درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Unsustainable growth of cities and creation a set of contiguous impervious surfaces have result on disorder of natural cycle of water in urban environments. This situation causes flooding and problems due it, pollution of groundwater resources and degrade the quality of the urban landscape by increase the speed, volume and frequency period of runoffs. conventional methods about the stormwater management have failed to demonstrate their effectiveness in this field. Thus, in recent years a new topic are created in the field of urban design that known as "water sensitive urban design". Water Sensitive Urban Design (short: WSUD) is the interdisciplinary cooperation of water management, infrastructer engineering, urban design, and landscape designing. WSUD develops integrative strategies for ecological, economical, social, and cultural sustainability. The purpose of Water Sensitive Urban Design is to combine the demands of sustainable stormwater management with the demands of urban designing, and thus bringing the urban water cycle closer to a natural one. This approach attempts to increase urban sustainability indicators, improve the quality of urban landscape and urban space amenities by offer operational mechanisms in relation to urban design and it attempts not only to close the urban water cycle in its natural cycle and achieve technical goals, but gain optimal utilization of runoff and change the vision of the issue from a threat to a valuable opportunity.The following is a description of some essential methods for sustainable stormwater management. These methods are grouped according to their primary function: water reuse, treatment, detention and infiltration, conveyance, and evapotranspiration. Here is the techniques of water sensitive urban design about stormwater management and link them to urban design concepts, till through that some methods to be introduced that they are more efficient than conventional stormwater management methods about performance, helping to complete the natural cycle of water, environmental sustainability of cities and urban design aspects.

The use of building regulations in architectural design has been a controversial issue for a long time. From the view point of critics, building regulations inhibit innovation, promote conservative design and are incapable of insuring design quality. From the defenders point of view, some professional mentalities of architects regarding building regulations are problematical and must be changed. The present research aims to illuminate the reasons for the above-mentioned tension between architectural design and building regulations. This is done by examining the structural match between architectural design and building regulations. Seeing from a designer point of view, the paper compares formal characteristics of building regulations with architectural design. Three general characteristics of building regulations are found in contrast to characteristics of architectural design. Building regulations are analytical in nature, while architectural design is a synthesis-oriented act. Building regulations are mainly based on a reductionist approach towards defining design problems and solutions, while innovation and originality are considered as fundamental values by most architects. And thirdly, building regulations are usually framed in a way that matches an evaluative mode of thought, while architects often have to work in a generative and predictive mode. These explain why architects from time to time feel frustrated with regulations. The paper continues to make recommendations to both architectural designers and regulators. To the designers some facts and points are stated to help them better understand the nature and performance of building regulations and guide them safely and positively use regulations in their design process. Addressing the legislators, the paper offers some recommendations to facilitate the use of building regulations in architectural design. Moving towards performance-based regulations, a broader involvement of information technology in building regulations, and production of designer-oriented guidance documents are some of these recommendations.

During the recent years, water deficiency has been lead to innovation of modern techniques for saving water in countries which suffered from the shortage of water supplies. One of the notable concepts in this regards is the concept of virtual water trade in management of water supplies. The concept of virtual water trade is defined synonymously as the sum of the needed water for production of certain quantity of a product. Accordingly, prevention from exportation of products, which may lead to exiting water from the country and emphasis on importation of water-bearing products, is considered as one of the strategies which have been taken by some countries in the management of their own restricted water supplies. This strategy means that the water supplies of countries should be employed for manufacturing of the products, which are followed by further income economically. The present article is an innovation in calculating virtual water values by 6-digit SITC codes for all sectors of the economy in the selected countries (Persian Gulf countries). For each commodity code exported and imported in countries, the amount of virtual water (cubic meters per ton) is also calculated. In this regard, the rate of hidden water in imports and exports of the aforesaid countries during 2001 to 2012 is explored. The results reveal the fact that Iran has not taken any certain defined strategy regarding the management of water supplies by means of virtual water concept. JEL Classification: Q18, Q25, O13