Historic city is a particular type of cultural heritages with sustainable drive of development. It’s a spatial vessel of people’s activities shaped by regional environment, economical and social background. Actually, an integral city is not only meaning the town centers, but also the whole urban area. The massive information scattering on wide range of the urban area and changeful adapting to s...

Matera, Italy, is currently the subject of a municipal tug-of-war over image and significance. Infamy resulting from poor living conditions in its extensive cave dwellings led to the expansion and recasting of the city in the 1950s as a modernist utopia. This was followed by decades during which these areas, known as the Sassi, were allowed to deteriorate. Today, renewed interest in the histori...

the blue mosque, one of the valuable architectural elements of tabriz city, known as the turquoise of islamic world, has high status among the people of the city, also among domestic and foreign historians and travelers, ever since its establishment. the blue mosque has always played a dynamic role in tabriz’s continuum of urban life and provides a proper setting for social interactions. up to ...

A broader perspective on the role of cities and their relation to their inhabitants and the planet is essential to effectively answer urgent sustainability questions that emerge in and beyond cities. This essay provides a critical reflection on the notion of the sustainable city. The central question discussed is: how can the ideal of a sustainable city be best conceptualised? Through exploring...