Urban and Architectural Sustainability in the Restoration of Iranian Cities (Strategy and Challenges): Case Study of Soltaniyeh

Abstract

Urban sustainability is a widely used term, and to help to refine and define the term in the context of this study, one can refer to the basic principles that are widely known from the 1987 Brundtland report: “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable – to ensure that it meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). The exclusive architecture style advent in Soltaniyeh Zanjan, in the wake of the construction of the glorious Soltaniyeh dome (one of the most colossal brick-made buildings in the world), the rampart of the city, and other historical buildings happened in the region of Oljiato (one of the Mongol chieftains). In the field of improving the quality of the historic urban landscape of Soltaniyeh to become a sustainable city, the role of the World Heritage sites as a significant factor in improving the quality of historical urban landscapes is emphasized. For this purpose, field study and analysis of documents, especially with consideration of the UNESCO 2011 recommendation in the analysis, of a part of the landscape surrounding the dome is the method of this inquiry. The strengths and city potentials of this town are identified with its expansion to the Soltaniyeh’s historical urban landscape. Social human activities, visual effects, access routes, farms and partitioning the farmlands, irrigation systems, historical sites, buffer zones for historic areas, and also liability to create spaces, are covered here.