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The main objectives of the current study are to assess the existing situation of historical city centers in Iran and to offer prioritized appropriate regeneration strategies for their sustainable development.

The study is based on a questionnaire-based survey in four historical city centers of Iran: Kashan, Naeen, Ardakan and Yazd. The required data have been collected using multiple tools including questionnaires and interviews with local residents and officials in the aforementioned case studies. Using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) technique, a set of appropriate strategies for the sustainable regeneration of these valuable fabrics has been proposed and the best of them have been prioritized employing quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) matrix.

The results show that the current situation in all the case studies is not in line with sustainability and cultural heritage protection. Their multiple problems are mostly associated with their weaknesses, whilst their strengths, including a considerable potential as a tourism attraction, are scarcely exploited. The experts and residents surveyed for this research have provided basic information to establish the conservative strategies that should take priority when preparing the urban regeneration process of these areas.

Since most of the adopted regeneration strategies in Iran are not supported by empirical studies, the current study largely fulfills this shortcoming by setting up a proper diagnosis of historical city centers in Iran and proposes the most appropriate regeneration strategies based on the findings.

Boutique hotels reflect a nascent phenomenon in the literature and in the accommodation sector. As a result, they are void of governmental classification and regulation. Concurrently, they lack any form of operational definition. The purpose of this paper is to address these limitations by identifying the core attributes found to define boutique hotels.

To fulfil the purpose of this paper, the authors conducted a systematic literature review on Web of Science. This resulted in an analysis of 33 peer-review articles published from 1994 to 2022.

The findings of this review revealed that boutique hotels are defined by eight core attributes; these are (1) multiple ownership structures, (2) situatedness in a historic premises, (3) strategic locations, (4) thematized internal décor, (5) experience design, (6) high levels of personalization, (7) novelty in service provisions and (8) niche marketing strategies.

For policymakers, this paper may be used as a reference point to establish designated classification systems for boutique hotels. For practitioners, this paper may be used as a source of inspiration and benchmark to establish boutique hotels which align to the criteria highlighted in this paper. For scholars, this paper proposes an operational description of boutique hotels and novel areas for future research.

This paper represents one of the initial efforts undertaken by researchers to unify the literature on boutique hotels.

Heritage tourism is an increasingly popular form of tourism that allows individuals to connect with the past and immerse themselves in cultural and historical narratives. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the intricate relationships among vicarious nostalgia (VNOS), memorable tourism experiences (MTEXs) and their collective influence on tourists’ behavioral intentions (BINTs). Additionally, this study examines the moderating effect of social return (SN) in the context of heritage tourism.

Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire from 259 tourists visiting heritage sites in Jaipur. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling.

The results confirmed that VNOS had a significant positive impact on BINT in the context of heritage tourism. The causal relationship between VNOS and BINT was fully mediated by MTEX. The results further verified that the presence of SN strengthens the association between MTEXs and BINT.

This research will guide the firms associated with heritage tourism to target specific cohorts interested in heritage tourism. Policymakers may find it easier to create unique offerings and packages that appeal to visitors interested in historical sites and produce memorable travel experiences. One key implication is to create “social media friendly spaces” at different locations of the sites. To increase tourism, managers may use the findings from this research to create plans for the ethical promotion and protection of cultural and natural heritage sites.

Overall, this research advances the understanding of the role of VNOS in heritage tourism by elucidating its cognitive and emotional aspects and their subsequent influence on the memorability of tourist experiences and BINT s. Additionally, by considering the moderating effect of SN, this study provides a comprehensive view of how these factors collectively shape tourists’ decisions and actions in the context of heritage destinations. This research has been conducted in the heritage city of Jaipur (North-Western India), which, surprisingly – despite its popularity as a heritage tourism site – has not been sufficiently explored in the scholarly research.

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for defining the notion of “physical integration” regarding the Iranian bazaar as the main component in the structure of traditional Iranian cities. Applying this conceptual framework to the historical bazaars in the cities of Kerman and Shiraz, this study seeks to pave the way for restoring the physical integrity of such historical districts.

The research was conducted in two phases. First, there was a review of the theoretical background of physical integration followed by the analysis of the corresponding qualitative contents and the validation of the proposed conceptual framework as confirmed by 15 local experts. The second phase tested the validated framework in two case studies based on maps, historical documents and field observations.

The findings show that the physical integration of historical bazaars can be undertaken in morphological, visual-aesthetic and functional aspects. The proposed conceptual framework is capable of dealing with the different aspects of physical integration in historical districts on a meso-scale.

The theoretical implications of this study concerning the physical integration of traditional bazaars address urban design, urban planning and multi-disciplinary historical geography. The study also has practical implications for the integration of bazaars in historical urban regeneration projects via design guidelines.

This study emphasizes the importance of physical integration as a multi-dimensional concept, facilitating it to deal with the physical quality and the characteristics of historical districts, particularly bazaars. It also highlights the role of the Iranian bazaar as a unifying structure in the historical districts.

Occupant behavior can lead to considerable uncertainties in thermal comfort and air quality within buildings. To tackle this challenge, the use of probabilistic controls to simulate occupant behavior has emerged as a potential solution. This study seeks to analyze the performance of free-running households by examining adaptive thermal comfort and CO2 concentration, both crucial variables in indoor air quality. The investigation of indoor environment dynamics caused by the occupants' behavior, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, became increasingly important. Specifically, it investigates 13 distinct window and shading control strategies in courtyard houses to identify the factors that prompt occupants to interact with shading and windows and determine which control approach effectively minimizes the performance gap.

This paper compares commonly used deterministic and probabilistic control functions and their effects on occupant comfort and indoor air quality in four zones surrounding a courtyard. The zones are differentiated by windows facing the courtyard. The study utilizes the energy management system (EMS) functionality of EnergyPlus within an algorithmic interface called Ladybug Tools. By modifying geometrical dimensions, orientation, window-to-wall ratio (WWR) and window operable fraction, a total of 465 cases are analyzed to identify effective control scenarios. According to the literature, these factors were selected because of their potential significant impact on occupants’ thermal comfort and indoor air quality, in addition to the natural ventilation flow rate. Additionally, the Random Forest algorithm is employed to estimate the individual impact of each control scenario on indoor thermal comfort and air quality metrics, including operative temperature and CO2 concentration.

The findings of the study confirmed that both deterministic and probabilistic window control algorithms were effective in reducing thermal discomfort hours, with reductions of 56.7 and 41.1%, respectively. Deterministic shading controls resulted in a reduction of 18.5%. Implementing the window control strategies led to a significant decrease of 87.8% in indoor CO2 concentration. The sensitivity analysis revealed that outdoor temperature exhibited the strongest positive correlation with indoor operative temperature while showing a negative correlation with indoor CO2 concentration. Furthermore, zone orientation and length were identified as the most influential design variables in achieving the desired performance outcomes.

It’s important to acknowledge the limitations of this study. Firstly, the potential impact of air circulation through the central zone was not considered. Secondly, the investigated control scenarios may have different impacts on air-conditioned buildings, especially when considering energy consumption. Thirdly, the study heavily relied on simulation tools and algorithms, which may limit its real-world applicability. The accuracy of the simulations depends on the quality of the input data and the assumptions made in the models. Fourthly, the case study is hypothetical in nature to be able to compare different control scenarios and their implications. Lastly, the comparative analysis was limited to a specific climate, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings in different climates.

Occupant behavior represents a significant source of uncertainty, particularly during the early stages of design. This study aims to offer a comparative analysis of various deterministic and probabilistic control scenarios that are based on occupant behavior. The study evaluates the effectiveness and validity of these proposed control scenarios, providing valuable insights for design decision-making.

The present study, based on a comparative analysis of several historic houses in Shiraz, presents a new perspective on uncovering the role of the social lives of homeowners in the formation of the spatial configurations of their houses.

Twelve plans were selected and analyzed using space syntax techniques. The spatial characteristics were compared mathematically using integration, intelligibility and axial synergy.

The results of the research showed that spatial configurations reflected the social identity of their homeowners as well as their cultural and private beliefs. The results further highlighted the syntactical differences between different types of one courtyard houses, two courtyard houses and three courtyard houses. While privacy was maintained across all housing layouts, centralized one-courtyard typography had the highest synergy while the three-courtyard typology had the highest intelligibility.

This research advances the use of space syntax approach in the design of contemporary housing by recognizing the socio-cultural values of its occupants.

Fresh out of the two-century-old British legacy, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, was searching for a post-colonial architectural style. Colonial architecture in the region in general often imposed imported European elements, ignoring the preceding legacies of the Sultanate and the Mughals. The critical challenge was to find a balance between the prevailing high modernism in architecture and the local vernacular and climatic forces. The Pakistani government invited international architects to fill the gap left by a non-existent local architectural industry. Unfortunately, their work has rarely been properly analyzed. With selected case studies, this paper analyzes their work in an attempt to explore their contribution to creating a national architectural identity.

This study uses a case study approach with selected architectural projects from the period. It uses research tools such as systematic analysis of drawings, volumes and photographs and archival research.

The international architects took inspiration from the strong vernacular and climatic forces of the region. The resultant expressions of the two-decade-long search in their combined body of work are some of the finest examples of vernacular and climate-responsive architecture in the region. They transcended the regular international style and became context-specific and unique. The quest for East Pakistan's post-colonial architectural identity was partially met by the newly found identity through vernacular and climate-responsive adaptation in architecture.

This study explores how a unified vernacular and climate-responsive adaptations potentially shaped the post-colonial architectural identity of the region. No prior study exists on this issue for the time period.

This study aims to use the extended model of goal-directed behavior (EMGB) to examine the interaction between wine purchasing motivations and prior knowledge and their impact on consumers’ wine purchase intentions and decisions.

The survey was conducted in large discount retail stores in South Korea, and structural equation modeling analysis reveals EMGB’s strong predictive ability to understand wine buying behavior.

Notably, the findings reveal that social life and enjoyment motivations play a significant role in shaping consumers' attitudes. In addition, positive emotions, attitudes, prior knowledge, subjective norms and negative anticipated emotions all have a positive effect on desire, while desire, prior knowledge and frequency of past behavior have a significant impact on behavioral intention. Contrary to previous studies, celebration motivation has no significant effect on attitude and perceived behavioral control has no significant effect on desire and behavioral intention.

The findings provide practical insights for marketers to conduct targeted wine marketing campaigns and increase consumers' intention to purchase wine.

This study furthers the understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in shaping the intention to purchase wine using the EMGB framework.

The objective of this study is to determine the efficiency of tourist accommodation companies located in the main tourist area of southern Europe as one of the three elements of the local sustainable development triangle.

The analysis, carried out using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology on 130 companies, has obtained that from the CCR perspective (results-oriented method when companies present constant returns on the input variables).

The companies involved are quite inefficient, while which from the BCC perspective (where the input and output variables used in the company respond to a variable and not constant scale) are quite efficient. The efficiency of these companies in the seven provinces of Andalusia has also been analysed to determine if there are patterns that differentiate them and thus be able to propose strategies that improve the sustainability of these territories. The conclusions of the study indicate the need to improve the operational efficiency of rural accommodation companies.

The analysis of efficiency in the hotel sector and even more so in the rural tourism sector is relatively scarce in the literature, especially in Spain. More specifically, Rubio and Román (2006) have demonstrated the existence of scale inefficiencies in hotels, but no evidence has been found in previous studies that this behaviour carries over to accommodation establishments located in the destinations under study.