بررسي تطبيقي مفهوم و اصول به كار رفته در محله ايراني و واحد همسايگي غربي

A Comparative Study on the Concept and Design Principles of Iranian Mahalleh and Western Neighborhood

هدف اين بحث بررسي تطبيقي مفهوم و نقش محله در شهرنشيني ايراني با واحد همسايگي در شهرسازي معاصر غرب است. ضرورت تحقيق به آن دليل است كه عليرغم اهميت جايگاه محله و تاثير آن در ساختار فضايي و اجتماعي شهرسازي سنتي ايران، در طرح هاي توسعه شهري معاصر كشورمان از الگوي واحد همسايگي غربي استفاده مي شود. روش تحقيق مقايسه تطبيقي است كه پس از تحليل مفاهيم محله و واحد همسايگي، به بررسي دو اصل مركزيت و قلمرو با استفاده از بررسي دو مطالعه موردي پرداخته شد. نتايج نشان دهنده آن است كه: 1) تفاوت بنياديني در پيدايش و شكل گيري مفهوم محله در شهرنشيني ايراني و واحد همسايگي غرب وجود دارد كه مي توان اولي را قلمرويي اجتماعي براي سكونت و دومي را قلمرويي كالبدي براي برخي مفاهيم اجتماعي دانست؛ 2) محله سنتي ايراني در زمينه اصول طراحي، كامل تر و داراي انعطاف پذيري بيشتري نسبت به واحد همسايگي است.

In fulfilling the community requirements for creating comfortable living environment, the spatial distribution of cities to social and physical units are used. Mahallah and neighborhood are two kinds of these urban subdivisions. The physical arrangement of these units should respond to the needs of the local dwellers, their normative social customs and cultural norms, and climatic comfort. Neighborhood had a vital role in West urbanization in the last century too and developed as a system for a subdivision of the city. Different patterns of neighborhood have been defined by the urban planners especially during the last decades in West and they have undertaken important roles as planned physical units in the contemporary urban planning. Mahalleh has had a main role and a key concept in the history of Iranian urban structure and the social life of the citizens in traditional cities. Since urban plans have been introduced by the authorities to shape urban development in Iran half a century ago, the concept of the Iranian mahalleh as a socio-spatial phenomenon has been replaced by the physical and functional concept of West neighborhood. The aim of this research is to compare the concept, definition, roles and used principles of neighborhood in West and mahhaleh in Iran. The investigation as presented in this research goes beyond the explanation of appearance, shape and the like in residential districts and has sought to illuminate the principles and roles behind the physical expression, the spatial organization and its relation to sociality of place. In defining the characters of mahalleh in Iran and the Western neighborhood an analytical approach has been applied. Five criteria have been selected for comparing the neighborhood and mahalleh as follows: the concept, definition, importance and roles in city structure, the principles shaping them, the patterns and landmarks. The selected case studies are Fahadan mahalleh in the historic fabric of Yazd in Iran and a Western neighborhood in the city of Radburn in the United States. Comparison was focused on two design principles of territory and centrality. The results indicate major differences between these two types of urban subdivisions. The concept of Iranian mahalleh can be regarded as a social unit with some distinguished physical features while the Western neighborhood can be considered as a physical unit with some distinguished social characteristics. The difference between these two concepts is very important in their use and role in the city structure. Moreover, the Iranian mahalleh has gained a more complete definition and deeper social meaning in the life of inhabitants, than neighborhood in contemporary Western societies, but at the same time more patterns of the neighborhood have been developed in West while the Iranian mahalleh is neglected in urban programs and plans from the last half of the century onwards. The study proposes new thinking about what we have in our traditional urban planning and design and rely more on the concept of traditional elements such as mahalleh in the master plans of new developments instead of easily adopted the foreign patterns and structures.