Religious Differences and Radical Spatial Transformations in Historic Urban Landscape

Abstract

Historic quarters have been a significant component in creating the identity of historical cities in Iran. In the contemporary era, many of these historic landscapes have faced the collapse of their traditional and social foundations and been subjected to the degradation of their cultural, social and physical values. Given the dominant role of religion in the orientation of the political system in Iran, this article examines how religious differences have created significant spatial transformations in historic urban landscapes for religious minorities. Selecting the historic Armenian quarter in Isfahan (Julfa) as the case study, a new model for the preservation of historic landscapes in ghettos on a national scale has been proposed after having carried out the relevant research. Given the capacities in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the findings of this research show that the model of federalism, if integrated into public policy, can promote the social freedom and rights of religious minorities in Iran by increasing the participation of local community and consequently, result in the sustainability of historic urban landscapes in the planning process.