Investigating the role of ecological factors in the physical development of cities (Noorabad Mamsani case study)

Master's thesis in the field of geography and urban planning

Abstract

Physical development and growth of Iranian cities until a few decades ago was coordinated and suited to the needs of the urban society. With the emergence of new developments, cities quickly accepted changes and transformations. These transformations have been in the form of rapid population growth and accelerated physical expansion of cities, and in an unbalanced and uncoordinated manner. The most important issues facing urban development is their location. Basically, the establishment and creation of a city depends more than anything on the environmental conditions and geographical location, because natural complications and phenomena have a decisive effect on relocation, sphere of influence, dispersion, physical development and the like. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of ecological factors in the location of urban development, the location of Noorabad city based on the ecological model, as well as the location of the future development of this city. The research method is analytical-descriptive, using Arc GIS 9.3 software and Boolean logic, ecological model of ecological criteria of urban development for Noorabad city. The results of the location selection analysis of Noorabad city compared to the ecological factors of urban development showed that altitude, precipitation and temperature were the most suitable, while slope, slope direction and soil were the most inappropriate ecological factors in the location selection of Noorabad city. In the next stage, the results of the optimal location of the physical development of the city showed that the factor of distance to Mesil was the most appropriate factor with 98.98% and the direction of the range with 12.34% was the most inappropriate ecological factor in optimal location. In order to implement the model, first the layers of each factor were prepared as reference ground in the GIS environment. Then these layers were converted into a grid format to run the model. In this regard, the layers of height, slope, slope direction, geology, temperature, precipitation, distance to Mesil, soil geology, land cover and land use and distance to the city limits have been prepared and examined. Also, a consideration of the maps obtained from the combination of layers showed that only 185 hectares of the studied area for future development, which is equivalent to 1.07% of the entire area, are suitable for future urban development and 98.93% do not have suitable conditions for development. In terms of development directions, the western and northern areas are favorable places for future development, only 9 hectares of Noorabad city area, which is equivalent to 1.20%, is suitable and has been selected based on the ecological model, and 98.80% of the city area is unsuitable.

Key words: physical development, city, ecological factors, Noorabad Mamsani, Boleyn logic, GIS.

Chapter one: research generalities

-1) Introduction

Urbanization and physical-spatial development affected by the spatial distribution of population, various natural factors (climate, soil, geomorphology, etc.) and human factors (population, economy, culture, politics, etc.) in the field of human life as global characteristics since the 18th century, it has gone through an evolutionary process and intensified in the 20th century, in the 21st century we will also witness extensive urbanization with more than 62% (Bastieh, 1377:239). Excessive population density has resulted in the concentration of activities and the abundance of constructions, the growth and physical expansion of urban centers and the destruction of the natural ecosystem. Although the development of the city in the industrialized countries has been done slowly in the past centuries, it has been done in the developing countries after the Second World War, and the cities of the developing countries are developing faster than the cities of the industrialized countries (Shakoui, 1365:176). Therefore, studying such issues and knowing their merits and demerits is one of the most important duties of urban planners. It should be noted that in recent decades, our cities (especially big cities) have expanded well. This physical expansion or physical explosion has been more than population explosion in many cases. That is, the ratio of the increase in the level is more than the increase in the population. In the first place, this expansion seems logical and natural because when the population reaches new thresholds, the facilities and facilities needed and demanded by the urban society are provided, which does not have a simple proportion with the increase in population, but it can respond to areas much wider than the existing threshold (Farajzadeh, 1385: 12). The establishment and creation of a city depends above all on the conditions and geographical location, because natural complications and phenomena have a decisive effect on location selection, sphere of influence, physical and morphological urban development. Natural phenomena sometimes act as positive factors and sometimes as negative and inhibiting factors (Tharvoti et al., 2018: 27).The lack of compatibility of the natural environment in the development of cities can provide grounds for the creation of various natural hazards, also the natural substrate is capable in relation to the factors of water and soil, slope, weather and etc. create limits for the physical development of cities (Azizpour, 2015: 68). In this research, firstly, the compilation of theoretical foundations regarding the role and urban morphology of ecological factors in the physical development of cities has been discussed, and then by examining and studying the current situation of the city of Noorabad, Mamsani and comparing it with optimal and reasonable ecological criteria, in three parts, the location of urban development (at the level of the central part of the city), the location of Noorabad city (compared to the ecological model) and finally, the location of the future development of the city has been discussed.

It is:

Chapter one: introduction of the research subject, research objectives, statement of the problem, necessity, research objectives and its background.

 Chapter 2: The theoretical foundations of the research, in this chapter theories, views, schools, models and other related topics are mentioned.

Chapter 4: In the fourth chapter, the findings of the research are analyzed. In this chapter, the evaluation and analysis of the role of ecological factors on the location of urban development (at the level of the central part of the city), the location of Noorabad city (in comparison with the ecological model) and the location of the future development of the city have been discussed. Finally, the conclusions and the testing of hypotheses and suggestions have been discussed. 1-2) Definition of the subject Urban material and spiritual culture has been the result of the great achievement of the center of civilization since several thousand years ago, and achieving increasing prosperity and comfort in the urban environment is one of the intellectual concerns of intellectuals, especially experts familiar with urban issues in the last two centuries. With the passage of time, the destruction of urban natural resources, including agricultural land and water resources, its uneven development, the lack of urban management with the economic inequality situation, the flood migration of the rural population to the cities, the density and compaction of these immigrants in different and isolated neighborhoods in the cities, are some of the issues and dilemmas that have imposed an unstable outlook on the cities (EMCO Consulting Engineers, 1379:15). Such a development has led to the expansion of the service range of cities, which accommodates a large urban population with different levels of social classes. With the increasing and rapid movement in the physical construction of the city, from 1350 onwards, which is the peak period of the growth of cities and the chaos of the urban physical development of Iran, it expands so much that even the formulation of strict laws and the coercive treatment of municipalities are unable to prevent it. As a result, the cities of Iran, especially their physical structure, become the origin and bed of instability in the cities. The physical changes and spatial transformations of the cities have acted so fast and accelerated that after a short period, the cities of the country not only do not have the ability to maintain their traditional and original characteristics, but also the new and scientific principles on their bodies and their future growth and development are associated with many problems (Nasiri, 1384:54). Most of the cities have grown naturally in the past, that is, the development of the city has been done without future planning and the city has developed horizontally. In the natural growth of the city, the road system, parks, schools, playgrounds, etc. They were created without order and considerations for the future development of the city. Today, disordered and unplanned physical development is one of the problems of the city and urbanization of the third world in the contemporary era. So that during a continuous process, the physical limits and physical spaces of the city in vertical and horizontal directions grow quantitatively and qualitatively, and if this rapid process is unplanned, an inappropriate combination of problematic urban spaces will result and will be accompanied by complications such as spatial disorder, the spread of poverty and inequality, erosion and pollution of the environment, reduction of agricultural land and social insecurity. For this reason, the issue of physical growth and development and how to plan and manage it has become an important political, economic, social and cultural issue in different countries, including Iran, and has motivated all the officials, managers and experts to search for a solution (Haidari, 1385:10). The physical and uneven development of cities is mostly dependent on rural-urban administrative policies, the process of stock market, satellite land transactions are also considered to be the main factors in the uneven physical development of cities.