Rogahyeh Shokri Biarargh; Marjan Nematimehr
Abstract
Introduction: So far, the use of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) has not been investigated in cities of Iran. This issue, for the first time introduced in Australia in 1994, has been implemented in several countries, such as America, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia. The main objective of ...
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Introduction: So far, the use of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) has not been investigated in cities of Iran. This issue, for the first time introduced in Australia in 1994, has been implemented in several countries, such as America, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia. The main objective of WSUD is to establish a link between urban planning and design, and landscape design with sustainable management of water flows in a city. In other words, this approach tries to revitalize the natural water cycle in the city by presenting urban design-oriented solutions that may have less environmental damages. Material and methods: In this descriptive-qualitative research, the WSUD approach has been firstly addressed; then, its indicators, as integrated water management factors, have been extracted, evaluated, and analyzed in the rainy city of Rasht. In addition, based on findings of the study, some strategies for improving the water management in the city of Rasht have been proposed. Since the extraction of its dimensions and indicators depends on an accurate and exact investigation of the resources and documents, data collection was done by a documentary study. In order to infer the repeatability and validity of the extracted data from the documentary texts, the content analysis was used. The extent of the significance of indicators is not the same. Therefore, after extracting dimensions, components and repeated indicators of integrated water management, the coefficients of the significance of each level at a higher level, based on obtained data from content analysis, have been calculated by data from the experts’ questionnaire (Delphi) which is 5-point Likert scale method. At last, the significance of each indicator was determined. Results and discussion: Based on the findings obtained from experts’ questionnaire, the environmental indicator was the most significant factor in sustainable urban water management, as well as urban river health and rate of rainwater storage with weights of 0.0469 and 0.0463, respectively. To analyze the present situation in Rasht city, observation, questionnaire, and statistical databases in the form of Swat Table were utilized as the instrumentation. By weighting the internal and external factors, based on the GOSP matrix, appropriate strategies were introduced in the group of adaptive strategies. In addition, prioritization was done by QSPM matrix strategies on different levels. Ultimately, appropriate policies for applying the water-sensitive urban design approach were made in Rasht city. The outcomes of these strategies can be as follows: transformation of the gray infrastructure network of the city of Rasht into the green-blue infrastructure network, eco-revelatory of green infrastructures instead of underground pipelines, changing attitudes towards the links of water, nature and buildings, and increasing citizens’ awareness of the natural water cycle, preventing urban flooding in passages during rainfall, cleaning up the rivers of Zarjoob and Goharrood as well as wetlands of Rasht and making them the green corridors and major leisure spots, increasing green roofs, green walls and green terraces that have positive effects on the city’s temperature, air quality, wildlife, and mental health, and reducing drinking water consumption for non-drinking consumptions up to 50 percent (i.e., reduction of five million liters of drinking water only by collecting and handling gray water or rainwater and utilizing it as for rainwater flush tanks of buildings), etc. Conclusion: The WSUD approach, as the latest urban design approach for sustainable urban water management, has been developed for the management of surface runoff quality to a wider framework, i.e., for integrating urban water management in combination with urban design. It is noteworthy that it testifies that there is a possibility of managing surface waters in the city, in such a way that, in spite of existing more than 2000 mm rainfall per year, and even the flow of 200 mm on height over the passageways, the use of urban spaces is not disturbed.
Marjan Nematimehr; Ali Ghaffari
Volume 10, Issue 2 , January 2013
Abstract
The relational quality of the human and living environment, which is called Livability, is one of the most fundamental qualities of the environment. The term livability means the degree to which the environment supports living process of residents. Review of policy plans and several agendas shows that ...
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The relational quality of the human and living environment, which is called Livability, is one of the most fundamental qualities of the environment. The term livability means the degree to which the environment supports living process of residents. Review of policy plans and several agendas shows that the quest for livability is currently a key urban issue throughout the world. It is an ensemble concept whose factors include or relate to a number of other complex characteristics or states, including, quality of both life and place which is referred to the ability of a place or a community to meet the needs of its citizens. Although the definition of livability varies from community to community, a given community’s goals can be approached, and community planning for livability can be achieved, using community-derived indicators. At the same time, community efforts were launched across the country to identify indicators of livability. This article aims to review of the agendas for developing these measures. The task presented to this committee was broad, encompassing identification of the data and measures needed to make local and regional public decisions on transportation, land use planning, and economic development that aim to enhance livability. Through the review of livability agenda in the three areas - the United States of America, United Kingdom and Australia – it became clear that, in the late 1980s, livability emerged as a key concept in USA with an emphasis on economic dimension. In the UK through the definition of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, livability was at the core of urban neighborhood planning. It is important for a neighborhood to provide a quality and good environment which is clean, safe and green. The Western Australian Planning Commission in Australia also defines that Liveable Neighbourhoods has been prepared to implement the objectives of the state planning strategy which aims to guide the sustainable development of communities. Whilst we believe that there are specific differences between scales of livability agenda in these areas, nevertheless, the similarities are much greater.
