مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رسانی علوم و فناوری مطالعات شهر ایرانی-اسلامی 2228-639X 16 59 2025 12 27 A Socio-Spatial Analysis of the Factors and Forces Influencing the Transformation of Bushehr’s Relationship with the Sea during the Pahlavi Era تحليلي اجتماعي- مكاني از عوامل و نيروهاي مؤثر بر تغيير ارتباط شهر بوشهر با دريا در دوره پهلوی اول و دوم 103 122 fa حمیدرضا بحرانی دانشگاه هنر اصفهان بهادر زمانی دانشگاه هنر اصفهان 2025 5 15 A Socio-Spatial Analysis of the Factors and Forces Influencing the Transformation of Bushehr’s Relationship with the Sea during the Pahlavi Era<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>   Hamidreza Bahrani<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">*</a> Bahador Zamani <a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3"></a>**   The transformation of Bushehr from a commercial port during the Zand and early Qajar periods into an industrial and military port in the Pahlavi II era was shaped by a variety of factors and forces. Many of these forces conflicted with, or disregarded, the values, needs, and desires of the local population. As a result, the direct, continuous, and identity-forming relationship between the local community and the sea—and consequently the city’s spatial structure—was significantly weakened, leading to the deterioration of its original urban core. This study aims to identify the key factors and explain how they influenced the changing relationship between the city of Bushehr and the sea during the Pahlavi I and II periods. Accordingly, the central research question focuses on what these influencing forces were and how they shaped this transformation during the mentioned period. Adopting a qualitative approach, this research employs a combination of historical-interpretive methods and single-case study analysis. The findings reveal that the most influential forces in altering Bushehr’s connection with the sea during the Pahlavi era were political forces at both national and international levels. In pursuit of their strategic objectives and interests on land and sea, these forces exerted power over the city’s political, economic, social, and cultural structures, as well as its built environment. This, in turn, led to the weakening of Bushehr’s relationship with the sea and the decline of its four historic neighborhoods.   Keywords: City–Sea Relationship, Urban Transformation, Socio-Spatial Approach, Bushehr.   Research Methodology Given the issue concerning the deterioration of the four historic neighborhoods—Behbahani, Shanbedi, Dehdashti, and Kooti—as the original core of the city of Bushehr, this study seeks to identify the factors and forces that influenced the changing relationship between Bushehr and the sea, and to explain how these forces shaped this transformation during the Pahlavi I and II periods. Considering the nature of the research question and the selected historical timeframe, the study follows a qualitative approach using a combination of historical-interpretive methods and single-case study analysis. The research was conducted in three steps: Step 1 – Reviewing prior studies on city-sea relations within the framework of the theoretical model; Step 2 –Explaining the urban development process of Bushehr based on the theoretical framework, using data gathered from archival research (e.g., historical maps, images, biographies, travelogues, and books) and direct observation (architectural and urban remnants); Step 3– Establishing connections between changes in the built and social environments and the sea in order to answer the research questions and achieve its objectives (Figure 2).   Analysis (Explaining Bushehr’s Relationship with the Sea) During the Pahlavi I period, Bushehr’s political structure began interacting with the sea primarily to serve the limited economic interests of the central government. With the onset of World War II, the sea evolved into a tool for dominating all social processes in Bushehr. This resulted in the weakening of commercial and trading activities and the establishment of government offices, reducing Bushehr’s economic and social ties to the sea solely to traditional fishing practices. Consequently, the built environment—especially following new developments in the eastern and northeastern parts of the city (where exclusive warehouses were built)—also lost part of its physical connection with the sea. In the Pahlavi II period, the sea became a means through which Bushehr’s political structure was once again empowered, this time to serve broader military, political, and economic interests of the central government. As a result, with the expansion of service and industrial activities geared toward national goals, the economic ties between the city and the sea were further weakened. The deployment of a new workforce into state-run service and industrial sectors transformed the city's social structure. Previously, Bushehr’s society had been rooted in livelihoods derived directly from the sea. However, as this connection faded, the community's survival was no longer dependent on the sea. A new class of civil servants began to emerge in Bushehr during this period, bringing with it different needs that shaped a new kind of social relationship with the sea—centered around nature appreciation, leisure, walking, sports, sunset watching, and other recreational activities. During this time, the sea also became a gateway for the introduction of foreign cultures—especially from modern societies—into Bushehr’s cultural structure, a process that was accelerated by the presence of an educated, professional class. Accordingly, with the expansion of maritime institutions such as the Ports and Shipping Organization, the physical connection to the sea in the northern and eastern parts of the city was entirely severed, and urban expansion shifted southward—away from the sea.   Conclusion (The Nature of the Forces and Their Influence on Bushehr’s Changing Relationship with the Sea) Within the socio-spatial framework, the major transformations in Bushehr during the Pahlavi I and II periods are understood as outcomes of socio-spatial processes that unfolded over time in a social setting situated near the sea. As illustrated in Figure 1, the sea consistently interacted with other elements of this process—both as a natural feature and a development factor. It influenced and was influenced by the city’s social environment (including political, economic, social, cultural structures, and individuals) and its built environment (including development agents and new urban expansions). The findings from the analysis of Bushehr’s development process during the Pahlavi I and II periods indicate that the most influential forces in altering the city’s relationship with the sea during Pahlavi I were Reza Shah’s national policies (a political force at the national scale), and the outbreak of World War II (a political force at the international scale). These two forces triggered changes in Bushehr’s political and economic structures and led to the emigration of the merchant community from the city, thereby transforming its social and cultural ties to the sea. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, the central government policies (a political force at the national scale) repositioned Bushehr as a strategic military and industrial port. These policies reshaped the political and economic structures of the city, leading to an influx of state employees and workers. As a result, the city’s social and cultural structures were once again transformed—this time not through the departure of merchants (as in the Pahlavi I period), but through the arrival of civil servants (Table 1 and Table 2). Thus, during both Pahlavi periods, the weakening of Bushehr’s political, economic, social, and cultural ties with the sea also undermined its physical relationship with the coastline. Urban growth shifted to the southern parts of the city (with the development of new neighborhoods), leading to the deterioration of its historic core—specifically, the neighborhoods of Behbahani, Shanbedi, Dehdashti, and Kooti.   References Al-Ansari, F. (2009) Public open space on the transforming urban waterfronts of Bahrain: The case of Manama City (Ph.D. thesis), Newcastle University. (Link: https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/522). 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This paper is extracted from ongoing “Hamidreza bahrani”’s Ph.D thesis entitled “An investigation of the forces affecting the city-sea relation, and its impact on the transformation of the coastal line public open spaces qualities; (Case study: Bushehr’s coastal line spaces)” under the supervision of the second author at the Faculty of “Architecture and Urban Planning”, “Art University of Isfahan” in “Isfahan, Iran”. <a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">* Ph.D </a>Student of Urban Planning, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. <a href="mailto:hamidreza_bahrani@yahoo.com">hamidreza_bahrani@yahoo.com</a> ORCID: 0000-0002-8704-8546 <a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"></a>** Associate Professor of Urban Design, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. <a href="mailto:B.zamani@aui.ac.ir">B.zamani@aui.ac.ir</a> ORCID: 0000-0001-5913-0481   فرآیند دگرگونی شهر بوشهر از یک بندر تجاری در دوره زندیه و اوایل قاجاریه به یک بندر صنعتی و نظامی در دوره پهلوی دوم، تحت&zwnj; تأثیر عوامل و نیروهای متعددی شکل گرفته است. از آنجا که اغلب این نیروها در تضاد یا بیتوجه به ارزشها، نیازها و خواسته های مردم شهر بوشهر بوده، ارتباط مستقیم، مداوم و هویت&zwnj;بخش جامعه محلی و به تبع آن، ساختار فضایی این شهر با دریا را تضعیف نموده و موجبات فرسودگی هسته اولیه آن را ایجاد کرده است. هدف مقالۀ پیش&zwnj; رو، شناسایی این عوامل و تبیین نحوۀ اثرگذاری آنها بر تغییر ارتباط دریا با شهر بوشهر در دوره پهلوی اول و دوم است. از این&zwnj;رو پرسش پژوهش بر چیستی عوامل و نیروهای مؤثر بر تغییر ارتباط دریا با شهر بوشهر و چگونگی اثرگذاری آنها بر این فرآیند در دوره یادشده تمركز يافته است. اين پژوهش با رويكرد كيفي و با استفاده از روش&zwnj;هاي تاريخي- تفسيري و مطالعه تک&zwnj;موردی انجام گرفته است. دادهها از طریق بررسی منابع آرشیوی شامل نقشهها، تصاویر، متون و سفرنامهها و نیز مشاهده مستقیم، گردآوری شده است. نتایج نشان میدهد که مؤثرترین نیروها بر تغییر ارتباط دریا با شهر بوشهر در دوره پهلوی اول و دوم، نیروهای سیاسی در مقیاس ملی و بین&zwnj;المللی هستند. این نیروها در راستاي تأمين اهداف و منافع خود در دریا و خشکی از طريق اعمال قدرت بر ساختارهای سیاسی، اقتصادی، اجتماعی، فرهنگی و به&zwnj;تبع آن محیط ساختهشده شهر بوشهر، موجب تضعیف ارتباط این شهر با دریا و فرسودگی چهار محله قدیمی آن شدهاند.

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