I am an Urban Historian ; Policy advisor for Cultural Heritage & Regional development and a freelance researcher of Metropolitan Agglomeration inside the Europe
This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evol... more This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evolution of planning policies on post-industrial waterfront spaces in the Netherlands before and after the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on the former shipbuilding company Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM). The RDM site in Rotterdam is a significant part of the old port area, and its submarine and shipbuilding legacy has always been present in the heads and hearts of the citizens. Second, the chapter explores how reawakening the nautical culture and marine traditions in Rotterdam can also reanimate the historical links between port and city. It briefly analyses the goals, achievements, and effects of a few heritage projects on the port-city interaction and the maritime identity of this global port-city.
This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in a... more This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in ancient Baghdad and Isfahan, according to Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Actor-Relational Approach (ARA). In the case of two different historical urban hubs (Baghdad and Isfahan). This article demonstrates how in the course of history, those interactions between various path-dependent networks have produced various, but specific types of urbanity in this region. It aims to show how ANT could clarify the embeddedness of dynamic actor-networks within the Middle Eastern urban spaces. This contribution argues that the institutional settings, customs, and use might even be more crucial for the issue of local identity, precisely because in effect they influence and shape urban living, institutions, form and infrastructures through time.
This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in a... more This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in ancient Baghdad and Isfahan, according to Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Actor-Relational Approach (ARA). In the case of two different historical urban hubs (Baghdad and Isfahan). This article demonstrates how in the course of history, those interactions between various path-dependent networks have produced various, but specific types of urbanity in this region. It aims to show how ANT could clarify the embeddedness of dynamic actor-networks within the Middle Eastern urban spaces. This contribution argues that the institutional settings, customs, and use might even be more crucial for the issue of local identity, precisely because in effect they influence and shape urban living, institutions, form and infrastructures through time.
Most of Iran's inland areas have permanently lain within arid regions. Today, Iran's groundwater ... more Most of Iran's inland areas have permanently lain within arid regions. Today, Iran's groundwater depletion-rate today among the fastest in the world. From the beginning of the agricultural revolution and land-reform in the 1960s, Iran has adopted a governmental highly bureaucratic approach to water management fuelled by technological improvements in high water-dam constructions and modernization of irrigation infrastructure. However, these systems relied on the centralized water management which couldn't solve the issue of the country's increasing water-stresses and therefore it has been challenged by many critiques from civil society and academia. For centuries, Iran has relied on socioeconomic networks to manage groundwater and the traditional method of water-exploitation named qanats which represents an effective system of social corporation and civic participation in water management and in solving the issue of water scarcity in dry regions. This paper introduces a theoretical framework for the necessary transition from the centralized water management towards a multi-actor water-governance regime by adapting the Actor-Network Theory for understanding the traditional patterns of collective water management inside qanat-dependent communities. ABSTRACT Arash Salek-Gemeente Rotterdam (Netherlands)[email protected]
This paper describes the socioeconomic environment of the Persian qanāts and the fundamental role... more This paper describes the socioeconomic environment of the Persian qanāts and the fundamental role of the collective qanāt organisations in water-resource management of the arid Iranian Plateau. Focusing on the vital-interdependency of qanāts and local communities in the central Iranian arid and semi-arid areas, we will describe how in the course of millennia, some collective qanāt organisations have been established to provide a structure for human-water interaction related to sustainable management of limited water-resources in this region.
In the early 20 th century, searching for an explanation for the distinctiveness and uniqueness o... more In the early 20 th century, searching for an explanation for the distinctiveness and uniqueness of the occident as a birthplace of capitalism, Max Weber proposed a theory of urban life and development taking the medieval European city as an ideal type. He suggested that there were five distinguishing marks of the city in the full sense:
ntents’ in the face of the modern tendencies of globalization and international homogenization of... more ntents’ in the face of the modern tendencies of globalization and international homogenization of urban space. It seems that during the recent decades, the cities in the MENA region have entered a distinct period of transformation characterized by a radical disintegration of traditional and historical structure of urbanity and a reconfiguration of localities and special urban characteristics under the sign of a globalization. The transformation of many cities inside this region is not only marked by morphological and physical changes, but also by transformation of their institutional structures and changes in the position and the roles of the decisive actors engaged in the process of urban planning and spatial development. Therefore, in the age of rapid globalization, it seems that due to speedy changes inside the urban areas, the urban identity and spatial characteristics of the cities inside this region need to be redefined.
In this context, this contribution develops ideas from post-structuralism, ANT and Actor-Relation... more In this context, this contribution develops ideas from post-structuralism, ANT and Actor-Relational Theory to present a typological concern of urban identity in general and inside the MENA region in particular. In addition, it argues that networks and flows, shape, transform and fold the identity of physical structure and various historical eras of urban spaces.
In this paper, I try to explore and typify the metropolitan urban spaces from an actor-relation... more In this paper, I try to explore and typify the metropolitan urban spaces from an actor-relational perspective.
To achieve this goal, I make a distinction between the monocentric ´capital´ metropolises and polycentric ´trade-orientated´ metropolitan regions based on Max Weber’s classification of urban spaces into “consumption” and “commercial/production” cities.
This paper provides a starting point for further analysis of identity of the metropolitan urban spaces according to their historical process of urban fabrication and presents a new perspective to discover the similarities and dissimilarities between them.
Keywords:
Metropolitan regions, Weberian urban typology ´consumer/capital´ and ´productive/delta´ metropolitan areas, polycentric and monocentric metropolitan spaces, urban interconnections, institutional settings, decisive actors and factors
this research, we will refer to the value of urban identity from local to the global arena.
Ther... more this research, we will refer to the value of urban identity from local to the global arena.
Therefore, we will deal with the phenomenology of two distinct theories about the results of
dynamical urban metamorphoses in the age of globalization. One involves the global
institutions and sets of economical networks and actors, like banking and transportation
systems.1 Another theory (which is popular between the critical regionalists and poststructuralist
urban scholars) remarks the cultural domains and praises the locality and urban
identity and strives the lack of the placeless-ness and anonymity of the urban spaces due the
globalization process.
The French historian Frenad Braudel once noted'A town is always a town, wherever it is located, i... more The French historian Frenad Braudel once noted'A town is always a town, wherever it is located, in time as well as space.' 1 Space is a relational element; not only because of relativity between its different spots but also because of the linkage between it's geographical situation and its institutional leading elements. Today, we can not think of a particular town as unique bounded or self-contained entity. Cities, in this view are not just geographical parts of a region or country, but are nodules of population woven into the fabric of larger urban societies even in the world scale which is called metropolis or "world city". This paper analyzes typology of the metropolitan urban areas and tries to find the similarities and differences between the identity and urban characteristics of various metropolitan regions illustrated by two case studies of the Middle Eastern and West European metropolitan regions. This article is an attempt to clarify different systems of metropolitan development inside the urban areas and distinguish the patterns of their growth and expansion due to the different matrixes of urban centres during the history.
This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evol... more This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evolution of planning policies on post-industrial waterfront spaces in the Netherlands before and after the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on the former shipbuilding company RDM (Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij). The RDM site in Rotterdam is a significant part of the old port area, and its submarine and shipbuilding legacy has always been present in the heads and hearts of the citizens. Second, the chapter explores how reawakening the nautical culture and marine traditions in Rotterdam can also reanimate the historical links between port and city. It briefly analyses the goals, achievements, and effects of a few heritage projects on the port-city interaction and the maritime identity of this global port city.
This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evol... more This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evolution of planning policies on post-industrial waterfront spaces in the Netherlands before and after the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on the former shipbuilding company Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM). The RDM site in Rotterdam is a significant part of the old port area, and its submarine and shipbuilding legacy has always been present in the heads and hearts of the citizens. Second, the chapter explores how reawakening the nautical culture and marine traditions in Rotterdam can also reanimate the historical links between port and city. It briefly analyses the goals, achievements, and effects of a few heritage projects on the port-city interaction and the maritime identity of this global port-city.
This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in a... more This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in ancient Baghdad and Isfahan, according to Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Actor-Relational Approach (ARA). In the case of two different historical urban hubs (Baghdad and Isfahan). This article demonstrates how in the course of history, those interactions between various path-dependent networks have produced various, but specific types of urbanity in this region. It aims to show how ANT could clarify the embeddedness of dynamic actor-networks within the Middle Eastern urban spaces. This contribution argues that the institutional settings, customs, and use might even be more crucial for the issue of local identity, precisely because in effect they influence and shape urban living, institutions, form and infrastructures through time.
This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in a... more This contribution analyses the urban identity and historical patterns of spatial development in ancient Baghdad and Isfahan, according to Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Actor-Relational Approach (ARA). In the case of two different historical urban hubs (Baghdad and Isfahan). This article demonstrates how in the course of history, those interactions between various path-dependent networks have produced various, but specific types of urbanity in this region. It aims to show how ANT could clarify the embeddedness of dynamic actor-networks within the Middle Eastern urban spaces. This contribution argues that the institutional settings, customs, and use might even be more crucial for the issue of local identity, precisely because in effect they influence and shape urban living, institutions, form and infrastructures through time.
Most of Iran's inland areas have permanently lain within arid regions. Today, Iran's groundwater ... more Most of Iran's inland areas have permanently lain within arid regions. Today, Iran's groundwater depletion-rate today among the fastest in the world. From the beginning of the agricultural revolution and land-reform in the 1960s, Iran has adopted a governmental highly bureaucratic approach to water management fuelled by technological improvements in high water-dam constructions and modernization of irrigation infrastructure. However, these systems relied on the centralized water management which couldn't solve the issue of the country's increasing water-stresses and therefore it has been challenged by many critiques from civil society and academia. For centuries, Iran has relied on socioeconomic networks to manage groundwater and the traditional method of water-exploitation named qanats which represents an effective system of social corporation and civic participation in water management and in solving the issue of water scarcity in dry regions. This paper introduces a theoretical framework for the necessary transition from the centralized water management towards a multi-actor water-governance regime by adapting the Actor-Network Theory for understanding the traditional patterns of collective water management inside qanat-dependent communities. ABSTRACT Arash Salek-Gemeente Rotterdam (Netherlands)[email protected]
This paper describes the socioeconomic environment of the Persian qanāts and the fundamental role... more This paper describes the socioeconomic environment of the Persian qanāts and the fundamental role of the collective qanāt organisations in water-resource management of the arid Iranian Plateau. Focusing on the vital-interdependency of qanāts and local communities in the central Iranian arid and semi-arid areas, we will describe how in the course of millennia, some collective qanāt organisations have been established to provide a structure for human-water interaction related to sustainable management of limited water-resources in this region.
In the early 20 th century, searching for an explanation for the distinctiveness and uniqueness o... more In the early 20 th century, searching for an explanation for the distinctiveness and uniqueness of the occident as a birthplace of capitalism, Max Weber proposed a theory of urban life and development taking the medieval European city as an ideal type. He suggested that there were five distinguishing marks of the city in the full sense:
ntents’ in the face of the modern tendencies of globalization and international homogenization of... more ntents’ in the face of the modern tendencies of globalization and international homogenization of urban space. It seems that during the recent decades, the cities in the MENA region have entered a distinct period of transformation characterized by a radical disintegration of traditional and historical structure of urbanity and a reconfiguration of localities and special urban characteristics under the sign of a globalization. The transformation of many cities inside this region is not only marked by morphological and physical changes, but also by transformation of their institutional structures and changes in the position and the roles of the decisive actors engaged in the process of urban planning and spatial development. Therefore, in the age of rapid globalization, it seems that due to speedy changes inside the urban areas, the urban identity and spatial characteristics of the cities inside this region need to be redefined.
In this context, this contribution develops ideas from post-structuralism, ANT and Actor-Relation... more In this context, this contribution develops ideas from post-structuralism, ANT and Actor-Relational Theory to present a typological concern of urban identity in general and inside the MENA region in particular. In addition, it argues that networks and flows, shape, transform and fold the identity of physical structure and various historical eras of urban spaces.
In this paper, I try to explore and typify the metropolitan urban spaces from an actor-relation... more In this paper, I try to explore and typify the metropolitan urban spaces from an actor-relational perspective.
To achieve this goal, I make a distinction between the monocentric ´capital´ metropolises and polycentric ´trade-orientated´ metropolitan regions based on Max Weber’s classification of urban spaces into “consumption” and “commercial/production” cities.
This paper provides a starting point for further analysis of identity of the metropolitan urban spaces according to their historical process of urban fabrication and presents a new perspective to discover the similarities and dissimilarities between them.
Keywords:
Metropolitan regions, Weberian urban typology ´consumer/capital´ and ´productive/delta´ metropolitan areas, polycentric and monocentric metropolitan spaces, urban interconnections, institutional settings, decisive actors and factors
this research, we will refer to the value of urban identity from local to the global arena.
Ther... more this research, we will refer to the value of urban identity from local to the global arena.
Therefore, we will deal with the phenomenology of two distinct theories about the results of
dynamical urban metamorphoses in the age of globalization. One involves the global
institutions and sets of economical networks and actors, like banking and transportation
systems.1 Another theory (which is popular between the critical regionalists and poststructuralist
urban scholars) remarks the cultural domains and praises the locality and urban
identity and strives the lack of the placeless-ness and anonymity of the urban spaces due the
globalization process.
The French historian Frenad Braudel once noted'A town is always a town, wherever it is located, i... more The French historian Frenad Braudel once noted'A town is always a town, wherever it is located, in time as well as space.' 1 Space is a relational element; not only because of relativity between its different spots but also because of the linkage between it's geographical situation and its institutional leading elements. Today, we can not think of a particular town as unique bounded or self-contained entity. Cities, in this view are not just geographical parts of a region or country, but are nodules of population woven into the fabric of larger urban societies even in the world scale which is called metropolis or "world city". This paper analyzes typology of the metropolitan urban areas and tries to find the similarities and differences between the identity and urban characteristics of various metropolitan regions illustrated by two case studies of the Middle Eastern and West European metropolitan regions. This article is an attempt to clarify different systems of metropolitan development inside the urban areas and distinguish the patterns of their growth and expansion due to the different matrixes of urban centres during the history.
This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evol... more This chapter explores two structural aspects of port-city interaction. First, it studies the evolution of planning policies on post-industrial waterfront spaces in the Netherlands before and after the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on the former shipbuilding company RDM (Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij). The RDM site in Rotterdam is a significant part of the old port area, and its submarine and shipbuilding legacy has always been present in the heads and hearts of the citizens. Second, the chapter explores how reawakening the nautical culture and marine traditions in Rotterdam can also reanimate the historical links between port and city. It briefly analyses the goals, achievements, and effects of a few heritage projects on the port-city interaction and the maritime identity of this global port city.
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Papers by arash salek
Focusing on the vital-interdependency of qanāts and local communities in the central Iranian arid and semi-arid areas, we will describe how in the course of millennia, some collective qanāt organisations have been established to provide a structure for human-water interaction related to sustainable management of limited water-resources in this region.
The transformation of many cities inside this region is not only marked by morphological and physical changes, but also by transformation of their institutional structures and changes in the position and the roles of the decisive actors engaged in the process of urban planning and spatial development.
Therefore, in the age of rapid globalization, it seems that due to speedy changes inside the urban areas, the urban identity and spatial characteristics of the cities inside this region need to be redefined.
To achieve this goal, I make a distinction between the monocentric ´capital´ metropolises and polycentric ´trade-orientated´ metropolitan regions based on Max Weber’s classification of urban spaces into “consumption” and “commercial/production” cities.
This paper provides a starting point for further analysis of identity of the metropolitan urban spaces according to their historical process of urban fabrication and presents a new perspective to discover the similarities and dissimilarities between them.
Keywords:
Metropolitan regions, Weberian urban typology ´consumer/capital´ and ´productive/delta´ metropolitan areas, polycentric and monocentric metropolitan spaces, urban interconnections, institutional settings, decisive actors and factors
Therefore, we will deal with the phenomenology of two distinct theories about the results of
dynamical urban metamorphoses in the age of globalization. One involves the global
institutions and sets of economical networks and actors, like banking and transportation
systems.1 Another theory (which is popular between the critical regionalists and poststructuralist
urban scholars) remarks the cultural domains and praises the locality and urban
identity and strives the lack of the placeless-ness and anonymity of the urban spaces due the
globalization process.
Drafts by arash salek
Books by arash salek
Focusing on the vital-interdependency of qanāts and local communities in the central Iranian arid and semi-arid areas, we will describe how in the course of millennia, some collective qanāt organisations have been established to provide a structure for human-water interaction related to sustainable management of limited water-resources in this region.
The transformation of many cities inside this region is not only marked by morphological and physical changes, but also by transformation of their institutional structures and changes in the position and the roles of the decisive actors engaged in the process of urban planning and spatial development.
Therefore, in the age of rapid globalization, it seems that due to speedy changes inside the urban areas, the urban identity and spatial characteristics of the cities inside this region need to be redefined.
To achieve this goal, I make a distinction between the monocentric ´capital´ metropolises and polycentric ´trade-orientated´ metropolitan regions based on Max Weber’s classification of urban spaces into “consumption” and “commercial/production” cities.
This paper provides a starting point for further analysis of identity of the metropolitan urban spaces according to their historical process of urban fabrication and presents a new perspective to discover the similarities and dissimilarities between them.
Keywords:
Metropolitan regions, Weberian urban typology ´consumer/capital´ and ´productive/delta´ metropolitan areas, polycentric and monocentric metropolitan spaces, urban interconnections, institutional settings, decisive actors and factors
Therefore, we will deal with the phenomenology of two distinct theories about the results of
dynamical urban metamorphoses in the age of globalization. One involves the global
institutions and sets of economical networks and actors, like banking and transportation
systems.1 Another theory (which is popular between the critical regionalists and poststructuralist
urban scholars) remarks the cultural domains and praises the locality and urban
identity and strives the lack of the placeless-ness and anonymity of the urban spaces due the
globalization process.