Extended Abstract
Background and Purpose
Urban regeneration has emerged as a key strategy for addressing challenges of rapid urbanization and advancing sustainable development. This complex process integrates physical, economic, and social dimensions to create more resilient urban environments. Sport is increasingly recognized as a significant catalyst in this context, acknowledged by international frameworks like the UN's 2030 Agenda. Evidence demonstrates that strategic investments in sporting events and infrastructure yield broad benefits, including economic advantages like job creation and tourism, alongside socio-cultural gains such as strengthened social cohesion, enhanced public health, and improved city image. This study examines sport's multifaceted role in community empowerment and develops a conceptual model for sustainable urban regeneration centered on sports-oriented policies. The resulting framework aims to guide the effective integration of sport into holistic urban planning, contributing to more sustainable and inclusive urban futures.
 
Methods
This study aimed to identify the factors and indicators of urban development through sports, employing a qualitative research design grounded in the Glaserian approach to Grounded Theory. The statistical population consisted of specialists in sports and urban planning. Sampling was conducted using a purposive and snowball technique until theoretical saturation was achieved. Saturation was reached after 14 interviews, and two additional interviews were conducted to ensure comprehensiveness. Data were primarily collected through semi-structured interviews. The data analysis followed the three-stage coding process of Grounded Theory—open, selective, and theoretical coding—performed manually: Open Coding: Initial codes were extracted from the transcribed interviews. Selective Coding: A core category was selected, and other categories were organized around it. Theoretical Coding: The "Six C's" family (Causes, Contexts, Contingencies, Consequences) and "Interactive" family codes were utilized to conceptualize and establish relationships between the emergent categories. To ensure the trustworthiness and rigor of the findings, several established criteria were employed: Peer Debriefing: Three experts familiar with Grounded Theory supervised the coding stages. Member Checking: The extracted findings were presented to participants for feedback and verification. Triangulation: Multiple data sources, including interviews, documents, and field observations, were used. Inter-coder reliability was calculated using the percentage agreement method between two coders, resulting in a final agreement of 77%, which confirms the coding consistency. The final output of the research is a schematic model that visually represents the relationships between the identified factors and the emergent theory.
 
Results
In this section of the research, through the analysis of data obtained from 16 semi-structured interviews with experts, an attempt has been made to present a model for sustainable urban regeneration based on sport. Of the participants, 11 were men and 5 were women, comprising 7 university faculty members, 4 sports science experts, and 5 urban planning experts, all engaged in activities related to urban development through sport. In terms of professional experience, 5 individuals had 1 to 5 years, 5 had 6 to 11 years, 3 had 11 to 20 years, and 3 had 21 to 30 years of experience in their respective fields. The results showed that sport provides the means for urban development through four levels: antecedents, contexts, requirements, and consequences. Based on this model, the causal conditions include (educational development, investment development, and equal opportunities development), contextual factors (including cultural development, media, and advertising), intervening factors (including tourism development and public health development), strategies (including strategy development and economic development), and the outcomes of urban development through sport (including social development, political development, environmental development, and urban regeneration). Ultimately, through the comparison of data, analyses, and memos, using Glaser's proposed codes, it was determined that the theoretical codes "interactive family" and "cs6 family" appropriately explain and conceptualize the codes extracted in the study. According to the presented paradigm, the categories of sport's functions in urban regeneration do not have a sequential (antecedent-consequent) relationship with one another, due to the nature and long- and short-term effects of sport. Nevertheless, certain categories serve as antecedents, contexts, requirements, and consequences. For instance, public health development acts as a consequence of educational development, or the stimulating role of media and equal opportunities development serves as a contextual factor for other categories. In the middle section of the model, environmental regeneration, urban transportation regeneration, aesthetic regeneration, and infrastructural regeneration function as requirements for urban regeneration. Aesthetic and infrastructural regeneration interact with each other, and environmental and urban transportation regeneration are closely interconnected due to their strong interaction. Additionally, as illustrated in the schematic model, educational regeneration, cultural regeneration, social regeneration, and political regeneration serve as antecedents of urban regeneration through sport, interacting and connecting in a chain-like manner. Finally, economic regeneration, investment regeneration, tourism regeneration, and urban health regeneration are the consequences of urban regeneration through sport, maintaining an interactive relationship with overall urban regeneration and its influencing factors; this is because, reciprocally with urban regeneration, the functions of sport also develop, keeping this cycle perpetually in motion.
 
Conclusion
The final coding results revealed that urban regeneration through sport operates at four levels. Antecedents include educational, cultural, social, and political regeneration. Sport enhances education by integrating into curricula, strengthening mental skills and collaboration; it boosts cultural exchange and national pride through traditional festivals and global events; it fosters social cohesion, collective identity, and reduces ethnic tensions by creating sports parks and local teams; and it improves political participation and city prestige through neighborhood councils. Contexts encompass the development of equal opportunities and the stimulating role of media. Sport reduces gender, racial, and class inequalities by providing shared spaces, empowers marginalized groups, and increases social capital. Media, through event coverage, transforms the city into an attractive destination for investment and tourism, builds a positive identity, and encourages citizen participation. Requirements involve environmental, transportation, aesthetic, and infrastructural regeneration. Sports infrastructure reduces greenhouse gas emissions, promotes active transportation, beautifies degraded areas, and improves accessibility for all groups. Consequences include economic, investment, tourism, and urban health regeneration. Sport creates jobs, attracts capital, increases tourists, and enhances quality of life by reducing chronic diseases. This interactive cycle makes cities dynamic, healthy, and sustainable. Sport transcends physical activity, serving as a comprehensive tool for urban transformation that, by strengthening social, cultural, and environmental bonds, leads to sustainable and equitable development.
Article Message
Sport serves as a comprehensive instrument for sustainable urban regeneration, operating through antecedents (educational, cultural, social, and political), contexts (equal opportunities and media stimulation), requirements (environmental, transportation, aesthetic, and infrastructural), and consequences (economic, investment, tourism, and urban health). It revitalizes degraded spaces, reduces inequalities, strengthens collective identity, promotes active mobility, improves air quality, and generates employment, yielding dynamic, healthy, and cohesive cities. Media amplification and equitable planning create a reciprocal cycle wherein regenerated cities enhance sport's societal functions, ensuring sustainable, just, and resilient urban development.
Ethical Considerations
This research was conducted in compliance with ethical principles, with the consent of all interviewees and maintaining the confidentiality of their information. Feedback from the interviewees has been incorporated into the research process, and the researchers avoided any prejudice or bias during data collection and analysis.
Authors' Contributions
Conceptualization: Roghayeh Sarlab
Data Collection: Laya Hatefi Afshar
Data Analysis: Maryam Farid Fathi, Meysam Nouri
Manuscript Writing: Roghayeh Sarlab, Meysam Nouri, Maryam Farid Fathi
Review and Editing: Meysam Nouri
Responsible for funding: Roghayeh Sarlab
Literature Review: Maryam Farid Fathi, Laya Hatefi Afshar
Project Manager: Roghayeh Sarlab
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this study.
 Acknowledgments
The authors consider it their duty to sincerely thank all the experts and specialists who, through their dedicated participation in the interviews and provision of expert opinions, assisted us in completing this research.