Inclusive Urban Gateways: Towards Socially Just and Open Urban Systems

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2025.9.1.324

Abstract

This article reimagines the concept of urban gateways, highlighting their potential to promote social equity and inform policy decisions in urban development. The research explores how urban gateways can be adapted to meet contemporary needs, focusing on their evolving forms, functions, and conceptualizations. Using grounded theory, a case study of Shiraz’s Qur’an Gate illustrates how the concept of a gateway can be reinterpreted as a cultural entity that remains relevant in urban planning. The analysis identifies five primary categories that define urban gateways: spatial, functional, environmental, social, and perceptual. These categories emphasize the potential for gateways to contribute to balanced urban development strategies that promote social justice. The research advocates for a transition from closed to open spatial systems in gateway design, driven by cultural, economic, and political considerations. This shift can lead to policies that foster social and economic balance, urban decentralization, and a more inclusive urban environment. By examining gateways as thresholds and nodes within urban networks, the research investigates their ability to connect local, regional, and even global scales. The concept of projective and topological spatial performance is introduced, suggesting ways in which gateways can be designed to redefine their roles within the evolving urban landscape. Ultimately, this article emphasizes the importance of reconceptualizing urban gateways as tools for promoting social equity and shaping policies toward more just and open urban systems.

Author Biographies

Mojtaba Valibeigi, Buein Zahra Technical University, Buein Zahra, Iran

Mojtaba Valibeigi is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning with over 10 years of experience in teaching and research, focusing on the problems of environmental protection, local community development, creation of sustainable foundations for supporting Iran traditional cultures.

Ayyoob Sharifi, The IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

Ayyoob Sharifi is a Professor at Hiroshima University. His research is mainly at the interface of urbanism, urban development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. He actively contributes to global change research programs, such as the Future Earth. Ayyoob Sharifi has served as a lead author for the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Sakineh Maroufi, Buein Zahra Technical University, Buein Zahra, Iran

Sakineh Maroofi is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning with over 20 years of research and teaching at Iranian universities in the field of social and cultural studies, design and urban planning. Sakineh Maroofi applies sociological and cultural approaches to urban studies with an emphasis on social and cultural sustainability in cities and urban neighborhoods.

Sara Danay, Buein Zahra Technical University, Buein Zahra, Iran

Sara Danay is a university lecturer of urban design, interested in urban design and landscape architecture, Islamic architectural approaches in particular. She is also studying sustainable characteristics of urban environments.

References


  • Abdullah, M. N. (2022). Assessment of urban entrances in the city of Samawa. Specialusis Ugdymas, 2(43), 1538–1552. http://www.sumc.lt/index.php/se/article/view/1480

  • Andersson, E., Tengö, M., McPhearson, T., & Kremer, P. (2015). Cultural ecosystem services as a gateway for improving urban sustainability. Ecosystem Services, 12, 165–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.08.002

  • Arefian, F. F., & Moeini, S. I. (Eds.). (2016). Urban change in Iran: Stories of rooted histories and ever-accelerating developments. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26115-7

  • Bagheri, Y., & Mansouri, S.-A. (2018). Voroodi shahr, be-masaabeh 'onsori jahat eejaad hoviat-mostaghel baraaye manzhrshahri [City entrance, as an element for creating an independent identity for the city landscape]. Bagh-e Nazar, 15(60), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2018.62760

  • Bangia, A. (1994). A city’s edge: Where the land meets water [Master’s thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University]. VTechWorks. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/53365

  • Burghardt, A. F. (1971). A hypothesis about gateway cities. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 61(2), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1971.tb00782.x

  • Çalışkan, O. (2010). Urban gateway: Just a symbol, or more? (Reappraising an old idea in the case of Ankara). Journal of Urban Design, 15(1), 91–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574800903424226

  • Drisko, J. W., & Maschi, T. (2016). Content analysis. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190215491.001.0001

  • Ehlers, E., & Floor, W. (1993). Urban change in Iran, 1920–1941. Iranian studies, 26(3–4), 251–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/00210869308701802

  • Ferguson, M., Maoh, H., & Kanaroglou, P. (2012). Simulating sustainable urban gateway development: Illustration from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Transportation Research Record, 2269(1), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.3141/2269-16

  • Gallent, N., Andersson, J., & Bianconi, M. (2006). Planning on the edge. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203099193

  • Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2006). Theoretical sampling. In N. Denzin (Ed.), Sociological methods: A sourcebook (pp. 105–114). Routledge.

  • Gu, C. (2019). Urbanization: Processes and driving forces. Science China Earth Sciences, 62(9), 1351–1360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-018-9359-y

  • Habibi, K., Shieh, E., & Saidi, M. (2019). Sanjesh keifiathaaye mohiti dar darvazeh shahr va avalveytabnadi aanhaa ba estefaadeh az farayand tahlil shabakehaye [Assessing environmental qualities in the city gateway and prioritizing them by means of the analysis network process]. Journal of Iranian Architecture & Urbanism, 10(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.30475/isau.2019.131418.

  • Hesse, M. (2010). Cities, material flows and the geography of spatial interaction: Urban places in the system of chains. Global Networks, 10(1), 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2010.00275.x

  • Kamanroodi Kojuri, M., Ghalehteimouri, K. J., Janbazi, A., & Azizpour, F. (2020). Urban sprawl functional-structural changes in neighborhood settlements: Case of study Shiraz. The Indonesian Journal of Geography, 52(2), 260–268. https://doi.org/10.22146/ijg.41303

  • Khalilian, S., Zandieh, M., & Alehashemi, A. (2021). Dar jost-vajvey voroodi shiraaz, barresi taghiiraat manzar voroodi shahr shiraaz—darvazeh ghoraan—az pish az ghaajaar ta emrooz [In the search of Shiraz entry: Investigation of changes happened in Shiraz entry—Qur’an Gate—Landscape from pre-Qajar period to date]. Manzar: The Iranian Scientific Journal of Landscape, 13(57), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.22034/manzar.2021.248100.2088

  • Kheirabadi, M. (2000). Iranian cities: Formation and development. Syracuse University Press.

  • Kooros, J. (1963). Pahlavi University, Shiraz, Iran [Master’s thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. DSpace@MIT. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/75620

  • Kyngäs, H. (2020). Inductive content analysis. In H. Kyngäs, K. Mikkonen, & M. Kääriäinen (Eds.), The application of content analysis in nursing science research (pp. 13–21). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30199-6_2

  • Limbert, J. (2004). Shiraz in the age of Hafez: The glory of a medieval Persian city. University of Washington Press.

  • Madanipour, A. (2003). Modernization and everyday life: Urban and rural change in Iran. In A. Mohammadi (Ed.), Iran encountering globalization: Problems and prospects (pp. 137–148). Routledge.

  • Madanipour, A. (2006a). Early modernization and the foundations of urban growth in Tehran. In S. Nasseri & A. Ahgary (Eds.), Bauten im Laufe der Zeit [Constructions over time] (pp. 95–114). VINI, TU-Berlin.

  • Madanipour, A. (2006b). Urban planning and development in Tehran. Cities, 23(6), 433–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2006.08.002

  • Madanipour, A. (2011). Sustainable development, urban form, and megacity governance and planning in Tehran. In A. Sorensen & J. Okata (Eds.), Megacities: Urban form, governance, and sustainability (pp. 67–91). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-99267-7_4

  • Manoukian, S. (2002). The city of knowledge: History and culture in contemporary Shiraz [Master’s thesis, University of Michigan]. The University of Michigan Library. https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/123569

  • Manoukian, S. (2012). City of knowledge in twentieth century Iran: Shiraz, history and poetry. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203802496

  • Melville, A. (2015). The gateway to the south: Enhancing connectivity between port and town [Master’s thesis, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington]. Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s Open Access Institutional Repository. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17057918.v1

  • Ni, P. (2013). The goal, path, and policy responses of China’s new urbanization. China Finance and Economic Review, 1, Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/2196-5633-1-2

  • Pilehvar, A. A. (2021). Spatial-geographical analysis of urbanization in Iran. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8, Article 63. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00741-w

  • Punter, J. (Ed.). (2009). Urban design and the British urban renaissance. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203869208

  • Rahimzadeh, P., & Ahari, Z. (2022). Darvazeh dar shahrhaaye sadeh-haaye nkhost eslaami iraan ('elmi pajhooheshi) [A study of city gates in early Islamic cities of Iran]. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies, 9(17), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.22052/9.17.77

  • Rodrigue, J.-P. (2004). Freight, gateways and mega-urban regions: The logistical integration of the Bostwash corridor. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 95(2), 147–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0040-747X.2004.t01-1-00297.x

  • Sabet Sarvestani, M. S., Ibrahim, A. L., & Kanaroglou, P. (2011). Three decades of urban growth in the city of Shiraz, Iran: A remote sensing and geographic information systems application. Cities, 28(4), 320–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2011.03.002

  • Sabharwal, M., Levine, H., & D’Agostino, M. (2018). A conceptual content analysis of 75 years of diversity research in public administration. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 38(2), 248–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X16671368

  • Sadeghi, A. R., Khakzand, M., & Jangjoo, S. (2019). Historical analysis of the role of bazaar on the formation of Iranian Islamic urban forms; Case study: Shiraz, Iran. Armanshahr Architecture & Urban Development, 12(26), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.22034/aaud.2019.89058

  • Sarmento, J., & Kazemi, Z. (2014). Hammams and the contemporary city: The case of Isfahan, Iran. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 20(2), 138–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2012.736873

  • Scholvin, S. (2021). Analysing gateway cities at different scales: From global interlinking and regional development to urban branding. Geography Compass, 15(7), Article e12579. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12579

  • Scholvin, S., Breul, M., & Diez, J. R. (2019). Revisiting gateway cities: Connecting hubs in global networks to their hinterlands. Urban Geography, 40(9), 1291–1309. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2019.1585137

  • Shabani, E. A., & Kamyab, J. (2013). Siyasat shahri dar taarikh moaaser iraan (1299 – 1320 h.esh) ba takid bar fazaahaaye 'omoomi shahr tehraan [Urban politics in Iran’s contemporary history (1921–1941) with an emphasis on public spaces of Tehran]. Bagh-e Nazar, 9(23), 83–92. https://www.bagh-sj.com/article_2458.html

  • Sharifi, A., & Murayama, A. (2013). Changes in the traditional urban form and the social sustainability of contemporary cities: A case study of Iranian cities. Habitat International, 38, 126–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2012.05.007

  • Shibley, R. G., Brooks, B., Farbstein, J., & Wener, R. (2011). Partnering strategies for the urban edge: 2011 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. Bruner Foundation. https://www.rudybruneraward.org/publications/partnering-strategies-urban-edge/

  • Singer, A., Hardwick, S. W., & Brettell, C. B. (2008, April 30). Twenty-first century gateways: Immigrants in suburban America. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/twenty-first-century-gateways-immigrants-suburban-america

  • van der Woude, A. M., de Vries, J., & Hayami, A. (1990). Urbanization in history: A process of dynamic interactions. Oxford University Press.

  • Woudsma, C. (2007). Comparative analysis of urban planning and gateway development. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/55709119/Comparative_analysis_of_urban_planning_and_Gateway_development

  • Zaninović, T. (2022). Streets as heritage—"Historical gateway–pathways” and their transformation into urban streets. Prostor, 30(1), 134. https://hrcak.srce.hr/279767

Published
2025-04-30
How to Cite
Valibeigi, M., Sharifi, A., Maroufi, S., & Danay, S. (2025). Inclusive Urban Gateways: Towards Socially Just and Open Urban Systems. Changing Societies & Personalities, 9(1), 193–217. doi:10.15826/csp.2025.9.1.324
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 9, No. 1 (2025): Special Issue “Ethnic Identities in Virtual Space”
Section
Articles