Rereading the Development Challenges in the Urban Landscape of Natanz with an Emphasis on the Elements of Spatial Organization

Jafari, Saba; Rafiei Dehaghani, Vahid; Parsafar, Fatemeh

doi:10.22034/toc.2025.547032.1204

Rereading the Development Challenges in the Urban Landscape of Natanz with an Emphasis on the Elements of Spatial Organization

https://doi.org/10.22034/toc.2025.547032.1204

Volume 6, Issue 22
Autumn 2025

Pages 50-61

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Saba Jafari

Vahid Rafiei Dehaghani

Fatemeh Parsafar

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

Abstract

The urban landscape reflects the identity, history, culture, and spatial structure of each city, and spatial organization, the physical setting of the landscape, plays a key role in spatial perceptions and urban identity. Focusing on the historical city of Natanz, the present study attempts to reread the elements of its spatial organization, including territory, center, structure, and small wholes, to analyze how changes caused by contemporary development have affected the urban landscape. Natanz is an example of an Iranian city whose spatial organization has been formed in connection with the natural context, functional hierarchy, and socio-economic system. This study employed a qualitative approach and an analytical-interpretive method. For this purpose, the data were drawn from literature, historical texts, field observations, and map analysis. The findings show that the traditional elements of Natanz's spatial organization, including the side gardens serving as natural boundaries of the territory, religious and social centers at the heart of the spatial structure, and the organic network of paths and functional links, have an instrumental role in maintaining spatial coherence and giving meaning to the city landscape. However, developments in recent decades, including new construction, street construction, and unbalanced expansion of the city, have caused a disruption in spatial organization, weakening the historical center, loss of functional continuity, and reduced legibility of the urban landscape. The result of these changes has been the weakening of the city's historical identity and a decrease in citizens' attachment to historical spaces. Accordingly, recognizing and rearranging the elements of spatial organization, relying on the natural context and historical structure of the city, can serve as an effective strategy for guiding sustainable development and improving the quality of the urban landscape of Natanz and similar cities. This study attempts to provide a basis for place-based policies in the management of the development of historical cities by emphasizing the role of spatial organization in understanding the urban landscape.

Keywords

Spatial organization

Urban landscape

Development

Natanz

Subjects

landscape

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