Isfahan 2020 Plan
Core idea
River Zayandeh-rud + fabric protection
Why it matters
Safavid capital contemporary plan
Description
A comprehensive plan prepared in 2006 by the Isfahan municipality and associated planning bodies to guide the development of the historic Iranian city towards 2020. The plan combined protection of the Safavid-era urban fabric—including the bazaar, Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the historic bridges—with strategies for the Zayandeh-rud river corridor, decentralisation of growth to surrounding centres, and management of traffic and industry in the metropolitan area.
Significance
The Isfahan 2020 Plan represents contemporary planning for one of the great historic capitals of the Islamic world, balancing conservation of a celebrated Safavid ensemble against modern metropolitan pressures. It is notable in debates on heritage-led planning in the Middle East, and the recurrent drying of the Zayandeh-rud has since underscored the plan's exposure to water scarcity and regional environmental stress.
What shaped it
- The chahar bagh (c. 6th c. BCE)
- Genius Loci (Norberg-Schulz) (1979)
- Sustainable development (Brundtland) (1987)
- The qanat (c. 800 BCE)
Sources
- https://www.spacesyntax.net/symposia-archive/SSS4/fullpapers/14Karimipaper.pdf
- https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-comprehensive-master-plan-of-Isfahan-produced-by-Naghshe