A B S T R A C T
Urban design has, over recent decades, evolved from purely physical approaches toward social, cultural, and human-centered approaches. Despite this evolution, the existing literature at the global, national, and local levels still lacks a theoretical framework capable of coherently explaining the relationship among the epistemological and value foundations of society, social processes, and the quality of urban space. The present study was conducted with the aim of reconstructing the concept of "urban space expression" and proposing an indigenous middle-range theory in the field of urban design. The research method is qualitative and based on conceptual theorizing within the framework of critical realism. Research data were collected through documentary study and purposive examination of 50 key documents (including 5 pivotal philosophical works of Allameh Tabatabai and 45 credible contemporary scientific documents on urban design) and were analyzed using conceptual analysis, theoretical coding, conceptual synthesis, and theoretical reconstruction. The findings indicated that "urban space expression" is an emergent quality formed through the dynamic interaction of four main constructs: epistemological and value foundations, social and cultural processes, spatial and physical structure, and the perceptual and behavioral experience of citizens. Accordingly, a theoretical model was proposed demonstrating that urban space is not merely a physical organization but a medium for the objective manifestation of values, identity, justice, human dignity, and the culture of society. Furthermore, the characteristics of the proposed theory were evaluated based on 10 criteria of middle-range theories, and the results indicate that this theory possesses conceptual coherence, explanatory power, operationalizability, empirical testability, and analytical generalizability. The innovation of the research lies in the systematic integration of the foundations of Islamic philosophy with contemporary urban design theories and the provision of a normative framework for evaluating the quality of urban space expression.