Prioritizing Social Resilience Indicators for Organizing Informal Settlements through Measures based on Improving the Urban Landscape(Case Study: Islamabad Neighborhood, District 2, Tehran)

Fatemi, Mehdi; Aghajani Khonakdar, Roghayeh

doi:10.22034/bagh.2023.408836.5430

Prioritizing Social Resilience Indicators for Organizing Informal Settlements through Measures based on Improving the Urban Landscape(Case Study: Islamabad Neighborhood, District 2, Tehran)

https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2023.408836.5430

Volume 22, Issue 153
March 2026

Pages 83-96

The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Mehdi Fatemi ¹

Roghayeh Aghajani khonakdar ²

¹ Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Imam Khomeini International University (RA), Qazvin, Iran

² Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Problem statement: With increasing population and urbanization, the number of informal settlements has been rising. These settlements, due to their unfavorable urban appearance, have become isolated and, as a result, have faced social problems. One way to improve the current situation in informal settlements is to increase their social resilience.
Research objective: This research aims to develop strategies for organizing these neighborhoods to enhance social resilience through spatial and social interventions that improve the urban landscape.
Research method: This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach. In the first stage, in the theoretical framework section, necessary information was collected through “library studies.” In the second stage, to identify the indicators of social resilience in the neighborhood, “field observations” were conducted using tools such as interviews, observation, and photography.
Conclusion: In the final theoretical framework, in the “social” dimension, the indicators identified were interaction, cohesion, and participation; in the “identity-cultural” dimension, the indicators were attachment, social and spatial identity; in the “spatial” dimension, the indicators were accessibility, safety and security, flexibility, and diversity; and in the “supportive” dimension, the indicators were the efficiency of the local community, support, and justice. These indicators were identified as social resilience indicators in the Eslamabad neighborhood. After determining the neighborhood’s existing potential and correlating it with the obtained indicators, a series of spatial and social interventions was prioritized and mapped in ArcGIS. Finally, by evaluating possible interventions to improve the neighborhood’s urban appearance, it was concluded that the indicator of interactions is a priority for social resilience in the Eslamabad settlement.

Keywords

Social resilience

Informal settlement

Islamabad neighborhood

Urban landscape.

Subjects

Landscape

Abbaspour, H. (2011). طراحی منظر در بافت‌‌های خودانگیخته [Landscape design in spontaneous contexts] [Unpiblished master thesis]. Shahid Beheshti University.
Adger. N. (2000). Social and ecological resilience: Are they related? Progress in Human Geography, 24(3), 347–364. https://doi.org/10.1191/030913200701540465
Aghajani Khankdar, R. (2023). Improving the sociability of informal settlements with a social resilience approach (Case study: Islamabad neighborhood, district 2, Tehran) [Unpublished Master thesis]. Imam Khomeini International University.
Alene, E. T. (2022). Determinant factors for the expansion of informal settlement in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. Journal of Urban Management, 11(3), 321–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2022.04.005
Atashinbar, M. (2009). The continuity of identity in urban landscape. Bagh-e Nazar, 6(12), 45–56. https://www.bagh-sj.com/article_32.html
Campos, M. J. Z., Kain, J. H., Oloko, M., Scheinsohn, M., Stenberg, J., & Zapata, P. (2022). Residents› collective strategies of resistance in Global South cities› informal settlements: Space, scale and knowledge. Cities, 125, 103663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103663
Copeland, S., Comes. T., Bach, S., Nagenborg, M., Schulte,Y., & Doorn, N. (2020). Measuring social resilience: Trade-offs, challenges and opportunities for indicator models in transforming societies. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, 101799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101799
Darskhan, R., & Bayramzadeh, N. (2020). Promoting social vitality with a community-based approach in informal settlements (Case study: Koshtargah Neighborhood-Urmia). Urban Management Studies, 42(12), 83–93. https://sanad.iau.ir/en/Journal/ums/Article/824772
Degenaar, T. (2009). Landscape is dwelling (Cantinho do Céu, São Paulo, Brazil : vernacular landscapes in an urban slum [Master thesis, Wageningen University]. MSc theses online, Online MSc theses successfully defended at Wageningen University. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/theses/directlink/2174397
Dobson, S., Nyamweru, H., & Dodman, D. (2015). Local and participatory approaches to building resilience in informal settlements in Uganda. Environment and Urbanization, 27(2), 605–620. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247815598520
Eslami, A., & Ebrahimi Dehkordi, A. (2018). سنجش میزان تاب‌آوری اجتماعی در محلات غیررسمی (محله مورد بررسی: امت‌آباد آمل)ب [Measuring the level of social resilience in informal neighborhoods (Case study neighborhood: Emamabad, Amol)]. Memarisheasi, 1(1), 1–9. https://memarishenasi.ir/fa/downloadpaper.php?pid=67%20&%20p=A [in Persian]

French, M. A., Barker, S. F., Taruc, R. R., Ansariadi, A., Duffy,G. A., Saifuddaolah, M., Agussalim, A. Z., Awaluddin, F., Zainal, Z., Wardani, J., Faber, P. A., Fleming, G., Ramsay, E. E., Henry, R., Lin, A., O’Toole, J., Openshaw, J., Sweeney, R., Sinharoy, S. S., Kolotelo, P., Jovanovic, D., …, & Leder, K. (2021). A planetary health model for reducing exposure to faecal contamination in urban informal settlements: Baseline findings from Makassar, Indonesia, Journal of Environment International 155, 106679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106679
Gil, D., Domínguez, P., Undurraga, E. A., & Valenzuela, E. (2021). Employment loss in informal settlements during the Covid-19 pandemic: evidence from Chile. Journal of Urban Health, 98(5), 622–634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-021-00575-6
Jafari Mehrabadi, M., Sojoodi, M., & Emami, S. F. (2018). بررسی ویژگی های اجتماعی، اقتصادی و کالبدی سکونت‌گاه‌های غیررسمی (مطالعه موردی: محلۀ عینک شهر رشت)ی [Investigation of the social, economic, and physical characteristics of informal settlements (Case study: Aynak Shahr Neighborhood, Rasht)]. Rahbord-e Tousee, 14(2), 86–116. http://rahbord-mag.ir/fa/Article/22697/FullText [in Persian]

Karlsson, M. (2012). Informal settlements, The world’s invisible communities, kandidatarbete vid institutionen för stad och land, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet Uppsala, Landskapsarkitektprogrammet [Master thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences]. SLU (Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Library). https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/4788/
Katsma, K. (2018). Where least matters most, issue of landscape architecture magazine, asla. Landscape Architecture Magazine. Retrieved from https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2018/05/15/where-least-matters-most
Kazemisefat, A. (2011). Selective Typology of Informal Settlements In Tehran County For Arriving At Reorganization Strategies : The case study of farahzad [Master thesis, Allameh Tabatabaee University]. Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc). https://ganj.irandoc.ac.ir/#/articles/8776c104e2cd6d5501a227610e11dc04
Kuanr, C. (2020). Informal human settlements, big data and social theory In Morocco (Workshop Paper). In 2020 IEEE Sixth International Conference on Multimedia Big

Data (BigMM) (pp. 494–500). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/BigMM50055.2020.00082
Najafi Kani, A. A., & Hamidi, K. (2021). Challenges and strategies of spatial development of informal settlements in intermediat cities: A case study in Babol. Geographical Planning of Space Quarterly Journal, 11(39), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.30488/gps.2020.219392.3187
Niebergall, S., Loew, A., & Mauser, W. (2008). Integrative assessment of informal settlements using VHR remote sensing data—The Delhi case study. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 1(3), 193–205. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2008.2007513
Nord, K. (2014). The Role of the Architect in Slum Upgrading Practices (Developing methods and tools for improved participatory planning) [Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program]. University Digital Conservancy. https://conservancy.umn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/2a3f657a-8378-49fc-8e25-52cda16b3c58/content?trackerId=915221a7a95d16df
Parikh, P., Bisaga, I., Loggia, C., Georgiadou, M. C., & Ojo-Aromokudu, J. (2020). Barriers and opportunities for participatory environmental upgrading: Case study of Havelock informal settlement, Durban. City and Environment Interactions, 5, 100041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cacint.2020.100041
Poortaheri, N., Alimohammadzadeh, Kh., Hosseini, S. M., Maher, A., Bahadori, M. (2021). Analysis of Policies for Organizing and Managing Informal Settlements in Iran: A Content Analysis Method, Evidence Based Health Policy, Management and Economics, 3(5), 194–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.18502/jebhpme.v5i3.7292
PSUP Team Nairobi. (2016). Slum almanac, Tracking Improvement in the Lives of Slum Dwellers, acceptance. UN-Habitat. https://unhabitat.org/slum-almanac-2015-2016-0
Ragoschke, A. S. (2014). Social resilience, goals and objectives for engaging urban design [Master thesis, Kansas State University]. Kansas State University, Libraries. https://krex.k-state.edu/items/47c5fb4c-048f-43cb-8874-64dc4bda26d7
Rahimi, M., & Kargar, B. (2021). Explaining the pattern of social resilience in informal settlements with an emphasis on quality of life Case Study Neighborhood khat 4 hesar karaj. Quarterly of Geography & Regional Planning, 11(1), 75–91. https://www.jgeoqeshm.ir/article_125216.html
Rahimi, M., Kargar, B., Hatami Nejad, H., Zivariar, P. (2018). Investigating the effect of social resilience components on security in informal settlements (Case Study: Line District (4)). Journal of Police Geography, 6(23), 1-26.
Repeva, A. (2021). Informal settlements in Baghdad city. In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 263, p. 05001). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202126305001
Tjia, D., & Coetzee, S. (2022). Geospatial information needs for informal settlement upgrading–A review. Habitat International, 122, 102531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2022.102531
Zanganeh, M., Safaei, M. J., & Samiei, M. (2019). Research on empowerment approach to organizing informal settlements (Case study: Torbat-e Heydarieh). Geography (Journal of the Iranian Geographical Association), 17(62), 191–205. https://mag.iga.ir/?_action=article&au=1724317&_au=Samiei,%20Maryam&lang=en
Zare Nejhad Talemi, S. (2017). Comparison of social capital indices between formal and informal settlements (Case study: Rasht city, 4th and 5th districts) [Master thesis, Payam Noor university]. Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc). https://ganj.irandoc.ac.ir/#/articles/1b19c00a42268ae3188b08bbed1d8b90

XML

PDF 8.77 M

Full Text in second language