Iranian Sustainable Building Scientific Association International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability 2538-1628 7 2 2026 04 01 Physical Challenges and Cultural Determinants of Urban Sustainability on the FreyPhysical Freydunkenar Coast (Case Study: Freydunkenar Coast, Mazandaran, Iran) 314 326 738995 10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097270.1390 EN Seyed Reza Mohamad Nataj Fereydouni Ph.D. student in Geography and Urban Planning, Se.C., Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran. 0009-0008-8978-5110 Zeynab Karkeh Abadi Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Se.C., Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran 0009-0004-5266-6397 Mohammad Reza Zandmoghaddam Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Se.C., Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran 0009-0003-8141-1062 Journal Article 2026 04 11 Coastal cities are dynamic interfaces between land and sea whose long-term viability. In many Iranian cities along the Caspian Sea, rapid and poorly regulated coastal development, weak service infrastructure and the gradual erosion of indigenous culture have widened the gap between the potential and the realised sustainability of the waterfront; the city of Freydunkenar clearly exemplifies this tension. This study identifies and evaluates the physical challenges and the influential cultural factors affecting urban sustainability along the Freydunkenar coast and clarifies their relative contribution. Following an applied, descriptive–analytical design, data were gathered through document review and a structured field survey. A five-point Likert questionnaire covering nine physical and cultural indicators was administered to a host-community sample of 380 respondents, whose size was determined using Cochran’s formula; content validity was confirmed by subject experts and reliability. Data were processed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests and Pearson chi-square tests. The mean effect of the physical and cultural dimensions was 3.69 and 3.86, respectively, so the cultural dimension exerted the strongest positive influence. The most critical physical challenge was the absence of commercial complexes, and the most critical cultural challenge was the limited expansion of cultural activities; chi-square tests confirmed significant relationships between both dimensions and urban sustainability (p < 0.001). Although urban management has not yet secured the full satisfaction of residents and tourists, safeguarding the coastal environment and indigenous culture, preventing unregulated land-use change, and institutionalising interaction with the host community are essential for the continuity of coastal sustainability. https://www.ijumes.com/article_738995_acb6a0fb9c7af243815521b48d1a1c1c.pdf