Physical Challenges and Cultural Determinants of Urban Sustainability on the FreyPhysical Freydunkenar Coast (Case Study: Freydunkenar Coast, Mazandaran, Iran)

Karkeh Abadi, Zeynab; Nataj Fereydouni, Seyed Reza Mohamad

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097270.1390

Physical Challenges and Cultural Determinants of Urban Sustainability on the FreyPhysical Freydunkenar Coast (Case Study: Freydunkenar Coast, Mazandaran, Iran)

Document Type : Case Study

Authors

Zeynab Karkeh Abadi

Seyed Reza Mohamad Nataj Fereydouni

Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Se.C., Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran.

10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097270.1390

Abstract

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.

Graphical Abstract

Physical Challenges and Cultural Determinants of Urban Sustainability on the FreyPhysical Freydunkenar Coast (Case Study: Freydunkenar Coast, Mazandaran, Iran)

Highlights

· Physical and cultural challenges are both significantly related to Freydunkenar’s coastal sustainability.

· A host-community survey (n = 380; Cronbach’s α = 0.812) was analysed with chi-square and one-sample t-tests.

· The cultural dimension exerted the strongest positive effect (mean 3.86 vs 3.69 for the physical dimension).

· The absence of commercial complexes was the most critical physical challenge (mean 4.31).

· Integrated coastal management and host–culture interaction is key to sustainable coastal development.

Keywords

Coastal city

cultural sustainability

Freydunkenar

physical challenges

urban sustainability

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