Journal of the planner and development

This research develops a new method based on spectral indices and random forest classifier to detect paddy rice areas and then assess their distributions regarding to urban areas. The classification will be conducted on Landsat OLI images and Landsat OLI/Sentinel 1 SAR data. Consequently, developing a new spectral index by analyzing the relative importance of Landsat bands will be calculated by the random forest. The new spectral index has improved depending on the most three important bands, then two additional indices including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and standardized difference built-up index (NDBI) have been used to extract paddy rice fields from the data. Several experiments being conducted to analyze and understand the strengths and weakness of the proposed new method. This research shows that spectral indices are easy and accurate tool for rapid mapping of paddy rice fields in complicated environment where urban features are dominated. The outcomes of this research could help mapping and decision makers to progress their productivity and strategic plans for better management of rice fields.

Obiovisly that the holy thresholds are directly related to Islam and Muslims and related to the general culture of the Islamic peoples. In terms of architecture, it is considered a distinctive architectural scene that reviews the history of this origin and its architectural styles. Recently, with the increase in the number of pilgrims and visitors to the holy shrines, there is a need to develop and expand the buildings and provide them with services and introduce modern technology. The building of the holy thresholds consists of a number of functional design indicators: The general problem of research is that there is no clear theoretical framework for the design indicators for the development of the holy shrines according to the function it provides and the need to develop them. In order to find a solution to these problems, the research will deal with two axes, the first one will review the concept of architectural development and its types, and reach the identification of development indicators for archaeological historical buildings with distinctive spiritual and symbolic values. The second axis deals with the study and analysis of examples of the architecture of the existing holy shrines (Haram al-Makki and Haram Imam Redha) by reviewing

The process of its creation and development throughout history to determine its functional design indicators and then reviewing the development projects. The research adopts descriptive methods for the selected samples, which include the projects of thresholds, tombs and holy sites (Haram al-Makki and Haram Imam Redha).

The historical center's landscape suffers from neglect, despite their importance and broad capabilities in enhancing the cultural value of the historical center, as landscape includes many heterogeneous human and non-human components, material and immaterial, natural and manufactured, also different historical layers, ancient, modern and contemporary. Due to the difference in these components and layers, it has become difficult for the designer to deal with it. Therefore, the research was directed by following a methodology of actor-network theory as it deals with such a complex system and concerned with an advanced method to connect the various components of considering landscape as a ground that can include various elements and deal with them to produce all homogenized to enhance the value of the historic center.
The research problem represented by the lack of a comprehensive presentation of the effective network theory approach in dealing with landscapes, so the goal of the research became, to build a comprehensive framework for the effective network theory approach in dealing with the historical center landscape, which is represented by two components, actors and the concept of networking actors.
Finally, the research has taken the landscape of AlQushla building to illustrate how the actors and the concept of networking actors was been achieved, and who they worked to enhance the cultural value of the historical center.

This research examines the quantitative analysis to assess the efficiency of the transport network in Sadr City, where the study area suffers from a large traffic movement for the variability of traffic flow and intensity at peak hours as a result of inside traffic and outside of it, especially in the neighborhoods of population with economic concentration.
The research focused on restricting traffic movement and various day trips by designing a questionnaire to collect data (random sample) after statistically analyzing it for the purpose of obtaining the descriptive and quantitative results of the relationship between the traffic density and expressed by the number of vehicles passing through the city of Sadr street and the independent variables.
The main findings of the research are that there is a correlation, functional attraction and service in the study area because of its transport knots and its connection with means of transport in a solid form of the regular network format.

In this paper, the relationship between urban growth, land use, site availability, and impacts on the general appearance of the city generated by functional characteristics of port cities were analyzed. Various data were used to identify patterns of land use change and city growth and expansion. The research aims to analyze the impact of the port on the growth of the city, study the urban growth of the city of Umm Qasr and predicting the growth trends, and to identify the most influential factors in this growth. The study dealt with the concepts of urban growth and the factors that characterize the growth of port cities and the current situation of the city. The practical part included the mechanisms used by the researcher to analyze the relationship of urban growth and the effect of the port in that growth, considering that the port is the functional identity of the city. The researcher followed descriptive analytical method depending on the spatial analysis of land uses using geographic information systems and IDRISI software during periods of time that were identified and compared with the changes between these periods and questionnaire forms according to the axes that were determined through the theoretical side, The aim of the questionnaire forms was to determine the impact of the port on the city through these axes. In order to obtain a clear and comprehensive vision, two types of questionnaire forms were used: the first is the random one for the residents of the city and the second is intended for experts, officials and specialists in the field of ports. The objective of the separation is to obtain better and comprehensive results. The researcher concluded the most important conclusions (that the relationship between the port and the city experienced a clear fluctuation and this was observed in previous years, but the period between 2012-2018 has seen a rapid development and this is due to the relative increase in trade) This shows the strength of the relationship between urban growth Of the city and the activity of the port. The most important recommendations are (integrating the port function with the city function under a sustainable development framework may help balance the relationship between the city and its port).

The urban Gentrification is an inclusive global phenomenon to restructure the cities on the overall levels, the research to propose a specific study about the concept of urban Gentrification in the cities and showcasing its, specifications, and results, and how to deal with the variables that occur on cities through improvements as part of urban renewal projects, then the general axis of the research is shrinked, choosing the urban centers as the most important areas that deal with the urban Gentrification process due to its direct connection with indivisuals and social changes, and to process the specific axis of the research theses and studies will be showcased that discuss the topic in different research directions, and emerged the research problem in “Lack of comprehensive knowledge regarding the importance of urban Gentrification in developing the urban city centers in general and the speciality of local needs specifically” and the research goal based on that is “Studying and clarifying the urban Gentrification as an integrated process in developing the urban city centers generally and reviving its neighborhoods specifically”, and building a theortical inclusive frame regarding the urban Gentrification concept in urban centers as an integrated process that includes a group of levels, specifications, and mechanisms, the research bases its goals and processing the research problem to a main hypothesis, that is “The urban Gentrification process in urban centers is achieved by achieving its Diffrents Levels, Economic, social, environmental and cultural.”


For the purpose of checking the authenticity of the hypothesis the urban center of Al-Battaween have been elected and tested using the method of surveys given to sample of elected people (specialized in the field) and then the

positive effects of the urban Gentrification process were detected, and how it effects on a group of visual features and urban activities within the urban centers specifically and within the city in general.

The city is often discussed in barren, eviscerated terms and in technical jargon by urban professionals as if it were a lifeless, detached being. In fact, it is a sensory, emotional, lived experience. How often do strategic urban plans start with the words ‘beauty’, ‘love’, ‘happiness’ or ‘excitement’, as opposed to ‘bypass’, ‘spatial outcome’ or ‘planning framework, So the research problem was formed by the weakness of the sensory perception of cities and the weakness of the sense of different spaces, which in turn leads to weakness of belonging, identity and clarity, Therefor we focus here on the sensory perception. The hypothesis Recognize Senses as helpful tool in increasing people's understanding of different spaces and finding imaginative solutions and engaging and moving people. The aim was to draw up mechanisms to achieve a plan that communicates with the people and reflects their ideas and will (achieving belonging - continuity - building identity - and clarity), and enables the as individuals to integrate with the urban life in order to live well, which stimulates the work and the sense of place and increases the perception of the users of their spaces, and enhances the sense of collective identity of the place.

It is the dynamic tension between the relatively fixed built environment and the constantly changing in social life that determines the nature of urban spaces belonging to different historical periods, and considered as a tool for diagnosing transformations in urban spaces, that’s why, the characteristics of urban space became unclear between positive spaces and negative spaces, so emerged the need to study contemporary urban space belonging to the current period of time and show the most important transformations that have occurred in contemporary urban space to reach urban spaces that meet the current life requirements. Therefore, the research dealt with a study of the characteristics of contemporary urban space and the most prominent shifts in the properties of urban space from the substantive and operational point of view, given that urban transformations affect the value of the urban space, therefore it is necessary to define its contemporary formative properties, Hence the research problem has emerged, "the necessity of formulating the transformations that occurred in the contemporary urban space from compositive properties to contemporary formative properties." And the goal of the research was: to arrive at building a comprehensive theoretical paradigm that includes contemporary formative properties, The realization of this required the building of a theoretical framework consisting of four main concepts: The reading of urban form, The Homogeneous Spaces, Contemporary Design Models, The Five Design Categories, and the research reached the most important desired results of contemporary urban space as essential requirements for today's spaces.To clarify that the contemporary complexity is the main character of contemporary urban space.