The city of Isfahan, one of the most historic urban settlements in Iran, has undergone dramatic socio-spatial transformations during the recent decades, beginning with the modernization programs of the 1920s. While the urban structure of Isfahan was the outcome of a process over centuries of incremental evolution, a new mode of place making and street patterns was imposed on the historic fabric of the city within the space of only a few decades.

From a design methodological perspective, this dissertation analyzes how the socio-spatial interactions have influenced the formation of Isfahan over the course of its history. In this respect, some of the crucial periods of Isfahan’s urban development history are discussed. It is argued how the contemporary urban renewal doctrines have affected the existing socio-spatial communications of the city along its transformation path. Therefore, the essence of this study is to illustrate the mutual relations between physical transformations and social communications through the city of Isfahan. However, this research has no intention to criticize the modernization of cities, since they are often unavoidable and necessary. But it targets the rigidity of urban design strategies as were implemented in the historic cities of Iran.

In this thesis, the information-rich case of Isfahan is discussed through a descriptive analysis combined with the deployment of mixed method strategies. The ultimate goal is to develop alternative ideas which can support revitalization of cities with respect to their socio-spatial communications as well as their architectural heritage.