Volume 3, Issue 6 (5-2025)
JORS 2025, 3(6): 64-75 |
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Maghsoudi A, Sabouri S. Urban Landscape Reading of Contemporary Development in Khuzestan Based on the Conceptual Model of Place and Spatial Organization: A Case Study of Bandar Imam Khomeini. , JORS. 2025; 3 (6) :64-75
URL: http://jors-sj.com/article-1-74-en.html
URL: http://jors-sj.com/article-1-74-en.html
Abstract: (2675 Views)
Contemporary urban development in Khuzestan Province over the past century has been largely influenced by the industrial and economic growth of the region. This has led to extensive challenges for the cities of Khuzestan, such as informal settlements, social inequality, environmental degradation, lack of urban identity, and, more generally, the failure to achieve the quality of “place” in these cities. In this context, the present study seeks, through an analysis of the urban landscape of Bandar Imam Khomeini, to examine the effects of the absence of “place” within the spatial organization of the city. The main research question is: How has the failure of Bandar Imam Khomeini in being an urban place manifested in the urban landscape arising from its spatial organization? The study is based on the hypothesis that industry-driven development, a resource-based economy, and neglect of the dimensions of place have led to the reflection of the city’s placelessness in its urban landscape. This qualitative research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. Data were collected through field observations, unstructured interviews with citizens and urban managers, and library and document studies. Data analysis was carried out using the conceptual model of place and the theory of spatial organization. The findings indicate that the components forming the city’s spatial organization, due to the dominance of industrial activities and transit networks, lack meaningful connections with the natural environment and have been shaped in an identity-less, fragmented, and unbalanced manner that ignores the human scale. These components have been primarily designed according to industrial development requirements, and therefore, they lack significant and valuable aspects for the city’s inhabitants.
Keywords: Urban Landscape, Spatial Organization, Contemporary Urban Development, Imam Khomeini Port-City, Khuzestan
Editorial: Case Study |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/07/4 | Accepted: 2025/09/16 | Published: 2025/10/1
Received: 2025/07/4 | Accepted: 2025/09/16 | Published: 2025/10/1
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