Investigating the Role of Spatial Diversity in Selecting Behavioral Patterns of Public Territory (Case Study: Zanjan's Pedestrian Zone)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. student of urban planning, Central Tehran branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Public territory in cities has always served as a platform for the embodiment of behavioral patterns and interactive human actions in the environment. The qualitative method used in this study is behavioral observation, a modern approach to environmental design and the analysis of public territory, and a method to understand the mutual relationship between people and spaces. This study's main goal was to investigate conditions in which spatial diversity could help form specific behavioral patterns inside public territories. The main study question is: "Which behavioral patterns prevail in the areas under study based on space diversity? And how much do environmental factors contribute to space users' satisfaction? This method was investigated in sample Zanjan's pedestrian zone, the starting point of the city's main historical and commercial routes, subjected to degradation and transformation. The present study was applied and carried out in a survey form. The survey strategy was used to validate the study findings. Views obtained from 50 interviewees led to the extraction of some components constituting the reasons behind visiting a space. Zanjan's pedestrian zone faces a reduced volume of static activity and behavioral patterns in the mid-hours of the day, with the highest volume of traffic taking place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. On the other hand, a review of questionnaires on revisiting the space led to the identification of such factors as access to occupations, shopping, spending leisure, and finally, interactions.

Keywords


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