Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (13 Views)
Roads in the Iranian-Islamic tradition were not merely corridors of movement but meaningful spatial experiences shaping cultural perception and collective identity. Contemporary highway construction in Iran, however, has largely reduced the concept of the road to a functional and technical infrastructure governed by efficiency indicators. Drawing on phenomenology of place (Heidegger, 1977; Norberg-Schulz, 1980) and Marc Augé’s concept of non-place (1995), this paper critically examines Tehran–Qom, Qom–Kashan, and Tehran–North highways. The findings suggest that technocratic planning has diminished perceptual, cultural, and existential dimensions of travel experience. Reconsidering highways as experiential landscapes rather than mere transit channels is essential for reconnecting infrastructure with territorial identity.
Article number: 2
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