide a suitable model for overcoming these issues and considering biophilic city's mission in protecting and enhancing natural spaces in the city. Based on the purpose of the study, the research questions are as follows:
- What are the most important factors affecting the realization of the biophilic  city in 9th and 10th  districts of Tehran ?
- What is the current status of  9th and 10th districts of Tehran  from the viewpoint of localized indicators of biophilic urban planning?
 
Methodology
The present study is descriptive-analytical and applied in terms of content and methodology. The required data and information were collected through the library and field method. In this study, the main and global indicators of biophilic city have been identified by reviewing articles and theoretical literature. These indicators were localized by 10 faculty members and PhD students in the fields of geography and urban planning and the environment who had essays, books, and studies on the subject and environment of the case study. After saturating the experts' opinion about the indigenous research indicators, they were selected as the final research indicators. The Swara method is used for data analysis.
Results and discussion
According to experts, the index of institutions and organizations with a coefficient of 2.37, biophilic infrastructure with a score of 1/65, biophilic attitudes and awareness with a score of 1/20, and finally biophilic activity with a score of 0/99, have been identified as the most important  indicators, respectively. So The necessity of considering these indicators based on their priority will lead to feasibility of the biophilic city within the case study. The impact of these indicators (either directly or indirectly) has an important role in determining the status of the study area in terms of biophilic urban planning according to the results of experts’ ideas. The status of 9th and 10th districts of Tehran are in a suitable situation in terms of infrastructure and condition indicators, number of gardens, total private and public green space, and also among the indicators of activity index, being curious about the environment .as the results of the waspas method showed, district No.9 is more desirable than No.10 ones.
 
Conclusion
Swara test results show that according to experts, institutions and organizations index with a final weight of ./3705, biophilic infrastructure with a weight of 1.65769, biophilic attitudes and awareness with a final weight of 1.20999 and finally biophilic activities with Weight of 0.99994 were identified as the most important indicators, respectively. Also, according to the results of waspas test, district No.9 with Qi value equal to 0.081207 is more suitable in terms of feasibility of biophilic indexes than district No.10. Biophilic urban planning is a new approach and as a manifestation of a sustainable city. In Iran's metropolitan areas where sustainable development is rapidly undercut by environmental and ecological problems, the urban biophilic model can play an essential role as a localized sustainable development model. According to the results of the studies were done, the biophilic urban planning approach has the potential to provide a wide range of social and psychological benefits to residents as well as environmental, functional and economic benefits to major cities. Therefore, in order to exploit the benefits of this approach and its feasibility in cities, a systematic and comprehensive study of environmental, social, economic, and other conditions and characteristics is necessary. Therefore, it can be stated that although the studied areas in terms of such biophilic indicators have an appropriate condition, the situation of these two districts is in an unsuitable condition. And the current situation in these two areas has made it difficult to achieve feasibility of biophilic indicators.

Keywords


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