This research explores the potential of a new therapeutic approach to planning and urban improvement in informal settlements, being a hyper-localized healing treatment to shape urban spaces. The purpose is to find out how urban acupuncture can be applied to accomplish the empowerment plans of informal settlements. The process-oriented approach of urban acupuncture creates an appropriate context for the possibility of the community participation in different stages of improving public spaces. However, the social conditions and characteristics of the residents of informal settlements create challenges and require the use of special methods in dealing with the issue of participation. The first part of the research is based on formulation of an urban acupuncture framework for improving informal settlements. The theoretical finding of this part is applied in the second part of this research, which focuses on the public spaces of an informal settlement, “Kooye Manbae Ab” in Ahvaz, a city in Iran. The results showed that urban acupuncture as a small-scale, bottom-up approach, provides motivations for residents of such neglected parts of the city. Nevertheless, a combination of different participatory techniques should be applied to encourage and motivate residents to be consciously involved in the process of upgrading their environment. پرونده مقاله

Due to the poor social and economic conditions of vulnerable children's families, vulnerable children experience urbanspaces for work and play more than other children. Although these children gain a solid understanding of urban spaces,which can be used in the process of designing desirable urban spaces in their neighborhoods, they are less considered insuch projects. Thus, the methodology for the participation of vulnerable children is not developed well to be suited fortheir involvement in urban rehabilitation. This study examined the application of various qualitative methods to find thesuitability of each method for vulnerable children participation in the urban rehabilitation, such as drawing, interview,visiting site and writing essays complemented with drawings, if desired. The results of the study in Tehran’s southernneighborhoods reveal that certain group interviews and site visiting with these children could be more beneficial ascompared to other participation methods. This is due to a number of factors including better verbal skills as comparedto writing and drawing capabilities. Further, studies show that the participation of vulnerable children requires suitablemeasures to obtain their trust and encourage participation. None-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) can play asignificant role in this. پرونده مقاله