Abstract:
Examining the planning of cemeteries in the urbanism system of Iran does not show a goodcondition. In fact, cemeteries in the most Persian cities have become large-scale open spaces outside the city. This couldcause irreparable damage to the cities because of the partial and/or improper use of the capacity of urban lands. Alongwith this, historical cemeteries within the cities have been abandoned. However, it seems that urban space with functionof the cemetery has a specific sociocultural potential. Cemeteries can be very effective elements in the symbolic networkof the city. As a result, it is also an essential element which must be associated with the structure and organisation of thecity and the neighbourhoods, not as a waste and marginal element. In addition, examining this symbolic space achievea symbolic dialogue which will result in exploring the beliefs, emotions, dreams, and imaginations of ancestors whichmeans these urban areas need a specific attention. This paper, by using descriptive-analytical research method, attemptsto explain sociocultural functions of cemeteries as an urban space, and to scrutinise its pathology through reviewing itsposition in the urban plans in Iran. In the following, via an emphasis on the sociocultural role of the cemetery, a seriesof strategies will be expressed for promoting its position within cities.
Machine summary:
International Journal of Architecture and Urban Development Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 2015 Cemetery as a Sociocultural Space in the Persian Cities 1٭Reza ShakerArdekani, 2Hamed Akhgar, 3Hossein Zabihi 1Graduate Student in Research Master's Urban Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Thus, it seems that in the most development plans of the Persian cities, the approach to cemetery has been as a place with merely functional role (not public service) such as a landfill or water treatment plant, and it has been transferred to the farthest point of the city, as a centralised place (Haghir & Shohanizad, 2011).
In this regard, the role of the cemetery in social and cultural aspects will be studied, and a series of suggestions are proposed in promoting this role based on four approaches: renovation of cemeteries within the city, expansion of existing cemeteries, using cemeteries as urban green spaces, and locating new cemeteries within the neighbourhoods.
However, with the expansion of cities and an increase in their population, the new cemeteries were created at relatively far distance from urban textures in the form of large areas, like what can be seen today in Tehran's cemetery (Haghir & Shohanizad, 2011).
Due to the partial use of the capacity of urban lands, or improper use of them, the following problems might be inevitable: Over time and with constructing new cemeteries outside the city, the continuity amongst generations who used to meet each other in family tombs fades and family visits gradually reduces, and finally is forgotten.