Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

• Mahyar Sajadian ¹
• Mohamad Ali Firoozi ²
• Ahmad Pourahmad ³

¹ Ph.D. in Geography and Urban Planning, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

² Professor, Department of Geography & Urban Planning, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

³ Professor, Department of Geography & Urban Planning, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Extended Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, smart cities are a new paradigm in the global urban planning system. Based on the capabilities of information and communication technology, these smart cities try to improve the quality of life in places which are immersed in numerous problems with social, economic, environmental and other dimensions. However, a comprehensive, multidimensional, complex smart city is based on the urban planning paradigm of complexity and chaos which can lead to successful planning and management. The present study, from the perspective of modern chaos theory, is aimed to formulate strategic requirements for the realization of the smart city in Ahvaz metropolis.
Methods: This article is in the category of applied-developmental research, which is question-based. It has been accomplished using bibliographic and survey method, using exploratory factor analysis, one-sample t-test and Friedman ranking test in SPSS software. The survey instrument was a 5-point Likert questionnaire whose final content validity was confirmed by professors and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.906. The statistical population consist of the experts of the institutions involved in the smartening process of Ahvaz metropolis. A combination of clustered snowball sampling methods and monitored network was used in this research. Finally, 380 questionnaires were completed. The adequacy of the number of samples was confirmed by KMO method.
Findings: Based on the findings of the research, in relation to the theory of chaos, it is possible to conclude that Ahvaz metropolis is affected by the non-linear effect in the smartening process; also, the butterfly effect is significant in this metropolis. Moreover, in connection with the modulating variable of the power of universities and research institutes, sensibly, it can be accepted that the condition of this component is also not inappropriate. Using Friedman’s ranking test, the authors ranked the components and indicators including the butterfly effect of social and ethnic pluralism, social moderators, steady flow of energy, people, non-linear effect, variable modulating power of universities and research institutes, contexts, structural forces, institutional forces. Finally, the use of communication and information technology capabilities in promoting environmental quality (motivators) are located.
Conclusion: Based on the results of the research, nonlinear effects govern the process of smart city development in Ahvaz significantly. This implies that a nonlinear system, influenced by variables such as conflicting interests, developmental contradictions, ownership conflicts, and the level of technology acceptance by the public, dominates the realization of the smart city in Ahvaz. These factors have led to turbulent conditions in this metropolis. In this context, the impact of two key factors, namely, government and oil, on this process and system, as well as the central-peripheral dynamics shaped in the country, particularly in connection with the oil-rich city of Ahvaz, cannot be overlooked. As many researchers have emphasized in their studies, the government has commercialized money and capital in the cities through the vast banking system. It has helped the expansion of cities and urbanization more than ever. This extensive and unmatched influence of the government originates above all from the way of obtaining its revenue sources, i.e. the export of crude oil, the resulting national surplus has an important contribution to the accumulation of capital and expanding reproduction in the economic process of the country. In such an atmosphere, the military creation of the center and the periphery has caused the emergence of an unbalanced national development model. Therefore, as observed in the analytical research model, the government and oil entities, in addition to their impact within the framework of internal structural institutions of the Ahvaz metropolis, are considered external influential factors in the overall drivers of smart city realization in Ahvaz. The presence of these two entities, due to their interactions with each other and the factors of conflicting interests, developmental contradictions, ownership conflicts, and the level of technology acceptance by the public, intensifies the nonlinear effects in the process of smart city development in Ahvaz. Inside, the stimuli have stimulated the drives and the drivers - based on the theoretical foundations of smart cities - with the goal of achieving a more efficient, sustainable, livable and fairer city in an urban framework with dimensions of smart environment, smart life, smart economy, smart mobility, smart governance and smart people to mobilize resources and facilities. But in the meantime, the factor of social and ethnic pluralism as a factor with a butterfly effect can be effective in this movement from drivers to a smart city. Also, in this transformation, two social moderator variables and the power of universities and research institutes are effective in this movement. In addition, the internet access flows as a constant flow of energy on the entire system.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

- Extraction of the essential components affecting the realization of the smart city of Ahvaz, with an approach based on chaos theory.
- Evaluation of the current situation of the metropolis of Ahvaz, based on the basic components of realizing the smart city of Ahvaz from the perspective of chaos theory.
- Compilation of strategic requirements for the realization of a smart city from the point of view of chaos theory.
- Analysis of the platforms affecting the self-organization capacity of Ahvaz metropolis, in order to facilitate the transformation of this metropolis into a smart city.

Keywords

• Smart City
• Chaos Theory
• Self-Organization
• Ahvaz

Main Subjects

• Planning

این مقاله برگرفته از رساله دکتری نویسنده نخست با عنوان «تبیین الگویی برندآفرین از تکنوشهر هوشمند رودکناری در راستای انسان گرایی شهری (مطالعه موردی: کلانشهر اهواز)» می‌باشد که به راهنمایی نویسنده دوم و مشاوره نویسنده سوم در دانشگاه شهید چمران اهواز انجام گرفته است.

This article is derived from the first author`s doctoral thesis entitled “Strategic requirements for improving the self-organizing capacity of cities in order to make them smarter; Case study: Ahvaz metropolis ”, supervised by the second author and advised by the third, at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.