Developing a decision-making framework within the management of historical cities: Towards integrated conservation and development of the Roudaki neighbourhood

Urban management is fraught with challenges, particularly when it comes to devising a decision-making system that is efficient and broadly supported by all stakeholders. This procedure is considerably more demanding in urban heritage administration, involving a diverse range of conservation and development actors. In addition, with cities and urban regions becoming more complex in recent decades, governments are increasingly seeking to understand the significance of cultural heritage in encouraging long-term sustainable development initiatives. Following these concerns, this paper extensively analyses the relevant literature to create a theoretical decision-making framework for the integrated conservation and development of heritage cities. Through both quantitative and qualitative methods, this research investigates decision-making strategies by analysing the tactics, actions, and impacts of conservation and development initiatives in the Roudaki neighbourhood, with a particular emphasis on the perspectives of key participants in the process. Upon identifying research indicators using the theoretical framework, this study adopts a quantitative methodology to collect questionnaires from three influential groups of actors. This phase is carried out by calculating correlations between variables in SPSS in order to delve into the connections between the research's criteria in a specific case study, resulting in a detailed analytical framework for the classification of decision-making priorities in district administration. To proceed to the qualitative stage, semi-structured interviews were arranged with urban officials to get a sense of the district's current state and to conduct a comparative analysis of the collected data from both phases of the research. The results suggest that while participatory decision-making approaches and integrated management techniques can be beneficial for urban heritage administration, it is essential to identify the decision-making priorities and resolve inconsistencies between implemented policies and actors' demands and perceptions. Accordingly, this procedure unifies conflicting interests, facilitates the proper execution of integrated management strategies, and ensures the long-term preservation of historical cities.