آسیب‌شناسی کالبدی-اجتماعی بافت تاریخی شهر شوشتر

 
Abstract
Attention to the historical context of cities, which is a strong thread connecting any society with the past and reviving the identity of the cities, has been continuously increased and the protection of this valuable heritage has been the focus of the leaders of the communities. The purpose of this study is to identify the components’ capabilities that damage the historical fabric of Shooshtar and determine the degree of severity of each factor. The method of analysis is exploratory and descriptive-analytical. The required data were gathered through documentary sources and a survey. The sample was 11 experts who were selected among the experienced managers of the municipality of Shooshtar and the Administration of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism. The analysis was done using the Pastakia model, in which changes have been made according to this research. The findings showed the performance of 33 traumatic components in the historical context of Shooshtar, which, in total, revealed the capability and potential of high-level damage. Out of the three investigated dimensions, the components of the physical-environmental dimension have a greater role in damaging the city. Most of the components of this dimension showed the severity of the damage at the ‘very high’ level, while in each of the two social-cultural and institutional dimensions, in addition to a much smaller number of vulnerability components, half of the components showed the severity of damage at a ‘medium’ level and below. Preservation of the historical context, while requiring sufficient funds and benefiting from modern knowledge, techniques, and tools, also requires raising the awareness of citizens and reforming the management system and laws.
Keywords: Historical Context, Cultural Heritage, Environmental Threat, Analysis, Shooshtar.
 
Introduction
Some cities in the world have some unique local characteristics that are a gift of their cultural heritage. This special feature includes a combination of tangible and intangible components such as arts, rituals, and especially the artificial environment. These historical urban centers are considered meaningful places for the host communities because they form a sense of belonging due to their sense of pride. Such urban centers point out the necessity of protecting the heritage of the past, a heritage that acts as a bridge between the past and the present of nations and plays a role as the pillars on which the future is based. Although all over the world, governments and institutions have realized the value of heritage, in many cases, they do not behave and act in favor of this direction. Some cities, especially those with poor management and insufficient intervention strategies, are inevitably involved in unplanned transformations, and their precious heritage is exposed to severe pressures and numerous threatening factors for various reasons. In Shooshtar, as one of the historical cities of Iran, 170.6 hectares of the total area of 2436 hectares of the city area is covered by the historical fabric. The city has 13 world heritage sites registered in the UNESCO list. More than 260 historical monuments have been recorded in the Shooshtar’s historical fabric including water structures, historical houses, mosques, and tombs. Despite the formulation and implementation of plans such as the Strategic Plan of the Historical Context and action plans and numerous operational projects, many visible and hidden damages have exposed the historical context of this city to threats and risks. In this regard, the purpose of the present study is to analyze and evaluate the factors that have the potential to cause damage to the historical fabric of Shooshtar and lose its heritage values.
 
Materials and Methods
The data were gathered through library and documentary sources as well as from a survey carried out with a sample of experts. The data were also collected from the urban development plans of Shooshtar, the shape file of the statistical blocks of the 2015 Iranian census. The sample consists of 11 people, including 7 managers and experts of Shooshtar Municipality with education in civil engineering (4 people), urban planning, architecture, and sociology and 4 managers and experts of Shooshtar Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department with education in the field of restoration of historical works, history, sociology, and geography. The survey of experts has been done in two stages. The first stage was to identify the factors of damage. In this regard, the Delphi model is implemented to identify all the factors of damage to urban fabric (34 indicators). In the second stage, the experts evaluated the indicators in Pastakia's model. Finally, the closest number to the mean value of the expert’s evaluation was set as the score of each parameter. Pastakia's model was originally developed in 1998 for environmental impact assessment and is used here with modifications for the intended purpose.
 
Research Findings
Generally, the vulnerability components in the physical dimension indicate the high vulnerability of the historical fabric. In this dimension, 6 components are in the medium range, 5 are in the very high vulnerability range, and the rest, i.e. 7 components, indicate a high vulnerability condition. Meanwhile, the components of ‘high level of underground water’, ‘deterioration caused by aging of the buildings’, and ‘building materials and structures’ have the highest absolute score. In other words, these three can cause more damage to the fabric. ‘The status of the network of roads and streets’ is another component with a very high level of vulnerability. The last component at a very high level is ‘the quality of the water and sewage transmission network’. According to experts, the breakdown and deterioration of Shooshtar's urban water and sewage system is a serious risk for the destruction of historical houses.
In the social-cultural dimension, totally, the components that can take the historical fabric at risk, indicate a high level of vulnerability, but the gap between the scores of this dimension and the scores of the physical-environmental dimension is high. The scores indicate medium and lower levels of vulnerability. The components of ‘weak sense of place and lack of sense of responsibility of citizens’ and ‘ignorance of users of the context regarding the value of cultural heritage’ show a very high level of vulnerability as well.
In the institutional dimension, 4 components have been evaluated as having a very high damage capability. ‘Carrying out construction and renovation activities without paying attention to the damage to historical buildings, such as shaking and vibration caused by digging hives near historical buildings’ and ‘the insufficient equipment and facilities to contain incidents such as fire, flood’ were at the top of the components. After these two, the ‘absence of an institution or organization that is directly responsible for the preservation and maintenance of the historical context or their negligence’ and ‘the influence or lack of attention of the executives in implementing the established laws and regulations’ play a greater role. Half of the components revealed medium and lower risk capability.
 
Discussion of Results and Conclusions
Considering the results of the study, most of the vulnerability components (18 cases) play a role in the form of physical-environmental factors. On the other hand, the average score of vulnerability intensity in this dimension also shows a higher gap with the average score of the components of the other two dimensions. Therefore, in the preservation and protection of the historical fabric, the components of physical and environmental aspects should be taken much attention. Wear and tear caused by aging and building materials are part of the nature and essence of historical structures, but with today's knowledge and engineering methods, they can be protected undoubtedly. The results of the research also show risks caused by the water and sewage networks embedded in the fabric, which require serious attention to fix the existing defects.
 
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