Rostam Saberifar
Abstract
Older adults’ quality of life is closely associated with the characteristics of the urban environment, and the design of inclusive and supportive urban spaces—particularly in Iranian metropolises—constitutes a major challenge for urban planning. This study conducts a spatial-analytical ...
Read More
Older adults’ quality of life is closely associated with the characteristics of the urban environment, and the design of inclusive and supportive urban spaces—particularly in Iranian metropolises—constitutes a major challenge for urban planning. This study conducts a spatial-analytical evaluation of age-friendly cities using a geospatial approach, through a comparative analysis of Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Shiraz. Adopting a mixed-method, data-driven framework, the research integrates older adults’ lived experiences with geospatial analysis. Data were collected through KoBo Toolbox and GPS-based location tracking, and subsequently operationalized using the AF_Score as a perceptual-quantitative index to enable spatial analysis and the identification of “places,” “anti-places,” and overlapping zones. The findings reveal that the quality of age-friendliness is spatially uneven across the four cities. Shiraz demonstrates the highest proportion of positive clusters and spatial continuity; Tehran exhibits a relatively coherent pattern; Mashhad is characterized by concentrated anti-place clusters; and Isfahan appears to be in a transitional state. A strong correlation (r = 0.82) between older adults’ perceptions and spatial zoning confirms that lived experience reflects the actual spatial organization of the city. Further analysis of infrastructural and social participation domains indicates that public spaces and pedestrian-oriented pathways are key components in fostering active aging and sustained urban presence. The innovation of this research operates at three levels: (1) theoretically linking the age-friendly city framework with spatial justice and lived experience; (2) employing participatory data from older adults combined with hotspot analysis to simultaneously assess intensity, extent, and spatial significance; and (3) proposing an operational spatial framework for identifying and prioritizing evidence-based urban interventions. The results suggest that large-scale indicator-based approaches fail to capture micro-spatial variations and the heterogeneity of aging experiences. Therefore, urban decision-making should be grounded in fine-grained, participatory geospatial analysis. This study provides a practical guide for policymakers and urban planners to enhance older adults’ quality of life and to foster more inclusive and age-friendly urban environments.
Seyyed Mehdi Moussakazemi; rostam saberifar; hossein rahimi; Narges sadat Razavi
Abstract
Improving the quality and living conditions of dysfunctional and inefficient urban tissues requires strategies appropriate to the condition and characteristics of each tissue. In the current research, the existing condition of the ineffective tissues of Neishabur city has been examined and compared from ...
Read More
Improving the quality and living conditions of dysfunctional and inefficient urban tissues requires strategies appropriate to the condition and characteristics of each tissue. In the current research, the existing condition of the ineffective tissues of Neishabur city has been examined and compared from the physical aspect. These tissues have been studied in two separate categories, including middle tissue (historical) and marginal tissue. The research method is descriptive-analytical. The current situation has been analyzed and evaluated using the SWOT technique. Priority intervention strategies in context have been determined using experts' opinions. ACCEPT method and experts' opinions have been used to identify priority regeneration strategies. In the middle (historical) texture, seven strategies and in the marginal context four strategies have been determined as priorities. According to the desirability score, in the middle context, "activation of historical, cultural and religious resources and services of tourism in the context and around the existing elements", and in the marginal texture, "encouraging residents to document properties and units and providing facilities have been determined as the most important priorities of the physical dimension. The results show that the conditions of the dysfunctional tissues of Neishabur are different from each other in terms of the situation in the middle (and historical) and marginal tissues, and therefore it is necessary to adopt regeneration strategies that are appropriate to the conditions in each tissue.
rostam saberifar; fateme karimianpour
Abstract
The region of Sistan has long been a prosperous and productive area. In this geographical area, many cities have been established, but with the passage of time and changing conditions, they either disappeared or changed their functions. But since the beginning of the current century, the city of Zabol ...
Read More
The region of Sistan has long been a prosperous and productive area. In this geographical area, many cities have been established, but with the passage of time and changing conditions, they either disappeared or changed their functions. But since the beginning of the current century, the city of Zabol was formed by relying on government credits, and during this period, its population has constantly increased. In fact, due to the exogenous development of the city, environmental and regional problems have never stopped the growth of this city, and at the cost of the destruction of the surrounding environment, its life has continued with greater intensity. The current research has analyzed the livability of Zabol city with a descriptive and analytical method. The required data was collected through a researcher-made questionnaire from a sample of 300 experts. The data was analyzed using the evaluation matrix of effective and affected indicators and the mathematical model of sustainability and viability. The results showed that this city scored 0.4829 points in the environmental section and 0.2945 points in the economic and social section. Based on these points, the livability degree of this city is determined as 0.1884 and according to the existing standards, it is placed in the weak and very weak livability group. Therefore, if the necessary control and preventive policies are not applied, not only the residence and life in this city will be threatened, but also the surrounding environment will undergo more fundamental destruction.
rostam saberifar
Abstract
The present study has evaluated the important factors of environmental quality differences in residential areas of Mashhad with regard to social conditions and environmental disturbances by descriptive and analytical methods. Data were collected from a sample of 384 participants using a researcher-made ...
Read More
The present study has evaluated the important factors of environmental quality differences in residential areas of Mashhad with regard to social conditions and environmental disturbances by descriptive and analytical methods. Data were collected from a sample of 384 participants using a researcher-made questionnaire. For this study, data on environmental conditions, disturbances, and social interactions were collected. The collected data were analyzed using various statistics, especially Chi-square test and generalized logistic regression in SPSS software. The results showed that traffic-induced pollution in neighborhoods has a high prevalence and other pollutants, depending on the type, are often point-based and each area has its own conditions. In determining the levels of spot pollution, underlying factors such as length of stay in the city, education, age and socio-economic status were decisive. So, that people with a better history of residence and socioeconomic status expressed dissatisfaction more than others regarding the severity of pollution, especially in relation to environmental dimensions (2.3-21.3), tensions (3.6-4.4), and social anomalies (2.0-4.4). Given the differences in the level of damages received by residents, how to intervene is fundamentally challenging. Under these circumstances, planning and solving environmental problems is easily possible, but controlling different sensitivities is extremely difficult.
rostam saberifar
Abstract
The use of public transportation, along with benefits such as saving time, reducing fuel consumption, economic savings, reducing air pollution, reducing noise pollution, and proper safety, also increases the quality of urban life and increases social interactions. Therefore, understanding the demographic, ...
Read More
The use of public transportation, along with benefits such as saving time, reducing fuel consumption, economic savings, reducing air pollution, reducing noise pollution, and proper safety, also increases the quality of urban life and increases social interactions. Therefore, understanding the demographic, technical-promotional and socio-cultural factors affecting the decision-making process of citizens in the use of public transport will play an important role in the planning and policy-making system in this area. In this study, to determine the behavior of citizens when using public transportation, a descriptive and analytical method with Tobit model has been used.The data was collected in 2019 and includes 300 citizens of Mashhad. The required data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. The results showed that the distance between the place of residence and the place of employment has a negative effect on the use of public transport system. But factors such as the presence of highly educated people in the family, access to bicycles, compliance with pollution control criteria at home, personal literacy and awareness of the long-term dangers of using a private vehicle, have positive impacts on the use of public transport systems. According to the findings, two suggestions were made: 1- Educating and informing citizens about the long-term dangers of private vehicles, and 2- Targeting literate households for citizenship education related to public transportation. These people can encourage citizens to be sustainable and protect the environment.