Green Infrastructure 2014 Group E - Case Study 4
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Landscape Improvement and Rehabitilation of Urban Margin of Arvand River, Khoramshahr, Iran:
Potential of Green Infrastructures for social benefits in margin areas
| Name | Arvand River | |
| Country | Iran | |
| City | Khoramshahr | |
| Authors | Hani Gholami | |
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Rationale: Why is this case interesting?
Khoramshahr is a border and potential city at the border of Iran. A big part of its importance is straightly related to the dozens of oil resources nearby and the other part flashes back to the history when it was a war between Iran and Iraq. This nostalgic city is located adjacent to Arvand River which defines a part of the border of Iran-Iraq and also provides a livable land for landscape residents.
Unfortunately, at 30 years ago, Khoramshahr was completely destroyed in the war and The city was a ghost town in the 1986 census, but now it is a fairly big city again, as it was before the war. In previous three decades lots of developments has been accomplished but not by a very deep consideration. Arvand River is providing a considerable possibility for having better quality of everything. By good understanding of Green Infrastructure and a wise plan, we can get its benefits to the work and converse the land from mostly gray to green. Along with, re-providing the bed for biodiversity life and also try to make some perfect facilities for public recreation. Although the climate in this landscape is very warm and it would be a big challenge to bring Green Infrastructure theories to the reality, it is worth trying to develop new ideas for social benefits.
Author's perspective
I am born in Iran and I have bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering and currently started my course in International Master of Landscape Architecture (IMLA). Before studying my bachelor, I was visualizing architecture as a profession for designing fascinating buildings. After a while, I found out that architecture embraces a lot more than structures, and. in fact, it covers everything that is related to people's life and their landscape, and along with, any living creatures and its environment.
Arvand River and the specified landscape of Khoramshahr is too far from my hometown in Iran. It is a border city and is located at southwest of the country. I have not been there before but I am aware of people and landscape status in this zone. At the moment, the city is not providing an admirable quality of life and socializing for its citizens. People in this area have been through alot in previous decades and I think that green infrastructure is the best answer for this landscape for further improvements and bringing the boons back to the site.
Landscape and/or urban context of your case
- Biogeography, cultural features, overall character, history and dynamics
History
Economy
The economy of Khorramshahr is still largely affected by the destruction and depopulation of the city's residents in the 1980s during the first years of the Iran–Iraq War. The main activities are, however, essentially the same as before the war, petroleum production and exports and imports through the city port, though on a much smaller scale as restoration is not yet totally complete, even though three decades have passed since the end of the war. Residents originally from Khorramshahr have also slowly been returning to the city, rebuilding their houses and businesses.
Biogeography
- Climate:
Khoramshahr city has located in south-west of Khuzestan province, alongside of Karoon River and has 5 meters height of free seas. Although annual raining rate is very low, this city is one of the most verdant cities in Khuzestan province. In general, hot weather, relatively high moisture, drastic sunlight and dusty winds are important meteorology factors, and palm trees, low lattitude, low height and nearness to river are significant climatic factors.
Khorramshahr has long, hot summers and mild, short winters. The mean temperature in summer is 35 degrees celsius, maximum temperature in summer could soar up to 48 degrees Celsius while in winters the minimum temperature could fall around 1 degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall is about 140 mm. Khorramshahr experiences many sandstorms.
According to Olgyay divisions, Khuzestan has been placed on climatic group titled “very hot summer and moist summer and without winter “. By transferring summer and winter circumstances of Khoramshahr city on bioclimatic table, it has been resulted that in 6 months of the year (May to September) final limits of weather thermal circumstances is out of comfort area and has a long distance with upper limit (bright shadow area), and sometimes it could not make cold the weather of city by natural methods in limits of human comfort and we have to use mechanic cryogenic instruments, but in winter situations it may make weather hot by sun thermal energy.
- Ecosystem Diversity:
Culture Features
- Overview
- Festivals and Events
- Architecture
- Cinema and Theater
- Visual Arts
- Literature
- Music
- Sport
- Recreational and Leisure
- shopping
Overall Character
- Role in Local Area
- Main Landmarks
- Districts
- City Breathing Spaces
Dynamics
- Arvand River:
Arvand River is a river in southwest Iran of some 200 km (120 mi) in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris in the town of al-Qurnah in the Basra Governorate of southern Iraq. The southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iran and Iraq down to the mouth of the river in Iran as it discharges into the Persian Gulf. It varies in width from about 232 metres (761 ft) to 800 metres (2,600 ft) at its mouth. It is thought that the waterway formed relatively recently in geologic time, with the Tigris and Euphrates originally emptying into the Persian Gulf via a channel further to the west. The Karun river, a tributary which joins the waterway, deposits large amounts of silt into the river; this necessitates continuous dredging to keep it navigable. The area is judged to hold the largest date palm forest in the world. In the mid-1970s, the region included 17 to 18 million date palms, an estimated one-fifth of the world's 90 million palm trees. But by 2002, war, salt, and pests had wiped out more than 14 million of the palms, including around 5 million in Iran and 9 million in Iraq. Many of the remaining 3 to 4 million trees are in poor condition.
| River Ranking | Name | Multi Nationality | Silt Depositing | Navigability | Number of Bridges | Swimming Facilities | Swimming Potentiality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arvand | Yes | No | Yes | 0 | No | No |
| 2 | Karun | No | Yes | Yes | 3 | No | Yes |
| 3 | Bahmanshir | No | No | No | 1 | No | Yes |
- Pollution:
- Role of the Rivers in People's Lives:
- Periodic Droughts:
- Predicted Future:
- View Corridor
Biodiversity
- Species
- Animals:
- Trees:
- Status of Threatened Species:
- Abundance and Distribution of Species
- Identification, Monitoring, Indicators and Assessments
By the university...
- Threats to biodiversity
- Desertification:
- Oil Pollution:
- Ecosystem Integrity
- Health and Well-being of Humans
- Fragmentation of natural and semi-natural areas
- Marine Trophic Index
- Nutrients in Transitional, Coastal and Marine Waters
- Biodiversity and Tourism
- Biodiversity for Food and Medicine
- Fragmentation of River Systems
- Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity
- Sustainable Fishery and Aquaculture Management
- Illustrations: maps; sketches; short descriptive analyses
- Illustrations
- Yourimage.jpg
your visual
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your visual
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your visual
Analytical drawings
- Please use analytical drawing for visualising the conflicts/potentials of your site
- Analytical Drawings
- Your drawing.jpg
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Green Infrastructure benefits for this site
Look again at the multiple benefits of green infrastructure - what could be achieved in your site and which are most relevant?
| A | B | C |
| A | B | C |
| A | B | C |
| A | B | C |
| A | B | C |
Potential for multifunctionality
Green infrastructure has typically multiple functions. What could be achieved for your site in this respect?
Projective drawings
- How would you like this case to change in the near future? (in 1-2 years)
- you may add a short explanation here
- And how could it look like in 10-15 years?
- you may add a short explanation here
- Projective Drawings
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projective drawing
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projective drawing
Summary and conclusion
- 100 words approx.
Image Gallery
Please add further images/photos here
- Image Gallery
Main City Bridge at Night
Main City Bridge at Evening
River Margin
- Yourimage.jpg
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your image text
References
- please add your references here
1. 8th International Crustacean Congress (ICC-8),Frankfurt am Main, August 18-23, 2014,Composition, Abundance and Seasonality of Caridean shrimp larvae (Crustacea: Decapoda) in the mouth of Bahmanshir and Arvand Rivers (the northern Persian Gulf) [1]
2. Hoda Afshari, Lecturer, Department of Art, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran, Design Fundamentals in the Hot and Humid Climate of Iran: The Case of Khoramshahr, Asian Culture and History, Vol. 4, No. 1; January 2012 [2]
External Links
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