Morfologia de aldeias tradicionais no planalto central iraniano: estudo analítico para a compreensão do seu património

Tese de doutoramento em Architecture (especialidade em Architectural Culture)As aldeias encontram-se entre as primeiras formas de organização humana. A sua configuração tem sido moldada sob a influência de vários fatores, de modo a servir os seus habitantes. Assim, o presente estudo procura investigar o meio em que se construíram as aldeias tradicionais iranianas localizadas no planalto central e compreender o valor do seu legado. Através de uma análise detalhada, este trabalho tem como objetivo destacar as características únicas destes lugares, a sua importância histórica e cultural, e contribuir para a preservação e promoção dos seus patrimónios. Num primeiro momento foi levada a cabo a revisão da literatura, que enfatiza os aspetos chave da morfologia urbana, a história das formas de urbanização, e os fatores que influenciaram o seu desenvolvimento no Irão. Apesar do papel crucial desempenhado pelas aldeias na formação das cidades históricas no Irão, a literatura existente tem-se dedicado sobretudo aos centros de maior dimensão e conhecimento, ignorando as comunidades mais pequenas. Os diferentes fatores que contribuíram para a sua morfologia não têm também sido adequadamente considerados. Utilizando uma variedade de métodos e parâmetros para selecionar os estudos de caso, as aldeias escolhidas foram classificadas em três categorias principais: montanha, deserto, e fortificação, cada uma com características singulares. Em seguida, foi realizada uma análise minuciosa de três aldeias - Abyaneh, Qehi, Ghourtan - com base nos principais elementos da morfologia urbana, juntamente com uma abordagem qualitativa que considerou fatores ambientais e não ambientais. Essa análise envolveu ainda levantamentos, trabalho de campo e entrevistas. Para um maior entendimento, foram produzidos desenhos em diferentes escalas e resoluções para cada estudo de caso. Os resultados desta pesquisa não só estabelecem um caminho para estudos futuros, mas também introduzem de forma clara uma metodologia de análise dos fatores influentes. Esta abordagem oferece um modo mais eficaz de investigar estas aldeias, permitindo uma compreensão dos principais fatores que influenciaram o seu desenvolvimento. Este conhecimento é, portanto, essencial para a compreensão do património histórico destas aldeias e relevante para o planeamento e esforços de conservação destinados ao seu desenvolvimento sustentável. Em última análise, este trabalho tem como objetivo poder impactar na perceção estratégica deste património, atribuindo-lhe um papel instrumental no bem-estar das comunidades locais.Villages are among the first human settlements. Their traditional form has been shaped under the influence of various factors to meet the needs of the residents. The purpose of this research is to investigate the built environment of traditional villages located in the Iranian central plateau with the main objective of gaining a thorough understanding of their heritage value. Through a detailed analysis, this study aims to uncover the unique features, cultural and historical significance of the villages, and contribute to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. To begin with, a comprehensive review of the literature is conducted, emphasizing the key elements of urban morphology, the history of urban form, and the factors that have influenced settlements in Iran. Despite the crucial role played by villages in shaping historical cities in Iran, the existing body of research has primarily focused on larger and well-known cities, disregarding smaller communities and villages. Furthermore, the various factors that shaped these villages have not been adequately considered thus far. Using a range of methods and parameters for selecting case studies, the chosen villages have been classified into three main categories: mountain, desert, and fortress, each with unique built features. A detailed examination was then conducted to three villages - Abyaneh, Qehi, Ghourtan - based on the main elements of urban morphology schools together with a qualitative approach that considers environmental and non-environmental factors. This analysis further involved surveys, fieldwork and interviews. To facilitate the analysis, different drawings were produced for each case study, varying in scales and resolutions. The findings of this research not only establish a comprehensive framework for future studies but also transparently introduce a methodology to analyse influential factors. This approach offers an enhanced and more effective means of researching these villages, thus facilitating a clear understanding of the primary factors that have influenced their development. This knowledge is essential for understanding the historical heritage of these villages and beneficial to consider in planning and conservation efforts aimed at their sustainable development. Ultimately, this work aims to impact the strategic perception of heritage, positioning it as an instrumental role for the overall well-being of local communities

Economic growth pattern in restricted areas: the case study of Kangding City in Sichuan Province

The construction of regional development patterns based on the main functional areas is a major strategic innovation which not only conforms to the national regional policy but also incorporates regional features. On June 8, 2011, the state council issued the National Main Function Area Planning to readjust guiding thoughts of regional development of our country. In 2013, Sichuan province formulated and published the Main Function Area Planning which divided the restricted areas into main producing areas of agricultural products and key ecological functional areas. And among them, the key ecological functional areas are the important research subject of this thesis. In light of the strategic pattern of main functional areas, the structure of regional interests has undergone a major adjustment, which means that economic devolopment pattern in restricted areas need a foundamental transformation. Such areas need to build up economic system rooted in main functions and enhance their self-sustainability. It also poses a new challenge for policymakers in these areas. Research on economic growth pattern of restricted areas has become an important topic in the study of China’s regional economic theory.A definição de padrões de desenvolvimento regionais baseados em áreas funcionais principais constitui uma inovação estratégica, que não só está de acordo com as políticas regionais, mas também permite a inclusão das características específicas de cada região. A 8 de junho de 2011as autoridades nacionais Chinesas publicaram o documento intitulado National Main Function Area Planning para reajustar, a nível nacional, as linhas estratégicas de desenvolvimento regional. Em 2013 a província de Sichuan editou e publicou o Main Function Area Planning que dividia as áreas de desenvolvimento restrito em dois tipos: áreas de produção maioritariamente agrícola e áreas funcionais ecológicas chave. O principal objeto de investigação desta tese é a segunda destas áreas. Tendo em consideração os padrões estratégicos das áreas funcionais principais, a estrutura dos interesses regionais tem sido sujeita a ajustamentos importantes, o que significa a necessidade de transformações fundamentais nos padrões de desenvolvimento económico das áreas de desenvolvimento restrito. Estas áreas necessitam de construir um sistema económico baseado nas funções principais e que seja autossustentado, o que constitui um novo desafio para as políticas públicas. Os padrões de crescimento económico em áreas de desenvolvimento restrito tornou-se um importante tópico de investigação na teoria económica regional da China

Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability-Volume 4

Anthropogenic activities are significant drivers of climate change and environmental degradation. Such activities are particularly influential in the context of the land system that is an important medium connecting earth surface, atmospheric dynamics, ecological systems, and human activities. Assessment of land use land cover changes and associated environmental, economic, and social consequences is essential to provide references for enhancing climate resilience and improving environmental sustainability. On the one hand, this book touches on various environmental topics, including soil erosion, crop yield, bioclimatic variation, carbon emission, natural vegetation dynamics, ecosystem and biodiversity degradation, and habitat quality caused by both climate change and earth surface modifications. On the other hand, it explores a series of socioeconomic facts, such as education equity, population migration, economic growth, sustainable development, and urban structure transformation, along with urbanization. The results of this book are of significance in terms of revealing the impact of land use land cover changes and generating policy recommendations for land management. More broadly, this book is important for understanding the interrelationships among life on land, good health and wellbeing, quality education, climate actions, economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We expect the book to benefit decision makers, practitioners, and researchers in different fields, such as climate governance, crop science and agricultural engineering, forest ecosystem, land management, urban planning and design, urban governance, and institutional operation.Prof. Bao-Jie He acknowledges the Project NO. 2021CDJQY-004 supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Project NO. 2022ZA01 supported by the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, China. We appreciate the assistance of Mr. Lifeng Xiong, Mr. Wei Wang, Ms. Xueke Chen, and Ms. Anxian Chen at School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China

The mobility and identity of a Pehuenche community as expressed through their material culture (Alto Biobío, Chile)

This research focuses on the changing role of mobility within one Pehuenche comunidad, Cauñicú, which is part one of twenty legally recognised Pehuenche comunidades in southern Chile, South America. Working within an interdisciplinary perspective, I use archaeological, ethnographic, and historical sources, adopting a diachronic view to reflect on the processes of change that this social group has gone through: from highly mobile pastoralist in the Colonial period, to becoming validated officially as ´indigenous communities´ or comunidades indígenas by the Chilean state in the current context of globalisation. A defining characteristic of the Pehuenche has been the seasonal movement of some families from their annual residence in the lower valleys in colder seasons, to the highland pastures in summer, where they take their livestock and collect pinenuts from the Araucaria trees. However, this seasonal movement is in decline, and pinenuts may never have been as important a resource as the ‘Pehuenche’ ethnonym suggests. This research includes original ethnographic fieldwork to study how the socio-political organisation, economy, and perception of the landscape and their own past, as well as state policies have influenced the material culture and settlement organisation. This generates a landscape in which present and past material culture co-exist and can be explained from, and through, their cycle of mobility, with a strong sense of identity embedded in these aspects of Pehuenche culture. This maintenance of practices such as rituals, seasonal movements, and the material expressions connect the present Pehuenches to past ways of life. This approach gives importance to the historical processes of how mobile groups interacted with colonial societies and responded to changes through their material culture. It also serves to reflect on their collective identity, which is not only sustained through their current, more limited, mobility in a context of a globalised wider society, but in certain characteristics of their daily and ritual material assemblages

Traditional Arabian Marketplaces in Context: A Comparative Study of Souq Waqif in Doha, Qatar and Souq Mutrah in Muscat, Oman

This study presents a comparison of form and function for two traditional markets within their metropolitan regions on the Arabian Peninsula: Souq Waqif in Doha, State of Qatar, and Souq Mutrah in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Rapid urbanization and globalization characterize both cities over the previous half-century. Doha and Muscat possess strong similarities in terms of historical origin as coastal settlements. A clear contrast is topography. Flat terrain characterizes Doha. Mountainous terrain characterizes Muscat. The study will explore the dynamic relationship between urban morphology, land use, and social function to better understand the nature and impact of urban changes on the use and experience of these souqs as public spaces today. The research applies several representational techniques common to morphological research including space syntax. The findings reveal the complex nature of these souqs as traditional markets. Understanding better their form and function in their urban context is an important first step for enhancing them in the futur

Identifying and analysing the factors influencing the livelihood strategy choices of rural households

Identifying the influence factors lie behind the livelihood choices of rural households are of crucial significance for improving the sustainable livelihoods of rural households in tourism regions. Five villages in Sa Pa District, Vietnam, were selected in this study, to conduct household surveys and interviews with 180 households. Based on this, a comprehensive approach, which includes multinomial/binary logistic regression, Ripley’s function, and geographical detector, is applied to understand the households’ capital endowment and factors lie behind their livelihood choices. Results show that for rural households, tourism livelihood yields the highest income, but the lack of diversity of livelihood activities may make tourism livelihood household more vulnerable to the external risk and shocks than balanced livelihood households. Different types of households are found to show clustering feature, with clustering degree ranking as: agricultural > balanced > tourism > labour. Households with more natural capital are less likely to choose livelihoods other than agriculture livelihood. And households with more financial capital are less likely to engage in agricultural livelihood. Both financial capital and social capital can facilitate engagement in balanced livelihood. And financial capital is key to tourism livelihood, and a barrier impeding agricultural households to participate in other livelihood activities

Assessing the Determinants Facilitating Local Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacities to Climate Change Impacts in High Mountain Areas: A Case Study of Northern Ladakh, India

Climate change is increasingly redefining the dialectic exchange between human systems and ecological processes. While the rhetoric of climate change is articulated within broad arenas of governance and policy, the realities of climate change are experienced at the local scale. Effective adaptation measures must therefore be commensurate with local resources, needs and objectives while remaining aligned with larger decision-making efforts. The impacts of climate change are heterogeneous and vary with geographic context. Biophysical parameters interface with socioeconomic and political forces to greatly influence the outcome of climate-related risks at the local level. In the high mountains of the western Himalayas for example, climate change is tangibly influencing precipitation patterns, glacial movement and the occurrence of extreme weather events. Rather than work in isolation, these adverse effects exacerbate ongoing stresses related to chronic development and demographic issues. Assessing the nature of biophysical and social vulnerability to climate change, and the initial conditions that differently expose some groups of people over others to climate change impacts, can correspondingly aid in the identification of entry points for adaptation and response planning. This research draws from theoretical traditions couched within geography, political ecology, natural hazards and risk management and climate ethics to assess the multi-scalar factors that aggregate at the local level to shape climate change outcomes. This unique conceptual background directly informs a mixed-methodological design that integrates surveys, climate trend modeling and geospatial mapping to evaluate how climate change is unfolding on-the-ground to influence local engagement around climate change response. In doing so, the key climatic and non-climatic drivers propelling initial conditions of vulnerability are identified as are the determinants facilitating opportunities for adaptation. Research findings suggest access and availability of future water resources will work in tandem with transformations in the wider political economy to significantly determine the long-term ability for many impacted mountain communities to live and thrive. Traditional assumptions of vulnerability are challenged and the need to consider cultural frameworks of social resilience, sense of place and community cohesion are advanced