Interaction of Virtual and Physical Space in Contemporary Life of Iranian Traditional Cities

By the last decade of 20th century a new type of urban life was created. The new situation which was the result of radical modifications of interpersonal communications, transformed the human relationships and led to the introduction of “virtual dimension of being”. Advances in multimedia technology urged people to accept virtual relations as the new and most favorite type of communication. But some nations are still keeping their past traditions and the combination of virtual and real life is becoming more and more confusing. In countries like Iran, this interaction is more confusing and even problematic. Iran, a country with an old history, diverse traditions of urban life, and a great cultural heritage, now faces a global situation in which all traditions, localities and old believes must be ignored. New trends in younger generation and bias towards old traditions as well as cultural and historical heritage in older generation creates a gap between them. In order to deal with this contradiction and duality, the new generation of urban planners, designers and architects must try to further reinforce the interaction between two different realms, one is the physical life of traditional world, the other is virtual world.