Cultural Identity of the Cities—The Use of Narrative Design in Urban Spaces

Abstract

The Narrative process build histories. It exploits the ability of different human sensory experiences to trigger the imagination, evoke emotions, and capture universal cultural truths and aspirations. Cities need to use narratives to recreate a system of relationship between urban space and people. This paper explores the narrative design strategies for urban spaces and proposes the “Perception-Interaction-Make sense” narrative design model. The paper presents a case study of Iranian regional culture in the context of a workshop at Alzahra University in Tehran, Iran. The work also provides a vision of data as a tool for urban narrative in the era of smart cities. The value of this thesis is to provide a theoretical reference for the construction of regional distinctive culture in a global context, as well as a theoretical guide for the sustainable development of urban culture in urban renewal.