Perceptual Analysis of Fast and Irregular Transformations in Historical Urban Landscape (Case Study: Historical-Religious City of Ray and Shemiran District-Tehran)

In the recent century, Tehran has been confronted with urban sprawl and rapid population growth that have caused urban landscape transformation, which is different in various parts of Tehran based on specific economic, cultural and social situations. What is important in this essay is the human perception of their landscape in this process of transformation; therefore, the purpose is analyzing landscape perception in order to answer the following questions: “What are the effective landscape elements on perception in this changing landscape?”To answer the question, two historical parts of Tehran, Tajrish and Ray, were examined through an interview. In order to analyze landscape perception in these two case studies, 6 main factors including constructed landscape elements, rootedness, attachment to place, social relations, and adaptability of use and landscape satisfaction were selected and evaluated by a questionnaire. Results in Tajrish have shown that elements of the past, even though destroyed or hidden, form people s perception. However, in Ray elements from recent constructions have mostly affected people s perception. Consequently, discovering the effective elements, which are directly influenced by the context, is a significant factor to know how people perceive their landscape. With the consideration about people s perception in each specific context, landscape designers would be able to design valuable landscapes and enhance the quality of urban places.