Investigating the physical and functional changes of urban entrance points

Dissertation for Master's Degree

Field: Human Geography Major: Urban Planning

Abstract

In the not-so-distant past, the entrance space of the city as the first urban space, was the first image of the city that was formed in the minds of travelers. Therefore, these spaces were not only of high spatial qualities, but they were part of the characteristic features of the cities. Today, with the expansion of cities and the emergence of vehicles, the entrance of cities has turned into a low-quality space for vehicular traffic and the establishment of uses related to it, as well as uses incompatible with the urban environment that have been pushed out of the city. In this way, the entry space of many cities in our country is faced with a sharp decline in quality, including perceptual-visual qualities as the most important factors that form the expectations of the entry of cities, such as legibility, acceptability, identity, transformability and memorableness. Therefore, investigating and discovering these qualities in the entry points of cities and providing strategies to organize them, has a decisive role in achieving and improving the status of these urban spaces. The purpose of this research is to examine the physical and functional developments of the western entrance of Bandar Anzali city as a tourist and academic city. For this purpose, it is descriptive and analytical methods based on library studies, documents and field investigations. The results of the research indicate that according to the compatibility index of land uses, 28% of land uses in the entrance area of ??Bandar Anzali - Razvanshahr are incompatible. The state of vegetation (urban green space) is also very poor and unplanned in this entrance. In the field of urban information boards, especially commercial and service boards, it is visually confused due to its diversity and multiplicity, and the lack of a clear wall, especially the soft wall (green spaces), which is a characteristic of the external areas of the entrance in cities - in the meantime, the external area of ??the entrance has caused inappropriate definition of the edges around the axis and the middle refuge and has a negative effect on people's mental image of the entrance to the city. and unused green spaces on the way to the entrance. In the end, the work methods and suggestions for planning the appearance and landscape of the entrance and examining the physical and functional developments of the city entrance area are presented.

Key words: physical changes of the urban landscape, urban entrance, incompatible uses, Bandar Anzali city

Introduction

The entrance space of cities is a detailed communication between The city space and the natural space outside the city are like any other joint that adapts to the characteristics of both spaces. Although the nature of this space is significantly influenced by the components of the space outside the city and inside the city, it has a special identity. In fact, the entrance space of the city, as a semi-independent space, establishes a continuous and gradual flow of movement from outside to inside the city. Since these spaces are considered the first point when entering the city, first of all, it is necessary to indicate the identity and character of the city, and during the journey, a person not only encounters a space with an identity, but also gradually sees the shape and image of the city when approaching the city; Secondly, the entry points should also have the necessary readability to create a favorable mental image for people, especially passengers. With a look at the past, by transforming the entrance area of ??the old city (Barrow tower, gate, etc.), the entrance corridor of most cities today has ugly and dilapidated buildings, repair shops, material warehouses, scrapped cars, and abandoned spaces. . . . . . We are facing The organizing projects that have been carried out so far regarding the entry points of the cities have been without a suitable framework and a structure that is in harmony with the study area and the quality of the construction of the entry border is scattered, indicating that the development flow is auto and the lack of supervision of these spaces. Also, from the functional aspect, these spaces face the lack of proportional distribution of actions, activities, and uses, which is very effective in reducing the environmental quality of the area's performance. The entry points of the cities are currently not inhabited areas and it is very difficult and confusing to navigate and choose the route in them. (Qarib, 1382, p. 51). Today, the definition of the entrance area in our cities is done by creating a new gate behind the city name board or installing a fabric on which travelers and tourists are welcomed, while this solution does not meet the expectations expected from an entrance because it requires major design and planning.The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the physical and functional developments of the western entrance of Bandar Anzali as a port and tourist city. Paying attention to the entry points of cities as a problem that many cities in the country are involved with, is one of the important issues in urban planning. Therefore, it seems necessary to improve the condition of city entrances in order to increase the quality of the urban environment and create tourist attractions. The current thesis consists of five chapters, 176 pages, 20 tables, 6 diagrams, 54 images, and 18 maps, which:

In the first chapter: the research plan is given, in which issues such as the statement of the problem and the importance and necessity of the research, questions, hypotheses and research objectives are presented. Key words such as: the concept of the city body, urban space and spatial development, function (function) and environment body, input and its characteristics, types of input have been discussed.

In the third chapter: research, research method and statistical community, and also briefly mentioned the geographic features of the Bandar Anzali city area.

In the fourth chapter: research in detail on the researcher's field findings regarding the limitations and possibilities of the physical development of the city of Anzali, the main content or the basis of the comprehensive plan of the city. Anzali, the physical and functional developments of the studied area, the areas of the city entrance space, the examination of local characteristics and expectations from the entrance, and then the investigation of case expectations of the city entrance from the west side, the characteristics of transformability, permeability, receptivity, legibility and identification have been investigated, and the same comparison method that was mentioned is examined for each item individually along the entire length of the entrance route. Researches and presents proposed solutions. 

Statement of the problem

Today, entry points are among the forgotten spaces of cities that are facing problems and disturbances. These disorders appear on two levels: on the first level, some of these disorders have led to the fact that the entrances lack the minimum components of being read as a desirable urban environment and space (in general). The quality of the constructions on the edge of the entry points, which have emerged as scattered and separate complexes, emphasize the lack of planning, the auto development flow, and the lack of supervision in these points. On the second level: the lack of quality and appropriateness between the existing conditions of these areas with the spatial quality expected from the entrance points of the city, has caused the urban landscape to not be properly defined for visitors. The entrances of the cities have degraded to such a level of quality that often the only visible element planned in their spatial design is the installation of a sign that notes and welcomes the entry into the city (Ablaghi et al., 2015, p. 66). In the old cities, the concept of entering the city mostly meant penetrating from an enclosed habitat, but in the later periods, transformations took place that changed the concept of the city and urbanization and gave the form of entering the city other faces. Entrance gates as one of the main components of the physical and spatial structure of the city, despite its importance in terms of physical and aesthetics, with the placement of heterogeneous and incompatible uses, it has turned into a space with a separate structure, lacking identity and confused. In this way, the entry space of many cities in the country is facing a severe functional and physical decline, this has caused serious damage to the appearance and identity of the cities. The landscape has a dual objective-subjective nature. Human understanding is dependent on experiences, mental patterns, culture and history, physical characteristics of environment and time. Around the city view is a view of the city that is seen when approaching the city. What makes entering the city comprehensible for humans is the existence of a series of visual signs that have a meaning despite their physical and material existence. From the way the activities are established, centers and axes are formed, which in an internal relationship with each other make a network of centers and axes, in other words, the "spatial structure of the city". The spatial organization of the city determines the place and form of entering the city. Since the entrances are the nodes and starting points of the spatial organization and the first image of the city is formed with their help, the necessity of their design and planning is felt in the city. The entrances are the link between the city and the suburbs and define the border and territory of the city (Qavampour, 2014, p. 6). One of the most effective and attractive points of any city is its entrance scenery, which leaves an impressive memory in the mind of every viewer. (Zaheri, 1380, p. 5).