Passive Defense

INITRODUCTION: The passive defense approach is one of the approaches in planning and organizing cities and residential complexes with the aim to reduce environmental hazards. Given the vital and sensitive position of cities, while preparing against military invasions, this approach provides special capabilities to cope with natural and human crises to a large extent. METHODS: This was an applied study conducted with a descriptive-analytical method. Data were collected reviewing the relevant texts, sources, books, and articles, as well as examining maps, interviews, and observations. The data were then analyzed using the geographic information system (GIS) software. In the next step, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis technique was employed to investigate the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats of Rasht City, Iran. FINDINGS: Rasht City accounts for a considerable part of the population, facilities, and services of Guilan Province, Iran, which will experience great damage in case of occurrence of a natural or human disaster. The SWOT analysis results revealed that the strategy obtained was of a defensive nature. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the results obtained from the investigation of the sensitive land uses, it can be stated that the location of the land uses (particularly, sensitive and important ones) in Rasht does not follow the passive defense principles. In addition, the central areas of the city are more vulnerable due to the density of the important and sensitive uses in these areas. This implies that the city center is the most vulnerable area of Rasht in terms of the passive defense approach

INTRODUCTION: Cities as human settlements have always been at risks. Therefore, they need to have a mechanism to keep safe against dangers automatically. Moreover, this self-safety mechanism happens when passive defense principles observe in the city design. Public spaces should have multi-purpose applications so that their defensive function can also be utilized in addition to the main purpose. The aim of this research is to investigate the passive defense components in the design of urban parks. METHODS: This study is practical-developmental based on purpose and descriptive-analytical based on the nature that was carried out in the Janet Garden of Shiraz, Iran in 2017-2018. The statistical population is Shiraz citizens using random sampling method. The sample size was 384 according to Cochran formula. Data were collected using questionnaire and was validated based on Cronbach's alpha (above 0.7) and binomial test and one-sample t-test were used to test the hypotheses. The confidence level and the error rate were 95% and 5% respectively for all three hypotheses. FINDINGS: The results show that observing the principles of passive defense are effective in urban parks designing based on four criteria such as citizens' security, stability of natural elements, variability of performance of park components, and park space. Most people using the park were 21-35 year olds with a diploma and associate degree and a monthly visit. CONCLUSION: Observing the principles of passive defense in designing or redesign urban parks in addition to improving defensive performance increased the sense of security of citizens’ health and leads to the stability of the elements, components, and park space.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, due to population growth and resource constraints, cities are more vulnerable towards the crisis. Reducing the vulnerability of urban land use, with utilizing new approaches of crisis management such as passive defense, can be useful in creating a secure environment in cities. This is of the most important goals, planners and city managers are going to implement in cities; and how to deal with natural disasters, is of the major concerns of societies. This study aimed to evaluate city vulnerability in Mahabad City, Iran, based on the passive defense approach. METHODS: In this applied descriptive-analytical research, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model was used to analyze the data, and Geographic Information System (GIS) software was used to draw the maps. Then, to clarify the positive and negative features, or the opportunities and the threats, the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique was applied. FINDINGS: Based on the AHP model, the highest records were given to vital factors such as networks, fuel storage, water, and electricity, while the lowest records were given to higher education centers. Moreover, based on the SWOT analysis, the most important weaknesses of Mahabad City were as the compact and dense texture of the city, the low width of the most of the passageways, and the aggregation of major activities in the city center. CONCLUSION: Research results show that in Mahabad City, there is no comprehensive plan to secure citizens. Urban planning by relevant institutions and administrative councils does not fit the physical and human components of the city.

INTRODUCTION: Medical centers are directly involved in health of the individual and society and quick and cheap access to these centers in urban communities is of great importance. In providing urban services, considering some principles, including the principles of passive defense in structures, increases the efficiency of the urban system in the area of provision of better services to citizens and also the development of a sustainable city. This study aims to address the spatial analysis of medical centers in Omidiyeh City, Iran, based on the passive defense principles. METHODS: The present study was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method. The data collection method included the library and survey studies. The technique used in the analysis was also the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on the experts’ opinion and a pairwise comparison between the indicators in the geographic information system (GIS). FINDINGS: Combining the layers of population density, land use, communication network, medical centers, distance from industrial centers, and distance from fire stations as well as creating the final map, a suitable area for medical centers was identified. CONCLUSION: The study findings indicated that the distribution pattern of the health centers in Omidiyeh is not in accordance with the principles and criteria of passive defense and the establishment of new urban medical centers using the GIS capabilities in the city can be useful in providing services to citizens.

INTRODUCTION: Sustainable urban development and sustainable cities are the most important challenges faced by humans in the 21st century, as the cities may suffer a lot of damage in times of crisis. Therefore, paying attention to the passive defense subject can significantly reduce the level of damage caused by disasters. The present study is conducted with the aim to provide a passive defense approach to selecting the best shelter for temporary accommodation. METHODS: This was a descriptive-analytical study in which the required information was collected using library and field methods. In order to analyze the information, the analytic network process (ANP) technique was employed in order to determine the importance coefficients of indicators in a real environment. Finally, by overlapping information layers, the most preferred locations were identified in proportion to the objective, and the system was used to draw the layers and determine the importance weights of the indicators. FINDINGS: Given the importance weights, the characteristics of a suitable place included areas with sufficient open spaces and at the same time, compatible with the surrounding uses with a relatively higher potential for the establishment of the injured. Therefore, due to the existence of open and suitable spaces as well as proper access, the outskirts of Tabriz, Iran, have a high capacity for accommodating the incident victims.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, paying attention to the significance of football stadiums as important urban facilities and applying the principles of passive defense in them are among critical areas in the field of urban management. Given that, the primary goal of the present research is to investigate the pathology of football stadiums with an emphasis on passive defense. METHODS: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of the research approach. Data collection was accomplished through documentary and field studies. In the documentary domain, information and data were gathered from the website of sports complexes, publications, and brochures. Regarding the field domain, spatial data related to the city of Mashhad were collected from the database and field studies in the form of observations and interviews with stadium officials. The target stadiums in the present study are Takhti and Imam Reza stadiums, which were studied based on two main criteria of design and location selection based on the principles of passive defense. After specifying the indicators, Arc GIS software was used to perform data analysis and spatial analysis operations. FINDINGS: The research findings indicate that the most significant weaknesses of Takhti Stadium are the lack of access to first and secondary arterial roads, the presence of intersections and heavy traffic near the stadium, inadequate open space and parking lots, and lack of automatic fire suppression systems. The drawbacks of Imam Reza Stadium include the absence of shelter, no access to the subway stations, no direct access to primary arterial roads, and the absence of entrance and exit passageways in the stadium. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the fact that paying attention to the indicators and criteria of passive defense can extensively conserve and maintain sports facilities at times of crisis.

The principles of passive defense in cities will contribute to the development of sus tainable security in urban areas, and failure to comply with these principles will increase human casualties and economic losses, especially in times of crisis. Improving and correcting urban s tructures can mitigate potential damage incurred during a crisis. The purpose of this s tudy is to compare the concept of Garden City proposed by Howard and Mata's Linear City through the s tandpoint of passive defense with a view of urban s tructure. Data collection was performed using library resources. Each approach's s trengths and weaknesses were inves tigated, including centrality, accessibility, and land use dispersion. The results of the s tudy exhibited that the centrality principle in Mata's Linear City concept is superior to Howard's garden city, while the principles of accessibility and dispersion of land use take priority in Howard's garden city.