Pollution (air, water, soil, etc.), waste management, and biodiversity depletion are the most important environmental problems of Tehran city. This paper considers the biophilic urbanism as a complementary approach alongside the other strategies and plans to promote the environmental sustainability in Tehran city. In this research, we used D’ANP method to determine the influential and importance weight of indicators and dimensions. The result showed that biophilic institutions and governance, and biophilic infrastructure and conditions are the influencing dimensions, whereas the biophilic attitude and knowledge, and biophilic activity are the affected dimensions. Also, results showed that ‘percentage of population engaged in nature restoration and volunteer efforts, priority given to environmental education, Priority given to nature conservation and education by local government, adoption of green building and planning codes and adoption of a local biodiversity action plan or strategy’ are the most important indicators among the indicators respectively. In general, this paper concludes that the biophilic planning and designing increase the environmental attitude and knowledge of citizens, and enhanced environmental attitude and knowledge lead to environmental behaviour modification and green lifestyle of citizens and thus environmental sustainability.

Urban resilience refers to the capacity of an urban system to fully recover from unforeseen calamities. This study aims to assess the physical resilience indicators used to measure urban resilience in Tehran, the political and economic capital of Iran, and to pinpoint the most significant direct and indirect influences on urban resilience. The research process divided into two parts. The environmental scanning approach (reviewing papers and published sources, interviewing specialists, and monitoring conferences) and the literature review were employed in the first part to compile a database of the key information on the elements impacting physical resilience. The most significant factors impacting physical resilience over the next ten years were requested to be identified by specialists and intellectuals in the second part. Finally, the MicMac program was used to analyze the data after 29 variables were specified in Delphi. In light of the trace-analysis-dependence diagram, which depicts the instability of the influential factors and the persistence of their impact on other variables, the results demonstrate that Tehran’s physical resilience is in an unstable condition. According to the results, the factors that have the maximum impact on other variables are granularity drivers, emergency evacuation capacity, rescue and security spaces (emergency, fire station, and police station), impermeability, rate of the amendment and retrofitting measures in the buildings of each zone, building age, and the compatibility of land uses. The variables that are most susceptible to change from other variables include the distribution status of dangerous land uses, the quality of the buildings, the rate of historically vulnerable buildings, the vulnerability of internal and external roads, the rate of improvements and retrofitting measures in buildings in each zone, as well as historically vulnerable historical buildings.

Purpose: In Iran, the frequent occurrence of disasters has always been a major problem. In recent decades, disasters have created considerable challenges, especially in cities. Hence, understanding the levels of urban resilience (UR) and planning for addressing vulnerabilities plays a key role in the era of increasing risks and uncertainties. The present study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of resilience of Iranian cities. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review method was used to determine how resilient Iranian cities are. To find relevant studies, the authors searched Iranian and international databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, SID and Magiran. There was no restriction on the inclusion date, meaning that all papers published up until September 16, 2021 were considered for inclusion. The PRISMA framework was used for literature search and selection and, finally, 153 studies focused on 52 cities of Iran were selected for the systematic review. Findings: In general, the results showed that the level of resilience was low in Iranian cities. Also, informal settlements, worn-out urban fabrics and the central parts of cities showed lower resilience than other parts. Originality/value: The results of the study can be used to inform municipal authorities, urban planners and non-governmental organizations of the actions that need to be taken to enhance the resilience of Iranian cities.