The purpose of this paper is theoretical explanation of neighborhood concept though a sociological approach and based on anatomy of community concept. Neighborhood as one of the main constituents of urban areas needs to be explained theoretically with certain characteristics. The related sciences of the urban studies such as urban management, urban sociology, anthropology, politics, architecture, urban design, and planning attempt to explain this concept according to their theoretical basics. So this study attempts to expand this concept with anatomy of community concept. The methodology of study is descriptive. The literature about community was reviewed, then with critical reasoning, anatomy of community formulated to two mixed branches: "spatial issue" as container and "social issue" as content. The findings of this study show that anatomy of community concept in spatial issue, with center and boundary characteristics, and in social issue, with common characteristics, social interactions, sense of belonging, organization has objective instances. So the neighborhood concept can be expanded by anatomy of community concept.

In contemporary urban planning and design literature, small-scale urban divisions attract much consideration as the most important scale of residential use. In addition, the sustainable characteristics of traditional units has made the introduced models by Western planners to be based on the principles of their respective traditional neighborhood units. The equivalent of a neighborhood, the most prominent residential scale in Iran, is the mahalleh. A review of existing studies on the concept and structure of an Iranian mahalleh shows that, on the one hand, the results were mainly only descriptive, and on the other hand, were not based on a clear methodology. So far, no appropriate theory matching the culture and contemporary life in Iran is introduced yet. This study assumes that through case studies of mahallehs in historical cities based on qualitative and quantitative analysis, new dimensions of the nature of a mahalleh can be defined. Therefore, according to the main body of Iranian research in the context of cities in the central desert, in addition to the already known historical context of Naeen consisting of seven mahallehs, it was selected as the case for this research. The historical analysis and interpretation, descriptive-analytical, case study, and content analysis methods were used in this study. Data from historical records, field observations, and interviews on oral history were utilized in analysis by ArcGIS software to compile a special model of mahallehs in Naeen, enabling the evaluation of quantitative and qualitative indicators. The results of the evaluation of qualitative indicators identified that the development of the city and its mahallehs was gradual and in harmony with new requirements until the Qajar period. The customs and social values, especially religious values had a decisive role in the emergence of elements, attributes, and quality of connections, as well as the formation of the city and neighborhood identity. Also, harsh climate conditions and limited water resources led to dense building masses, while also limiting the size and populations of the mahalleh and the city. Quantitative findings show that the area of the smallest mahalleh is 2.3 hectares, while the largest is 8.2 hectares. These figures are much less than the contemporary western neighborhood unit. The mean distance between houses in each mahalleh is, respectively, 131 meters from the local square, 171 meters from the bazaar, and 81 meters from the local mosque. This clearly indicates pedestrian compatibility of the model, in addition to the importance of the mosque owing to their large number.

No Abstract

Urban neighborhoods used to be an essential part of the social, economic, and physical fabric of traditional Iranian cities. Strong ties, a sense of belonging, and cooperation among inhabitants had established an informal welfare system that has limited the intervention of authorities in neighborhoods’ affairs. The formation of the central government and rapid urbanization in the last century has changed the nature of urban neighborhoods from social and administrative units to mere physical urban blocks. At the same time, the application of modern planning tools such as zoning, land-use adjustment, and neighborhood-unit concepts have established homogenous physical neighborhoods with little attention to social issues. A brief analysis of today’ s urban issues reveals that the traditional concept of ‘ neighborhood’ has little place in the planning and management of cities. Demographic shifts, gentrification, and constant alteration of land-uses in contemporary neighborhoods have reduced the sense of belonging to a local community, and therefore have diminished social cohesion with the city. As a response to the current problems, in the past two decades, a shift in planning paradigms along with social and economic changes at the global level has transferred the focus of planning from macro scale to local scale of communities. Formation of various discourses such as neighborhood development, neighborhood planning, sustainable neighborhood-based development, urban village, etc. … accentuates the importance of local communities in urban planning and management, on the one hand, and emphasizes the need to revive the value of traditional communities on the other hand. Therefore, this study aims to revive and redefine social and administrative features of traditional neighborhoods in planning contemporary Iranian cities according to the following steps: first, this study analyzes the main social and administrative components of neighborhoods in traditional Iranian cities. Then, the main components of the neighborhood-based planning approach are derived to make a comparison between the former and the latter issues. Finally, this study provides strategies for the social-administrative regeneration of neighborhoods in contemporary Iranian cities. Due to its analytical and comparative nature, this research uses bibliographical documents to define the main components of the neighborhood-based planning approach. Then the social and administrative nature of neighborhoods in traditional and contemporary cities of Iran is analyzed and the main components and indicators are derived from library resources and deep discussion with experts. To make a comparison, a group of experts and specialists in urban issues were asked to compare the social-administrative components of traditional Iranian neighborhoods with the components derived from the neighborhood-based planning approach. The comparison highlights both supportive and deterrent factors in the realization of a neighborhood-based approach in the planning of contemporary Iranian cities. The data analysis displays the fact that many principles of neighborhood-based approach were used to be practiced regularly in traditional neighborhoods of Iranian cities. However, according to experts, some features of traditional neighborhoods such as patriarchy, hierarchical social structure, segregation of ethnic and religious groups, and restrictions on the presence of women in public spheres, are not compatible with the ideals of the neighborhood-based approach. On the other side, some features of contemporary Iranian neighborhoods, such as neighborhood councils, community-based organizations, and ethnoreligious inclusiveness are considered supportive factors in realization of a neighborhood-based approach. The result of this study also highlights two important issues: first, the social and administrative features of traditional Iranian neighborhoods are quite consistent with the components of neighborhood-based approach (however the existence of some deterrent factors are undeniable); second, redefinition and application of the neighborhood-based approach in contemporary Iranian cities establishes a good opportunity to solve urban challenges and urban management issues especially in large metropolises. The findings suggest that although social and administrative regeneration of traditional neighborhoods is associated with many challenges, the use of new planning tools, such as the neighborhood-based approach, can provide the necessary social, cultural, and administrative bases for realization of neighborhoods with a strong sense of identity and belonging. Since this study does not cover a specific statistical population, its results cannot be generalized to all cities in Iran. Future research can adopt a case study approach and define a statistical population to apply the issues raised in this study. However, the suggested strategies in this article can provide guidelines for policymakers and urban planners to provide processes to establish autonomous, self-sufficient, and selfsupportive neighborhoods in contemporary Iranian cities.

Introduction: Today, in developed countries the harmful consequences of modern urban development and urban sprawl phenomenon on the health of human beings is known. In this regard, attention on revitalizing urban neighborhoods and emphasizing their role in urban planning policies to enhance social capital and self-sufficient and walkable neighborhoods is important. In the majority of Traditional neighborhoods, you can see adherence of physical system to social system, possibility of face to face interaction, and proximity to market centers, relatively good access to public transport services, the low permeability of the access network for the riding, which are the capabilities of traditional neighborhoods toward achieving a healthy community. The current lack of attention to unique features of traditional neighborhoods has led to physical exhaustion, migration and decline in health indicators. Thus, continuing the current condition is not only a serious threat against the health of residents but also lead to the loss of opportunities for achieving sustainable development.