Kerman province

Constructed upon a height (by footing) or breaking in to the ground, in a building, making a close relation between earth and soil is of great importance. In addition, earth as a prior factor in creation of a shade and residence, plays a crucial role in architecture history. Throughout the different area, earth is paid attention differently: as a source of cool (in China), a source of heat (Cappadocia, Turkey), and conversely as an offensive source in Amazon forests. In hot-arid climates, proximity to earth is useful to apply the heat in the buildings. Present study aims to investigate the mentioned factor in Dastkand village located at Kerman province. Mountainous moderate climate, cold and icy winters and moderate summers is of the considerable properties of the studied area. The maximum and minimum temperature was recorded, 42 and -18° C during summer and winter, respectively. Hence, in addition to cultural as well as economic factors, temperature fluctuation played a key role in breaking the buildings in to the ground. So, this study assists to investigate the studied area within natural bed, in plan and section. On this basis, technical methods of earth profiting throughout the studied area have been investigated, in order to profit earth in modern architecture. Results showed a harmony between dominant winds and buildings in winter and summer. Moreover, profiting from high sun shining with special architecture is of Meymand village characteristic. Using breaking in to the ground technique, 26.57 % decrease occurred in cooling need, annually. On the other hand, Day-Degree heating need has reduced to approximately 13.65 % annually solely by earth profiting technique. Overall, results demonstrate a harmony between applied technique and the studied region climate. Besides, there reported a proper isotropy between temperature fluctuation and air aridity throughout the region.

Although in most of the rural development plans, relocation of informal settlements is often considered as an efficient solution to increase safety of rural communities against natural and man-made disasters, such as, earthquakes, fire hazards, floods, etc. an evaluation of recent experiences in the relocation projects show that the relocated community is often unsatisfied with the new residential areas. In most cases, the new residential areas are advantageous in compare to the informal settlements in terms of utility infrastructures and architecture design but the public remain reluctant to migrate to the new place. This paper, tries to evaluate the role of Community participation in the process of informal settlements relocation projects in Kerman province, an Iranian south-eastern state, by measuring people's evaluation of their own participation in the process of decision-making during five key relocation phases, namely, choice of new location, methods of relocation, architectural design of the new areas, construction procedures and supervision on the whole project. Questionnaire survey was employed to gather these data and was followed by statistical analysis (by SPSS software) in order to approve meaningful relationships. The results showed that lack of community participation had been responsible for a number of uninhabited settlement projects and some unfinished construction projects during the whole relocation process.

Objective: This study aims to support Iran’s transition to renewable energy by identifying optimal sites for renewable power plant deployment in Kerman province. The aim is to design a decision-support framework incorporating stakeholder values and dynamic system behaviors to guide policy and investment under multiple scenarios. Methods: An integrated Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) framework was developed. Phase 1 involved interviews with 15 experts (engineering, economics, and environmental science) to derive stakeholder values, translated into criteria like solar radiation, ecological sensitivity, cost, social acceptance, and grid resilience. Legal/environmental filters narrowed 39 locations to six feasible sites. Phase 2 employed ABM to simulate interactions among suppliers, government, and consumers under three policy scenarios: (1) limited local sales, (2) guaranteed government purchases, and (3) competitive energy market sales. Results: The simulations demonstrated that Scenario 3 (energy market sales) resulted in the highest levels of energy output and job creation, particularly at high-potential locations E and F. The model also highlighted how adaptive financial mechanisms, such as targeted subsidies and tax incentives, can shape investor and supplier behavior in favor of sustainable deployment. Conclusion: The proposed VFT-ABM framework offers a flexible and context-sensitive tool for renewable energy planning in decentralized systems. It effectively balances economic, social, and environmental goals and can be replicated in other regions facing similar energy transition challenges. Strategic policy design, especially market-driven approaches coupled with incentive structures, is critical for mobilizing private sector participation.