The Role of Indigenous Culture in Shaping Urban Physical Space: A Case Study of Darvazeh Ghar Neighborhood in Tehran

This study investigates the role of indigenous culture on the physical space of Tehran (Darvazeh Ghar neighborhood). The research method used in this research is qualitative and the techniques of semi-structured interview, participatory observation, field walking, and group discussion have been used. In this study, it was found that people living in Darvazeh Ghar neighborhood come from different ethnicities and cultures and have different cultural roots. Due to their exclusion from society, they are cut off from the culture of the surrounding society, and their current indigenous culture, which gives them a cultural identity, is a specific subculture of the region. And in terms of space, this area has a very worn texture, and the same kind of culture and social structure resulting from it has led to this type of space. Finally, this has become an obstacle to sustainable urban development in terms of new architecture in this neighborhood. Because every culture has its own identity in the form of its culture, the native culture, due to naming the culture for it, can give a special identity to individuals based on its characteristics, structures, forms, which can be named as an indigenous identity, and it is the cultural identity that determines in various dimensions, including urban architecture, what kind of architecture and texture dominates the urban space. At the end of this article, suggestions for overcoming this situation are presented.

The Role of Indigenous Culture in Shaping Urban Physical Space: A Case Study of Darvazeh Ghar Neighborhood in Tehran Keywords:

culture , indigenous culture , architecture , cultural identity , customs