Alireza Dehghani

The substantial rise in automobile ownership and expansion of metropolitan areas in recent decades, especially in emerging nations, has resulted in a severe shortage of parking spaces. This problem not only causes significant traffic congestion and an increase in accidents but also places a considerable financial burden on individuals and worsens air pollution. Despite extensive research on addressing the parking issue, there is still a notable deficiency in effective approaches for selecting the best locations for multi-story parking structures, particularly in major cities in Iran. Hence, acknowledging the significance of effective parking management in addressing these problems, This study aimed to provide a comprehensive framework for choosing parking locations in Shiraz's business district. This study combined the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) with a Geographic Information System to make fuzzy multi-criteria decisions. In determining acceptable locations, numerous aspects such as closeness to business hubs, distance from key roads, land prices, population density, and the feasibility of erecting multi-story parking structures were taken into account using these approaches. The findings revealed that districts 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 in Shiraz's core area had the most potential for the construction of multi-story parking facilities compared to the other 30 central districts. Additionally, the findings showed that accessibility to major roads, population density, and proximity to trip generators were the most relevant factors in deciding where parking facilities should be located in Shiraz. When the results of the two approaches were compared, it was found that while the models' results were basically similar, the AHP model's user-friendliness made it easier for urban managers and planners to understand and apply. Policymakers and urban planners can use the insights provided by the outcomes of these models to make well-informed decisions on parking infrastructure expenditures.

The large-scale conversion of agricultural, forest, and bare lands into urban areas is a defining feature of contemporary metropolitan expansion, reshaping natural landscapes and altering land cover patterns. This study examines the spatial and temporal dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) in Tehran, Iran, and Sydney, Australia, over a 30-year period (1993-2023), emphasizing shifts from natural land cover to the built environment. By employing multi-source spatial data and comparative analysis, we identify distinct urbanization trends and transformation pathways in both cities. Tehran has undergone more extensive and accelerated land conversion, with a pronounced shift from agricultural land and bare soil to built-up areas, reflecting rapid and intensive urban growth. In contrast, Sydney's land development strategies have been more structured, prioritizing the retention of agricultural land while directing urban expansion toward previously bare or disturbed areas. Intensity analysis reveals that Tehran's LULCC is not only faster but also more extensive, leading to a more fragmented landscape with a higher proportion of built-up land. Logistic regression analysis indicates that access to road networks is a major driver of land conversion in both cities, shaping the spatial distribution of urban growth. FLUS model projections for 2035 suggest that, without regulatory interventions, Tehran will continue to experience high rates of agricultural and bare land loss, reinforcing urban expansion trends. These findings highlight the need for strategic land-use planning to manage urbanization sustainably, drawing insights from Sydney's more regulated approach. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of LULCC patterns in rapidly developing metropolitan regions, offering valuable perspectives for urban and regional planning efforts.

The substantial rise in automobile ownership and expansion of metropolitan areas in recent decades, especially in emerging nations, has resulted in a severe shortage of parking spaces. This problem not only causes significant traffic congestion and an increase in accidents but also places a considerable financial burden on individuals and worsens air pollution. Despite extensive research on addressing the parking issue, there is still a notable deficiency in effective approaches for selecting the best locations for multi-story parking structures, particularly in major cities in Iran. Hence, acknowledging the significance of effective parking management in addressing these problems, This study aimed to provide a comprehensive framework for choosing parking locations in Shiraz's business district. This study combined the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) with a Geographic Information System to make fuzzy multi-criteria decisions. To determine suitable locations, factors such as proximity to business hubs, key roads, land prices, population density, and construction feasibility were assessed. The findings identified districts 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 in Shiraz's core as having the highest potential for multi-story parking facilities among the 30 central districts. Additionally, the findings showed that accessibility to major roads, population density, and proximity to trip generators were the most relevant factors in deciding where parking facilities should be located in Shiraz. Policymakers and urban planners can use the insights provided by the outcomes of these models to make well-informed decisions on parking infrastructure expenditures.

While there is a large body of research on sustainable development and urban resilience, the interaction between urban densification and urban resilience remains understudied. This study aims to investigate several facets of urban resilience and densification before analyzing their mutual relationship. Focusing on ecological, social, economic, and physical elements of urban resilience on the one hand and population density, residential density, built-up area ratio (BAR), and parcel density on the other, a combination of spatial and quantitative methodologies is applied. Our empirical investigation revealed that the spatial distribution of all resilience indicators is varied. In other words, the cumulative form of urban resilience indicators has a different significance than the individual version. Similarly, different types of density have varying orientations and degrees of connection with measures of resilience that should be evaluated in empirical investigations. In addition, our research revealed that density has a stronger relationship with social and physical resilience than with ecological and economic resilience. The findings drawn from this research have the potential to inform the design of secure, resilient cities across a range of spatial dimensions.

Sustainable development and urban resilience are dominant urban planning paradigms that have become buzzwords in urban planning and policy domains over the past 2–3 decades. While these two paradigms have been analyzed and scrutinized in different studies, the interconnection between them in policy realms is understudied. Compact development policy is expected to contribute to a variety of sustainability goals. However, these goals’ alignment with the principles and goals of urban resilience is under question. This research tries to shed some light on this issue. A critical review method is employed to understand how compactness as a sustainable urban development policy relates to different principles and dimensions of urban resilience. First, the conceptual and theoretical relationship between urban resilience and compact city is established. Next, the resulting framework is used to critically analyze 124 articles to understand how the compact city policy relates to urban resilience from different dimensions and principles. Densification and intensification, mixed land use and diversity, and spatial connectivity and public transportation are identified as principles of the compact city. Finally, the interconnection between compact city policy and urban resilience dimensions and principles is explored and assessed through examining the selected literature. The results of the review show some alignments between compact city policy outcomes and urban resilience. However, the level of alignment may vary depending on the context, scale, or dimension. In other words, while compact city in one scale/dimension can increase urban resilience to a specific adverse event or stressor, it might increase vulnerability to others in another scale/dimension. From the policy perspective, compact development policy and urban resilience principles should clearly be defined a priori to reach favorable outcomes.