نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Aim: This research aims to deepen the understanding of the role of culture in the sustainability of urban environments, particularly by identifying and introducing the key components and indicators essential for evaluating cultural sustainability in cities
Material & Method: The meta-synthesis method has been used to identify and extract the components and indicators of cultural sustainability in urban areas.
Finding: The research findings indicate that the primary components for measuring cultural sustainability can be categorized into 12 key components: cultural identity, cultural infrastructure, cultural discourse and interactions, cultural heritage, cultural diversity, cultural vitality, cultural participation, cultural capital, cultural governance, cultural economy, cultural resilience, and sense of place. Among these 12 identified components, 11 are common in both Persian and English literature, with only one distinction: cultural discourse and interactions in Persian literature versus cultural resilience in English literature. The prioritization of the identified components reveals that, in Persian texts, the three highest-priority components are cultural identity, cultural infrastructure, and cultural diversity. In contrast, the three prioritized components in English texts are cultural identity, cultural heritage, and cultural economy. The components with the least representation are cultural participation and cultural capital in Persian literature, as well as cultural participation and resilience in English literature.
Conclusion: Given the existing gaps in measuring cultural sustainability in urban areas and the minimal number of studies conducted, there is a pressing need for further theoretical and empirical research to establish objective indicators for assessing cultural sustainability and to evaluate the reliability and validity of measurement tools.
Innovation: The most significant innovative and practical aspect of this research is that a comprehensive study addressing the identification of cultural sustainability components based on a meta-synthesis method and reviewing over 40 domestic and international studies has not yet been conducted.
کلیدواژهها English
In recent decades, the growing emphasis on sustainable development has heightened awareness of the relationship between urban environments and culture. Initially, after the "Our Common Future" report, sustainable development was primarily framed around three pillars: environmental, economic, and social dimensions, with culture often treated as a social aspect. UNESCO played a pivotal role in promoting the connection between culture and development, particularly during the "Decade of Culture and Development" (1988-1997), which resulted in the influential report "Our Creative Diversity" in 1995. This report advanced the understanding of culture's role in sustainable development, reflected in subsequent international policy documents. Three key approaches to understanding culture in the context of sustainable development have emerged. The first approach positions culture as the fourth pillar alongside the environmental, social, and economic dimensions, highlighting its role in preserving heritage and practices. The second sees culture as an enabler that translates different sustainability issues into diverse cultural contexts. The third and arguably most significant approach treats culture as a holistic foundation that integrates environmental, social, and economic elements, framing them within cultural imperatives. Despite the predominance of the first approach in existing research, the complexity and subjectivity of sustainable development suggest the need to embrace the third approach to define and assess sustainability tailored to specific communities adequately. In Iran, however, scholarly discourse on cultural sustainability remains limited compared to international discussions. This study aims to explore these various dimensions of cultural sustainability and address pertinent research questions based on existing theoretical and empirical frameworks.
This research seeks to identify key components and indicators for measuring cultural sustainability in urban areas by analyzing published resources at national and international levels. It is an applied study that employs a descriptive method for data collection. Using the meta-synthesis technique, a qualitative research approach, the study systematically reviews relevant documents to enhance understanding of the topic. Meta-synthesis generally involves two perspectives as the "integrative approach," consolidates previous studies by identifying common themes and reliable variables, and the "interpretive synthesis," which focuses on comparing and interpreting prior research. This study primarily emphasizes the integrative approach while considering aspects of interpretive synthesis to ensure comprehensive analysis.
This research outlines a structured approach to presenting findings on assessing cultural sustainability in urban areas, comprising six sequential stages. The first stage involves formulating the research question to identify the key components and indicators for measuring cultural sustainability. This includes addressing four essential questions: "What" pertains to the main research question, "Who" identifies the target population, "When" specifies the study's timeframe, and "How" outlines the methodology. The second stage is a systematic review of the literature. Relevant documents and articles were sourced using specific keywords in both Persian and English databases. The research population included articles published in domestic databases such as the Comprehensive Human Sciences Portal, NoorMags, and MagIran, as well as international databases like ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Emerald. In the third stage, appropriate resources were selected. Due to the limited number of Persian publications, all available sources were reviewed, leading to the selection of 21 Persian studies for analysis. Articles were initially screened for English sources based on titles and abstracts, followed by a rigorous evaluation using the CASP checklist, resulting in 21 high-quality English articles. The fourth stage involves data extraction. From the 21 Persian sources, 83 primary codes were identified, appearing 772 times in various forms. This study also incorporated international literature, resulting in 139 unique primary codes extracted from 21 final sources encountered 1,725 times. The fifth stage focuses on the analysis and synthesis of qualitative findings. Initial codes from both Persian and English texts were analyzed and synthesized into axial codes and main categories. In Persian literature, 83 initial codes were condensed into 22 axial codes, which were further summarized into 11 main categories reflecting cultural sustainability dimensions. In the English literature, 39 axial codes were similarly condensed into 11 main categories. The final stage presents and interprets the findings. The synthesis of texts and studies revealed 11 main factors for assessing cultural sustainability in urban areas. Among these, 10 factors were common to both Persian and English sources, with a notable discrepancy as "cultural discourse and interactions" appeared in Persian literature, while "cultural resilience" was identified in English literature. Prioritization of the identified categories showed that, in Persian literature, the top three categories were cultural identity, cultural infrastructure, and cultural diversity. Conversely, English literature prioritized cultural identity, cultural heritage, and cultural economy. Cultural participation and cultural capital were the least represented in Persian sources, mirroring the low prioritization of cultural participation and cultural resilience in English sources. Overall, cultural identity emerged as the highest priority across both languages, while cultural participation ranked lowest. This comprehensive analysis underscores the nuanced understanding of cultural sustainability in urban contexts, highlighting both commonalities and differences in Persian and English literature.
This study aims to deepen the understanding of cultural sustainability in urban settings by identifying its key components and dimensions. In Iran, limited research on this topic has hindered recognition of culture's role in urban sustainability, leading to its insufficient consideration by policymakers. A review of existing resources shows that cultural aspects of sustainability are often overshadowed by social dimensions, with social factors dominating indicators related to culture. The research emphasizes that while the current focus aligns with the first theoretical approach, viewing culture as part of sustainable development will require significant effort to advance toward broader frameworks. The study identifies twelve primary components essential for measuring cultural sustainability as 1) cultural identity, 2) cultural infrastructure, 3) cultural discourse and interactions, 4) cultural heritage, 5) cultural diversity, 6) cultural vitality, 7) cultural participation, 8) cultural capital, 9) cultural governance, 10) cultural economy, 11) cultural resilience, and 12) sense of place. Notably, eleven of these components are found in both Persian and English literature, with "cultural discourse and interactions" appearing in the Persian context and "cultural resilience" in the English context, suggesting the potential for integration of these concepts.
The manuscript did not receive a grant from any organization.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
