Iran Nezam Urban Planning Exam cheat sheet

Kevin Lynch's five elements of city image: paths, edges, districts, nodes, landmarks; legibility depends on their clarity and interrelation.

Jane Jacobs' four generators of diversity: mixed primary uses, small blocks, aged buildings, and concentrated density.

Christopher Alexander's pattern language: 253 patterns linking physical form to human behavior; each pattern states context, problem, and solution.

Gordon Cullen's serial vision: townscape experienced as a sequence of revealed views; 'place' and 'enclosure' create emotional response.

Jan Gehl's three activity types: necessary, optional, and social; optional activities increase with quality of public space.

Space syntax measures: integration (accessibility to all spaces), connectivity (direct links), and choice (through-movement); higher integration correlates with pedestrian flow.

Defensible space (Oscar Newman): territoriality, natural surveillance, image, and milieu; these reduce crime opportunity in residential areas.

Form-based codes regulate physical form (building height, setback, frontage) rather than land use, aiming for predictable public space.

Universal design principles: equitable use, flexibility, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, size and space for approach and use.

Ebenezer Howard's Garden City (1898): limited population (32,000), greenbelt, cooperative land ownership, and balanced industry/residence.

Le Corbusier's Radiant City (1933): high-rise towers in parkland, separation of pedestrian and vehicular circulation, and high density with open space.

Clarence Perry's Neighborhood Unit (1929): elementary school at center, arterial streets at edges, and local shops at intersections; radius about 0.5 mile (800 m).

CIAM Athens Charter (1933): functional zoning into dwelling, work, recreation, and circulation; criticized for loss of urban complexity.

Postmodern urbanism (1970s–80s): critique of modernist tabula rasa; contextualism, historic reference, and mixed use return.

New Urbanism (CNU, 1993): walkable neighborhoods, mixed use, traditional street grids, and transit-oriented development.

Transit-oriented development (TOD): mixed-use, higher density within 400–800 m of a transit station, with pedestrian-friendly design.

Smart growth principles: compact development, range of housing choices, walkable neighborhoods, preservation of open space, and directing development to existing communities.

Tactical urbanism: low-cost, temporary interventions (parklets, pop-up bike lanes) used to test and build support for permanent change.

Pre-modern Iranian city structure: bazaar (economic spine), masjid-i jami (congregational mosque), maydan (public square), mahalleh (neighborhood), and caravanserai.

The 1930s modernization under Reza Shah: street widening (khiyaban), grid plans, and demolition of parts of traditional fabric; influenced by European boulevards.

Iran's first comprehensive urban planning law: 1966 (1345 SH) 'Qanun-e Tarh-e Jame'-e Shahri' requiring comprehensive plans for cities.

The 1973 (1352 SH) law established the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture (Shoray-e 'Ali-e Shahrsazi va Me'mari) to approve plans.

Post-1979 shifts: emphasis on Islamic values, neighborhood mosques, and revision of planning institutions; the 1983 (1362 SH) law reorganized the Supreme Council.

The 1990s 'Tarh-e Tafzili' (detailed plan) and 'Tarh-e Jame'' (comprehensive plan) system; later 'Tarh-e Motale'at-e Tafsili' and 'Tarh-e Shahri' (urban design) introduced.

New Towns policy after 1979 (e.g., Pardis, Hashtgerd, Parand) to absorb population overspill from Tehran and other metropolises.

Contemporary challenges: seismic risk, water scarcity, informal settlements (hashieh-neshini), and heritage conservation in historic fabrics.

Iran's Urban Planning Law (1966, amended): comprehensive plan (Tarh-e Jame') defines land use, density, and infrastructure; detailed plan (Tarh-e Tafzili) implements it at parcel level.

Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture approves comprehensive plans, detailed plans, and urban design frameworks; its decisions are binding.

Article 100 of the Municipalities Law: municipal commissions handle construction violations; penalties include fines, demolition, and stop-work orders.

Building density (tarakom) is regulated by floor area ratio (FAR) and building coverage ratio (BCR); FAR = total floor area / lot area.

Setback rules (tarakom-e e'tebari) and building height limits are set in detailed plans and municipal bylaws.

Land use change requires approval from the Supreme Council or delegated authority; agricultural land conversion is restricted by law.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) required for large development projects under the 1994 (1373 SH) directive of the Department of Environment.

Heritage law: registered historic buildings and sites are protected by the Cultural Heritage Organization; alterations require permit.

Rational comprehensive model: define goals, identify alternatives, evaluate, select, implement; criticized for unrealistic information demands.

Incremental planning (Lindblom): successive limited comparisons; decisions adjust existing policies marginally.

Mixed scanning (Etzioni): combine broad overview with detailed focus on selected areas.

Advocacy planning (Davidoff): planner represents disadvantaged groups; pluralistic and equity-oriented.

SWOT analysis: internal strengths and weaknesses, external opportunities and threats; used to frame strategy.

Delphi method: iterative anonymous expert survey to reach consensus; rounds continue until stability.

Scenario planning: construct plausible futures to test robustness of plans under uncertainty.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA): compare discounted streams of benefits and costs; net present value (NPV) > 0 indicates viability.

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA): weighted scoring of alternatives against criteria; weights reflect stakeholder priorities.

Bid-rent theory: land value declines with distance from the center; different uses have different bid-rent slopes (retail steepest, agriculture flattest).

Alonso-Muth-Mills model: household location balances commuting cost against housing cost; equilibrium where marginal savings equal marginal commute cost.

Agglomeration economies: localization (same industry) and urbanization (diverse city) economies lower production costs.

Von Thünen model: agricultural land use rings determined by transport cost and land rent.

Highest and best use: the use that is legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive.

Land value capture: public investment (e.g., transit) increases land value; tools include betterment levies, development charges, and joint development.

Hedonic pricing: property price is a function of attributes (accessibility, amenities, environment); regression coefficients reveal implicit prices.

Market failure in land markets: externalities, public goods, and information asymmetry justify planning intervention.

Floor area ratio (FAR) and density bonuses: incentives for public amenities (affordable housing, open space) in exchange for additional density.

The four-step travel demand model: trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and route assignment.

Level of service (LOS) for roads ranges A (free flow) to F (forced flow); LOS D is often a design threshold.

Transit capacity: light rail 10,000–20,000 passengers/hour/direction; metro 30,000–60,000; bus 5,000–10,000.

Road hierarchy: arterial, collector, local; access management controls driveway spacing to preserve arterial function.

Complete streets: design for all users-pedestrians, cyclists, transit, and motor vehicles-of all ages and abilities.

Vision Zero: traffic deaths are preventable; adopt safe system approach with lower speeds and forgiving design.

Water supply: per capita demand (L/day) × population = total demand; peak factor 1.5–2.0 for design.

Wastewater: separate vs combined sewers; combined systems overflow during storms (CSO).

Stormwater: rational method Q = CiA (Q in m³/s, C runoff coefficient, i intensity mm/h, A area ha) with unit conversion.

Solid waste generation rates: typically 0.5–1.5 kg/person/day; collection frequency and transfer stations affect cost.

Brundtland definition (1987): sustainable development meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet theirs.

Triple bottom line: environmental, social, and economic sustainability; all three must be addressed.

Carrying capacity: maximum population or development that an environment can support without degradation.

Ecological footprint: area of land and water required to support a population's consumption and absorb its waste.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) steps: screening, scoping, baseline study, impact prediction, mitigation, reporting, review, and monitoring.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA): applies to policies, plans, and programs at higher tiers than projects.

Urban heat island: urban areas warmer than surrounding rural areas due to impervious surfaces and reduced vegetation; mitigation includes green roofs, trees, and cool pavements.

Green infrastructure: networks of natural and semi-natural areas (parks, wetlands, green roofs) providing ecosystem services.

Climate change adaptation in cities: flood risk management, heat action plans, and resilient infrastructure.

Chicago School human ecology: city as a set of zones (Burgess concentric zones); invasion-succession dynamics.

Social capital (Putnam): networks, norms, and trust that enable cooperation; bonding vs bridging social capital.

Sense of community: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection (McMillan & Chavis).

Participation ladder (Arnstein, 1969): manipulation, therapy, informing, consultation, placation, partnership, delegated power, citizen control.

Stakeholder analysis: identify actors, their interests, influence, and positions; map power vs interest.

Community engagement methods: charrettes, focus groups, participatory mapping, citizen juries, and online platforms.

Social exclusion and spatial segregation: disadvantaged groups concentrated in low-quality areas; planning responses include mixed-income housing and inclusive design.

Gentrification: displacement of lower-income residents following reinvestment; indicators include rising rents and demographic change.

Raster vs vector: raster stores values in grid cells (continuous data like elevation); vector stores points, lines, polygons (discrete features).

Coordinate reference systems (CRS): geographic (lat/long, degrees) vs projected (meters); always set CRS before measuring distance or area.

Spatial join: transfer attributes from one layer to another based on spatial relationship (intersects, contains, within).

Buffer analysis: create zones at a specified distance from features; used for accessibility and impact analysis.

Overlay analysis: intersect, union, and erase combine layers to derive suitability or constraint maps.

Network analysis: shortest path, service areas (isochrones), and location-allocation for facilities.

Spatial autocorrelation: Moran's I measures clustering; positive values indicate similar values near each other.

Kernel density estimation: smooth point patterns into a continuous surface of intensity.

Site suitability analysis: weighted overlay of criteria (slope, land use, accessibility) to rank candidate locations.

Core ethical principles: public interest, integrity, competence, confidentiality, and avoidance of conflicts of interest.

Conflict of interest: disclose any financial or personal interest that could bias professional judgment; recuse when necessary.

Planner's responsibility to the public: serve the public interest, especially disadvantaged groups, and provide full information.

Confidentiality: do not disclose client or employer information without consent, except where required by law.

Competence: practice only within areas of expertise; seek qualified assistance when needed.

Plagiarism and data integrity: cite sources, do not fabricate or falsify data, and report findings honestly.

Gifts and favors: do not accept gifts that could influence decisions; follow employer policy.

Professional development: maintain and update skills through continuing education and reflective practice.

Practice management: scope of services, contracts, fee structures (lump sum, hourly, percentage), and quality assurance.