Friday, April 15, 2011

Tehran Urban Development Planning with a Landscape Ecology Approach (Case Study: Municipal District 22, Tehran)

by Shadi Barati, Morteza Rahbar, and Mahdi Shaibani

Throughout the last two centuries Tehran has faced rapid urban growth. This rapid growth has led to unplanned urban development, causing major environmental problems and a severe lack of human contact with nature. It is therefore crucial to devise a comprehensive urban plan with a new landscape ecology approach to bring nature back to the human realm for the future development of the city. In this study, municipal district 22 has been taken as a case study for the future extension of the boundaries of Tehran.
This municipal district has a great capacity for urban development. In order to achieve suitable urban planning in this zone, an interconnected system of green spaces is planned which will provide an ecological network for the city according to landscape ecology principles. Planning this green network has been considered on three different scales with regard to a hierarchical approach toward urban landscape: regional, municipal and local scales. The regional scale takes the main natural ecological resources into account. The municipal scale considers local parks and green thoroughfares as the main components of the ecological network with regard to the potential opportunities of the urban network. Finally, on the local scale, extensions of the proposed ecological network penetrate into the heart of the urban fabric and especially into residential spaces. 
The study of municipal district 22 aims to provide an insight into the main principles of Tehran urban extension with a landscape ecology approach. This zone is considered as a case study. However, it is has similarities with other zones than the suburbs of Tehran, and the principles could also be generalized as a model for other zones.


Tehran, looking from north to southwest of the city, photo by arash_rk
more about Tehran:

Low Carbon Housing for `Young Cities`: Experiences from Hashtgerd New Town, Iran

A GIS-based Traffic Control Strategy Planning at Urban Intersections

Urban Planning for Tehran, By Using Environmental Modeling and GIS/RS

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