Documentation of changes of natural and human ecological in urban open spaces (Case study: historical sites of Kerman City)

Abstract

Objective: Urban open spaces are one of the factors which give identity to the structure of historic neighborhoods in cities, and in many cases disregarding to their structural and semantic values has disrupted the historical sites by developmental projects. And this can be clearly seen in the historic center of Kerman. Since there are no documented and compiled studies on open and public spaces in the research area (sites belong to Qajar era in Kerman) and has affected the risk of destruction and alteration of historical sites integrity including open spaces, the recognition and documentation of human and natural ecological trends and causes in these spaces seems to be necessary. Methods: The present paper is a qualitative research with historical interpretative strategy that has been accomplished by a descriptive historical analysis method through the study of written documents, field survey and converting aerial photographs of different decades into metric maps. Results:The findings indicate that the presence of religious uses (mosque and especially Hosseiniyeh) play a key role in the mobility and durability of Kerman's open spaces, and the geometry and formation of these spaces is a regular organic geometry which spatial centrality is quite evident in the neighboring sites. The role of the human factor in investigating the evolution is much more than the natural factors. Conclusion: Due to the rapid demolition process in historical sites of Kerman and the elimination of open urban spaces one by one (and the undeniable role of human factors), revising the development policies and defining the specialized documentation projects in historical sites in order to connect the valuable past to the dynamic future with identity, seems to be necessary.