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The relationship between urban density and social conditions in urban areas has received increasing attention in recent research. However, there is a lack of understanding of the dynamics between urban densification and these social conditions from a place-specific perspective, taking into account the institutional, socio-cultural, and contextual complexities. This paper seeks to enhance this understanding by unpacking the relationship between soft densification and place attachment in Tehran, Iran. The paper develops a framework for studying 'soft densification' as a process of incremental place change by prioritising local knowledge. The findings suggest that soft densification impacts place attachment by disrupting the everyday functionality of place, eroding its physical characteristics, erasing some of its collective and personal memories, and altering its socio-demographic structure. The paper highlights the importance of thinking 'procedurally' and 'topologically' about urban densification and calls for incorporating local knowledge and experiences into policy planning and urban decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deliberates on the importance of two major themes, (a) emphasis shift from traditional urban planning approach currently practised in such cities as Tehran to a spatial metropolitan planning, and (b) giving due consideration to the role of knowledge on integrate metropolitan planning. In Tehran, the multiplicity of policy-makers involved in metropolitan planning portrays the unsolvable procedural problems of transfer of knowledge and its impact upon substantive aspects of planning. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of knowledge on integration in spatial metropolitan planning, presuming the necessity of integration in general and in Tehran as a case presented to exemplify the general ideas and challenges of knowledge-based policy integration. A qualitative content analysis was applied to achieve the purpose of this study. Application of the analytic aspect of the proposed framework disclosed the barriers of achieving a spatial integrated knowledge-based planning and policy-making in Tehran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of parks as an element of urban green infrastructure on regulating surface temperature in the semi-arid city of Tehran, Iran. Land surface temperature (LST) of parks and their immediate surroundings, derived from Landsat images of winter to autumn 2017, are analysed in two urban districts with different local climate zones and population density levels. The results show that the highest levels of cooling impact are observed in spring and summer for parks larger than 1 ha in the compact midrise setting. Although area and vegetation cover influence the impact of parks in all sizes, parks shape becomes important in parks larger than 1 ha in open built zones. To benefit from LST regulating services of park vegetation cover and facilitate achieving sustainable urban landscapes, it is recommended to opt for 1–10 ha parks, where possible, and improve vegetation cover inside parks, particularly in parks smaller than 1 ha. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demands for natural resources due to rapid population growth and the challenging environmental problems caused by global warming require a new systematic approach for the integration of sustainability into highly populated urban areas. In this paper, green infrastructure (GI) is studied as an efficient method for achieving sustainability in developing countries. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is considered as a case study. A multiscale landscape planning model is proposed for the inclusion and integration of productive networks on the edges of Tehran seven watercourses, to re-establish Tehran’s identity as a green city. Tehran, due to its location and presence of rural towns along valleys, is a good candidate for this integration. The seven watercources that pass through Tehran are studied as part of a cohesive urban plan for the future development of the city. Strategies for adapting this green integration method to other big developing metropolitans are proposed and investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]