Impacts of billboards on Lahijan urban landscape, based on the proposed regulations to organize municipal boards in Iran by SWOT analysis

Introduction View of city is a complex of natural and artificial manifestations like scenes, people, treatments, their activities as the first sight, total historical properties reflection, cultural and economical properties. This is appraised in mind of residents as achievement of human activity together with its essence during the history. All human senses are capable of understanding the city view. City view is not only building faces or obvious materials but they are smells, different natural artificial elements moving or still and totally all the things human can feel; all these factors are effective in the quality of city view. City view is the manifestations and sensible part that visual reflection, practical and understandable shapes.  Nowadays in Iran and many parts of the world, streets landscape and the active centers of the cities are covered by colorful and different advertising billboards. Some of the specialists believe that these frequencies and variations make visual pollution and disturbance. In fact, the existence of billboards especially advertising are required for urban life but it is also necessary to prevent visual pollution resulting from the advertising and also visual beauty of the landscape. Thus, it is needed to study the effects of billboards on city. Although Lahijan is a touristic city where many local billboards occupied the city view. In general view, they are needed to be organized. Therefore, this study is aimed to show the effects of advertising billboards on the city.   Methodology In this study, we use descriptive- analytic methods. To organize this study, we initially gathered the theatrical framework, indices and related study criteria. Then, by observation and gathering some data in person in the city (interview and field data gathering in the place and photographing of the position-where billboards are placed), we compared the indices and the present conditions. The mentioned indices are as followed: 1. In aesthetic perspective including color, line, shape, height and position. 2. In functional including presenting goods, advertisement and expressing. 3. In background including connecting to cultural, historical and body background. 4. In stability including the stability of body and stability of society. Hypothesis of this study are: 1. the most cases of the billboards have not had positive effect on Lahiajan city view. 2. In Lahijan the billboards are not placed according to the rules and standards in most cases. So, they defected the city view. Based on these hypothesis we used SWOT analysis for strength, weakness, opportunities and threats in view of the city. Rapoport believes complicity is a feature of pleasant urban environment and the more complicated the environment is the more useful data are increased. Thus, if these billboards prepare the view for visual contradictions and understanding of space, they can be the reason of live and dynamic environment. Now the question is how can we gain the balance between integration and harmony with the chaos in visual disorder and confusion. Jacobs sees a hidden discipline in disordered streets appearance and says although many streets we face, have a confusing view, activity detail of front face show that life is strong and in the way it is shaped many things. He believes that notice to complicated areas of practical system for harmony and chaos is needed and the needed tactics are the signs that help people see harmony and feel it instead of chaos. From different theories about the role of billboards in city view, different space quality can be learnt that the billboards presented a work field and the advertisements can improve the city view. These qualities are including variety, belonging color, complicity, hidden harmony, unity, meaning and identity, clearness, liveliness and dynamic. But sometimes too much diversity of billboards in a view cause the loss of harmony and unity, and sometimes harsh billboards color that should give life make the view dynamic, cause the loss of identity and meaning of that place. To avoid this problem and to design them properly, notice to the body background are very important.   Results and Discussion  Finally, the results in this study shows that, although advertising billboards in Lahijan have considered the standards and rules, they do not have a proper visual sight because of their position in the wrong place, disregarding of the physical standard property, disregarding of advertising billboards standard buffer, impropriate lighting and ignoring the cultural and historical background. To fix these problems, this study attempts to classify general quantity and general quality rules and presenting symbols and a pattern in the right place. According to these environmental political advertisement in Lahijan to improve city view, it is close to conservative policies. The authorities should try to use the strength and figure out the threats. As a result of SWOT analysis, totally almost 2% of standard disregarding in Lahijan advertising billboards was found in quantity advertising rules and almost 61.5% of the disregarding in quality city view indexes. In addition, 31.7% of disregarding is related to the rules and standards. As a result, the negative effect of billboards is seen on city view and 68.2% on the rules and standards.   Conclusion The first theory of the study is not confirmed. According to the mentioned factors in this study and 98 percent of disregarding of the rules, the second theory is not confirmed. As a conclusion, understanding the analysis of the problem leads to leaving conservative policy in the least and the most strategic structure; as below: 1. Localization of the designs and advertisement and none Iranian samples. 2. Making advertising structures with water proof and strong for wind materials. 3. Studying advertising structures time to time to fix the defective parts. 4. Learning Lahijan background indices of advertising billboards structure to fix the advertising defects in Lahijan. 5. Strength of Lahijan background indices of advertising cultural billboards to fix the advertising defects in Lahijan. 6. Strength of Lahijan background indices of advertising historical billboards to fix the advertising defects in Lahijan.