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mansouri S A. Critical Studies in Applied Research. JORS 2026; 3 (9) : 1
URL: http://jors-sj.com/article-1-109-en.html
URL: http://jors-sj.com/article-1-109-en.html
University of Tehran and Nazar Research Center, Iran.
Abstract: (24 Views)
Following a commission by the Organization for the Renovation, Development, and Beautification of the Environs of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (PBUH), a research team from the Nazar Research Center—comprising four senior researchers and four research assistants—conducted a strategic problem-identification study on the “Policies for the Qualitative Enhancement of Qom’s Urban Landscape” from January 2024 to December 2025. The Organization’s policy of leveraging national scientific expertise for strategic-level problem formulation represents an uncommon practice among municipalities. A review of urban management regulations and conventions reveals that municipal departments typically function as mere executive arms, whereas the responsibility for ideation and conceptualization is often relegated to external entities.
The Organization’s initiative to engage external academic institutions in re-evaluating urban and municipal challenges served as a highly effective catalyst. Beyond highlighting the most critical issues facing the city of Qom, this approach provided the urban management sector with a novel opportunity to obtain an objective assessment of its current procedures. Rather than relying on internal personnel or affiliated contractors and consultants, the evaluation was conducted through the lens of a professional, scientific body with profound expertise in urban affairs. Should this approach be sustained, it will constitute a genuine paradigm of civic participation in urban governance, fundamentally devoid of populism and performative gestures.
The integration of independent experts into the realm of urban policymaking through rigorous problem formulation represents one of the most efficacious paradigms of citizen participation in urban governance. In the city of Qom, this initiative was proactively realized, driven by the initial mandate of the Organization for the Renovation, Development, and Beautification of the Environs of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (PBUH). Responding to the imperative of problem formulation in Qom’s urban management, the Nazar Research Center team proposed a novel re-evaluation of the city’s primary challenges within the context of its developmental trajectory.
To achieve this, rather than addressing all viable domains of study, the research team strategically selected a focal theme that exerts the most profound impact on citizens’ perceptions and their overall evaluations of the urban environment. In contemporary scientific discourse, this thematic focus is defined as the “urban landscape.” Crucially, within this theoretical framework, the urban landscape is distinctly differentiated from the urban appearance or cityscape, which merely encompasses the physical and structural form of the built environment.
The profound significance of civic perception lies in its direct correlation with residential satisfaction and its capacity to establish a foundation for active public participation in urban management. Fostering a coherent and interconnected comprehension of the urban environment renders the city more tangible, identity-rich, and consequently, more acceptable to its inhabitants. Conceptualized as a “place” emerging from both its physical morphology and historical vitality, the city acts as a spatial receptacle that must remain congruent with its content. Ultimately, this content comprises the daily lives and dynamic activities of the citizens; therefore, their spatial satisfaction is directly correlated with their cognitive apprehension of the city.
Consequently, the perception of the city is not regarded as a mere romantic or sentimental phenomenon; rather, its functional dimension is predominant. Citizens’ perception of the city is mediated through its physical manifestation. Therefore, the concept of perception is considered homologous to the urban landscape. Another dimension of the research team’s proposal involved investigating the correlation between the urban landscape and the concept of Qom’s urban identity.
In philosophical discourse, identity is defined as the continuity of an entity’s essence over time, existing independently of temporal fluctuations. The essence (quiddity) of a city comprises its “whatness”—the collective attributes shaped by the worldviews, beliefs, and behaviors of its citizens, which fundamentally construct the urban environment. Inherently, the essence of a city is a value-laden construct, deeply intertwined with the cognitive and ideological perspectives of its inhabitants. The perpetuation of this essence over time establishes its “whoness” (distinctive character). This “whoness” represents the historical and temporally bound identity of the essence.
Consequently, within the construct of identity, the duration and temporal continuity of a phenomenon’s attributes take precedence, operating independently of its normative or value-based dimensions. Thus, while “essence”—which denotes “whatness”—is a value-laden phenomenon, “identity”—which refers strictly to the historical continuity of these attributes—is fundamentally value-neutral. Erroneously, in conventional and colloquial discourse, identity is often conflated with the mere preservation of historical values. By way of illustration, if an ancient idolatrous city maintained its polytheistic attributes throughout its history, it would still be classified as a city possessing an “identity.” This is because, in addressing its “whoness,” it distinctly references a specific historical trajectory of idolatry.
Synthesizing these two conceptual frameworks—the “urban landscape” as the civic perception of the city, and “identity” as the historical continuity of urban attributes—the research team proposed a comprehensive investigation into the “Identity of Qom’s Urban Landscape.” This objective was operationalized and executed through five independent research studies.
The Organization’s initiative to engage external academic institutions in re-evaluating urban and municipal challenges served as a highly effective catalyst. Beyond highlighting the most critical issues facing the city of Qom, this approach provided the urban management sector with a novel opportunity to obtain an objective assessment of its current procedures. Rather than relying on internal personnel or affiliated contractors and consultants, the evaluation was conducted through the lens of a professional, scientific body with profound expertise in urban affairs. Should this approach be sustained, it will constitute a genuine paradigm of civic participation in urban governance, fundamentally devoid of populism and performative gestures.
The integration of independent experts into the realm of urban policymaking through rigorous problem formulation represents one of the most efficacious paradigms of citizen participation in urban governance. In the city of Qom, this initiative was proactively realized, driven by the initial mandate of the Organization for the Renovation, Development, and Beautification of the Environs of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (PBUH). Responding to the imperative of problem formulation in Qom’s urban management, the Nazar Research Center team proposed a novel re-evaluation of the city’s primary challenges within the context of its developmental trajectory.
To achieve this, rather than addressing all viable domains of study, the research team strategically selected a focal theme that exerts the most profound impact on citizens’ perceptions and their overall evaluations of the urban environment. In contemporary scientific discourse, this thematic focus is defined as the “urban landscape.” Crucially, within this theoretical framework, the urban landscape is distinctly differentiated from the urban appearance or cityscape, which merely encompasses the physical and structural form of the built environment.
The profound significance of civic perception lies in its direct correlation with residential satisfaction and its capacity to establish a foundation for active public participation in urban management. Fostering a coherent and interconnected comprehension of the urban environment renders the city more tangible, identity-rich, and consequently, more acceptable to its inhabitants. Conceptualized as a “place” emerging from both its physical morphology and historical vitality, the city acts as a spatial receptacle that must remain congruent with its content. Ultimately, this content comprises the daily lives and dynamic activities of the citizens; therefore, their spatial satisfaction is directly correlated with their cognitive apprehension of the city.
Consequently, the perception of the city is not regarded as a mere romantic or sentimental phenomenon; rather, its functional dimension is predominant. Citizens’ perception of the city is mediated through its physical manifestation. Therefore, the concept of perception is considered homologous to the urban landscape. Another dimension of the research team’s proposal involved investigating the correlation between the urban landscape and the concept of Qom’s urban identity.
In philosophical discourse, identity is defined as the continuity of an entity’s essence over time, existing independently of temporal fluctuations. The essence (quiddity) of a city comprises its “whatness”—the collective attributes shaped by the worldviews, beliefs, and behaviors of its citizens, which fundamentally construct the urban environment. Inherently, the essence of a city is a value-laden construct, deeply intertwined with the cognitive and ideological perspectives of its inhabitants. The perpetuation of this essence over time establishes its “whoness” (distinctive character). This “whoness” represents the historical and temporally bound identity of the essence.
Consequently, within the construct of identity, the duration and temporal continuity of a phenomenon’s attributes take precedence, operating independently of its normative or value-based dimensions. Thus, while “essence”—which denotes “whatness”—is a value-laden phenomenon, “identity”—which refers strictly to the historical continuity of these attributes—is fundamentally value-neutral. Erroneously, in conventional and colloquial discourse, identity is often conflated with the mere preservation of historical values. By way of illustration, if an ancient idolatrous city maintained its polytheistic attributes throughout its history, it would still be classified as a city possessing an “identity.” This is because, in addressing its “whoness,” it distinctly references a specific historical trajectory of idolatry.
Synthesizing these two conceptual frameworks—the “urban landscape” as the civic perception of the city, and “identity” as the historical continuity of urban attributes—the research team proposed a comprehensive investigation into the “Identity of Qom’s Urban Landscape.” This objective was operationalized and executed through five independent research studies.
Article number: 1
Editorial: Original Research Article |
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Received: 2026/02/4 | Accepted: 2026/02/9 | Published: 2026/02/20
Received: 2026/02/4 | Accepted: 2026/02/9 | Published: 2026/02/20
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