Urban morphology of cities in the Middle East and Central Asia has been of great interests to academics from various disciplines. Through centuries of development Iranian (Persian) art and architecture contributed to what is called now... more
Urban morphology of cities in the Middle East and Central Asia has been of great interests to
academics from various disciplines. Through centuries of development Iranian (Persian) art and
architecture contributed to what is called now Islamic cities. Isfahan school of urban design has
particularly played a significant role in creating to be highly influential in development of Islamic cities
in the region. We discuss how establishment of this new school of thought on Islamic cities in 16th
century (concurrent with Renaissance) influenced the way we think about cities in the Middle East and
Central Asia today. Using content analysis and direct observation as our research methodology we
investigate urban fabric of Isfahan- the capital of the Isfahan region in Iran and once its most largest and
glorious city in order to extract the conceptual and practical lessons about traditional urban morphology
and advocate their importance and relevance for the contemporary urban development practices in
Islamic cities.
academics from various disciplines. Through centuries of development Iranian (Persian) art and
architecture contributed to what is called now Islamic cities. Isfahan school of urban design has
particularly played a significant role in creating to be highly influential in development of Islamic cities
in the region. We discuss how establishment of this new school of thought on Islamic cities in 16th
century (concurrent with Renaissance) influenced the way we think about cities in the Middle East and
Central Asia today. Using content analysis and direct observation as our research methodology we
investigate urban fabric of Isfahan- the capital of the Isfahan region in Iran and once its most largest and
glorious city in order to extract the conceptual and practical lessons about traditional urban morphology
and advocate their importance and relevance for the contemporary urban development practices in
Islamic cities.
