سنجش عوامل موثر در توسعه شهرهوشمند پایدار تبریز از منظر روح مکان
محورهای موضوعی : توسعه پایدار شهری
علی زینالی عظیم
1
*
,
نفیسه سلجی
2
,
میترا هنرجو
3
1 - پژوهشگر پسا دکتری طراحی شهری، دانشکده معماری و شهرسازی، دانشگاه تربیت دبیر شهید رجائی. تهران. ایران.
2 - استادیار گروه معماری و شهرسازی، واحد مراغه، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، مراغه، ایران.
3 - استادیار گروه معماری و شهرسازی، واحد مراغه، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، مراغه، ایران.
کلید واژه:
چکیده مقاله :
دستور کار شهرهای هوشمند پایدار بر بهبود کیفیت زندگی شهروندان با تقویت زیرساخت های شهر با استفاده از فناوری های جدید متمرکز است. از این رو تحقیق حاضر به سنجش عوامل موثر در توسعه شهرهوشمند پایدار تبریز از منظر روح مکان می پردازد. این مطالعه یک رویکرد سیستماتیک را با استفاده از یک چارچوب تحلیلی دنبال کرد که شامل بررسی ادبیات گسترده و نظرات کارشناسان شهری برای شناسایی مجموعه‌ای از شاخص‌ها و ارزیابی آن برای اعتبار، راست آزمایی و اجرای پرسشنامه برای یک نمونه جمعیت بود. این مطالعه از نمونه ای متشکل از 169 شرکت کننده استفاده کرد که شاهد تغییراتی در شهر تبریز در طول 10 سال اخیر بوده اند. برای تحلیل اطلاعات از روش ترکیبی مدل ساختاری-تفسیری (ISM) و فرایند سلسه مراتبی (AHP)استفاده شد. این تحقیق نشان داد که هر مکانی هویت خاص خود را دارد که به عنوان "روح مکان" شناخته می شود که به ارزیابی ویژگی های پایدار می پردازد و استفاده از آن در مسیر برنامه ریزی و توسعه برای دستیابی به توسعه پایدار کمک شهر می کند. همچنین نشان داد که مدیران شهری باید دیدگاه‌های جمعیت محلی را به همراه جنبه‌های مهم طراحی و برنامه‌ریزی پروژه‌های توسعه برای دستیابی به توسعه پایدار با زیرساخت‌های تاب‌آور در نظر بگیرند. در نهایت این مطالعه میتواند به ایجاد پایداری در سطح محلی برای مدیران شهری، برنامه‌ریزان و تصمیم‌گیرندگان در حین ایجاد شبکه‌های استراتژیک کمک کند.
The agenda of sustainable smart cities focuses on improving the quality of life of citizens by strengthening city infrastructure using new technologies. Therefore, the present research measures the effective factors in the development of the sustainable smart city of Tabriz from the perspective of the spirit of the place. This study followed a systematic approach using an analytical framework that included an extensive literature review and the opinions of urban experts to identify a set of indicators and evaluate it for validity, validity, and administration of a questionnaire for a population sample. This study used a sample of 169 participants who witnessed changes in the city of Tabriz during the last 10 years. The combined method of structural-interpretive model (ISM) and hierarchical process (AHP) was used for data analysis. This research showed that every place has its own identity, which is known as the "soul of place" that evaluates the sustainable characteristics and its use in planning and development helps the city to achieve sustainable development. It also showed that urban managers should consider the views of the local population along with important aspects of designing and planning development projects to achieve sustainable development with resilient infrastructure. Finally, this study can help to create sustainability at the local level for city managers, planners and decision makers while creating strategic networks.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Smart cities have emerged as a driving force of national economic development and as vital strategies to address the multifaceted challenges of urbanization in the twenty-first century With their integration of economic, social, environmental, and technological dimensions, smart cities have become essential instruments for measuring sustainability and ensuring improved quality of life. Despite the global proliferation of research in this domain over the past two decades, the conceptualization and application of smart city principles remain deeply contextual, shaped by geography, culture, and history. This underscores the importance of the concept of Sense of Place (SOP), which links the physical and cultural identity of cities to the lived experiences of their residents. The notion of SOP embodies the spirit, traditions, and cultural continuity of place. It is not merely a geographical construct but a social and emotional fabric that sustains community identity and collective memory. Historically rooted in Roman beliefs about the protective “genius loci,” SOP today serves as a critical lens for urban design and policy, highlighting the interplay of identity, culture, and socio-economic structures. Integrating SOP into smart city frameworks ensures that innovation does not override heritage but instead enhances cultural assets, strengthens community engagement, and advances sustainability.
Methodology
The research adopted a mixed-method design with both qualitative and quantitative phases. First, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify indicators across the domains of smart governance, infrastructure, citizen participation, stakeholders, quality of life, and SOP. Semi-structured interviews with three experts were then carried out to refine the indicators and establish interrelationships among them. Data collected from these interviews were coded thematically, generating categories and sub-categories for further analysis.
The ISM technique was employed to explore causal linkages among the indicators, capturing both direct and indirect relationships. ISM provided a structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM), which was further processed to yield a reachability matrix and a conical matrix. This facilitated the development of a hierarchical model showing the relative positions of the indicators in the decision-making process.
Subsequently, AHP was applied to assign weights and priorities to the indicators. A purposive sample of 235 respondents was targeted, including both urban experts and residents of Tabriz, of which 169 valid responses were collected, and 150 were retained for AHP analysis. Respondents conducted pairwise comparisons of indicators on a 1–9 scale, allowing for quantification of subjective judgments. Consistency ratios (CR) were computed to ensure reliability, with all CR values below 0.10, validating the responses.
The integration of ISM and AHP (ISM-AHP) ensured both structural mapping of relationships and robust prioritization of indicators. Sensitivity analysis was further conducted to test the stability of the AHP results, verifying the resilience of the decision model to variations in weighting schemes.
Results and discussion
The ISM-AHP analysis revealed a three-level hierarchy of determinants for smart sustainable city development in Tabriz. At the first level, citizen participation (CI) emerged as the most influential driver, encompassing public hearings and communication channels for city planning. Respondents emphasized that legitimacy and success of smart initiatives hinge on active citizen involvement. At the second level, infrastructure (I) was identified as a pivotal enabler, particularly technological infrastructure (TI) such as ICT and human infrastructure (HI), which together create the backbone for smart city initiatives. Respondents highlighted the necessity of resilient and adaptive infrastructures to manage environmental risks, ensure energy efficiency, and enable ICT-based governance. At the third level, leadership (L) and governance factors, including local government capacity (LG) and political drivers (PD), played a crucial role. Strong local leadership was associated with reduced corruption risks, enhanced transparency, and more effective policy implementation. Moreover, stakeholders (S), both direct and indirect, were deemed essential in sustaining collaborative networks across sectors. Among sub-indicators, local government (LG), direct stakeholders (DS), and public hearings (PH) ranked highest, followed by ICT infrastructure, cultural hubs, and quality of life dimensions such as environmental well-being and health facilities. Notably, SOP indicators such as cultural identity and learning hubs were less dominant in terms of immediate weight but were recognized as foundational for long-term sustainability and resilience. Respondents prioritized livability (Liv) as the most critical outcome, followed by inclusivity (Inc) and resilience (Resi). Livability was interpreted as the provision of safe, accessible, and environmentally sound urban environments that improve everyday quality of life. Inclusivity highlighted the need for equitable access to services and opportunities, especially for marginalized groups. Resilience underscored the importance of adaptive capacity in the face of environmental and socio-economic shocks. The sensitivity analysis confirmed that the model was stable, with leadership and citizen participation consistently emerging as top priorities across scenarios.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates the central role of the Sense of Place (SOP) in advancing smart city development, particularly in the cultural and historical context of Tabriz. While infrastructure, governance, and technological investments remain essential, findings indicate that active citizen participation is the most decisive factor for achieving a sustainable smart transformation. SOP enriches this process by embedding local identity, cultural heritage, and community cohesion into the design and implementation of smart initiatives, preventing the reduction of smart city planning to a purely technological agenda.
From a policy perspective, localized and participatory approaches are vital. Transparent governance, citizen engagement, and stakeholder collaboration provide legitimacy and trust, while investment in ICT and human infrastructure is meaningful only if coupled with cultural preservation. By integrating SOP, innovation can reinforce rather than erode local identity.
For Tabriz, the results emphasize that its future depends not only on technological and managerial capacities but also on genuine citizen involvement. Expanding digital platforms for public interaction, designing urban spaces that reflect historical identity, empowering local government to reduce bureaucracy, and ensuring inclusivity and livability are crucial pathways for sustainable urban development.
Theoretically, this research bridges SOP with smart city discourse in developing contexts, offering a place-based framework for urban sustainability. Methodologically, the combined ISM-AHP approach provides a reliable tool for analyzing complex interdependencies among indicators.
Ultimately, Tabriz’s transition to a smart sustainable city requires more than infrastructure. It demands deep engagement with cultural identity and social values, ensuring that development remains innovative, inclusive, resilient, and rooted in the unique heritage of place.