چکیده:
Problem Statement: Regarding the nature of the New Towns in Iran, the attempt to have a desirable
habitation and an expected level of urban qualified life by residents in these settlements is faced with
multiple challenges.
Aims: This research aims at presenting an evaluative model of the urban management challenges in
New Towns based on the interpretive structural modeling approach.
Methodology: In the present study, the interpretive structural modeling is used to map the hierarchical
relationships of the main factors. Hence, the main sources of data in this study are the opinions of a
panel of experts in this field. In this method, the initial self-interaction matrix is created and the final
reachability matrix is drawn. Thereafter, the variables are ranked and their relationships are clarified
and clustered.
Conclusion: The results indicate that the factors are ranked in six groups that are included in the cause
and effect diagram as follows: the “environmental” factors at the first level, the “social and cultural”
factors at the second level, the “facilities and services” at the third level, the “administrative and
institutional” factors and “urban development and architecture” factors at the fourth level, the “financing
and budgeting” factors at the fifth level and finally the “planning and policy-making” and “legal”
factors at the sixth level. Moreover, the clustering of factors showed that the two “planning and policy
making” factors and “legal” factors are recognized as independent driving factors. In addition, “urban
development and architecture”, “administrative and institutional”, “financing and budgeting”, and
“environmental” factors were identified as intermediary factors. Finally, the “facilities and services”,
and “social and cultural” factors were considered as dependent ones. None of the factors were clustered
as autonomous. The results of this research can help planners and policy-makers to review the urban
management system of New Towns for further improvement of the system structure and enhancing the
ability of facing the challenges and improving the quality of life for citizens of these towns.