Urban Design
Shirin Eslami; ahmad shahivandi
Abstract
Highlights- The functional activity component exhibits the greatest weight in the measurement of the sense of place in the Qods district of the city of Qom, Iran.- The physical-visual component has the lowest weight in the measurement of the sense of place in the residents of the Qods district.- Structural ...
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Highlights- The functional activity component exhibits the greatest weight in the measurement of the sense of place in the Qods district of the city of Qom, Iran.- The physical-visual component has the lowest weight in the measurement of the sense of place in the residents of the Qods district.- Structural equation modeling indicates the optimal fit for the sense of place measurement model in the residents of the Qods district.- The indicator of invitation has the highest weight in the specification of the sense of place of the residents of the Qods district. IntroductionThe weakening nature of the place is one of the most important challenges facing contemporary cities. The contemporary citizen faces spaces without meaning and identity that have not yet turned into places. This is more important in new urban settlements, due to the lack of historical, identity, and existence backgrounds. The subject of this case study, the Qods district, located in the city of Qom, Iran, which suffers from disturbances in various aspects, is an example of new urban developments that require attention. The purpose of this research is to measure and analyze the importance of the components of the sense of place in the Qods district, to answer the following questions: What are the indicators of achieving a sense of place in the Qods district as a new urban development? How can one evaluate the effects of each component of the sense of place on the Qods settlement residents?Theoretical FrameworkThe term sense of place denotes people’s attachment and relation to the place, or the structure of feeling, as some have put it (Agnew, 1987, cited in Arefi, 1999: 180). Experts have held relatively similar viewpoints regarding the components of the sense of place and its indicators. In large part, most of these opinions have confirmed the physical environment, activity, and perception as the three main components. According to Shamai (1991), the sense of place consists of three phases. The first phase concerns belonging to a place, the middle phase is attachment to a place, and the final phase is commitment to a place (Shamai, 1991: 349). Hummon (1992) describes five levels of the sense of place, or place attachment, as follows: uncommitted placelessness, relativity, place alienation, divided rootedness, and cohesive rootedness (Cross, 2001: 10). As a result of the interdisciplinary nature of the concept of sense of place, numerous experts and schools of thought have offered various perspectives that can be said to have a lot of similarities and few differences. Different experts such as sociologists, geographers, environmental psychologists, anthropologists, architects, and urban planners have addressed the concept of sense of place in different ways in their studies. Among the numerous kinds of research conducted in different countries in the past half-century, most of the academic studies have been focused on conceptual analysis and formulation of theoretical models on the one hand and on evaluation of this category in different scales on the other. MethodologyThis research was conducted through a mixed paradigm and a descriptive-analytical method. The data collection tools were library-documentary studies, and the population included 245 residents of the Qods district. The data analysis tools involved two descriptive and inferential analyzes using the statistical methods of Structural Equation Modeling and Pearson correlation test, implemented in the SPSS 23 and Amos Graphics 26 software. The conceptual model of this research consisted of 3 main components, i.e. form, activity, and perception, 12 indicators, and 45 sub-indices.Results and DiscussionThe results obtained from the second-order factor analysis model in this research indicate which of the components affecting the sense of place in the residents of the Qods district has a greater weight and effect in the induction of this concept to the residents. Based on the research findings, among the 3 identified components, 12 indicators, and 45 relevant sub-indicators, the functional-activity, perceptual-semantic, and physical-visual components, in that order, exhibit greater weights in the evaluation of the sense of place from the perspective of the Qods district inhabitants. Among the variables observed in the assumed model of this research, the factors of invitation, social participation, motivation, land use, and activity have greater weights in the specification of the residents’ sense of place. Moreover, the correlation between the conceptual components of the research indicates that there is a significant relationship between the three components of the sense of place in the residents of the Qods district. Furthermore, the measurement of the fitness of the conceptual model of the research, according to the indicators of structural equations, demonstrates that the model is desirable.ConclusionThe following can be stated in response to the first research question as the indicators of achieving a sense of place in the Qods district as a new urban development: indicators of identity and authenticity, motivation, and mental image (in the perceptual-semantic component), indicators of land use and activity, accessibility, urban furniture, invitation, social participation, and safety-security (in the functional-activity component), and indicators of visual coherence, construction form, and visual richness (in the physical-visual component). In response to the second research question, the greater importance and weight of the functional-activity component than the perceptual and visual components indicates that if urban management pays more attention to the residents’ functional and social needs, the indicators of this component, as the most important factor in the induction of a sense of place, will have a greater impact. Moreover, the inferential analysis of the structural equation modeling in the evaluation of the indicators confirms that many indicators have received less attention in the Qods district, while these indicators can be effective on the residents’ continuity and satisfaction, their sense of attachment to the place of residence, and fulfillment of their mental expectations.
Urban Scape
Bahador Zamani; Shirin Eslami
Abstract
Highlights Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique is an appropriate technique in townscape analysis with a physical approach. Spatial, structural and ordering organizing patterns have the most scores from the experts' viewpoints in the Imam Khomeini Square, respectively. Patterns of visual organizing ...
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Highlights Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique is an appropriate technique in townscape analysis with a physical approach. Spatial, structural and ordering organizing patterns have the most scores from the experts' viewpoints in the Imam Khomeini Square, respectively. Patterns of visual organizing have the highest scores on the eastern, northern, western and southern sides of the studied square, respectively. Introduction Townscape is a complex environmental phenomenon in physical and perceptual terms, created by various layers of form, function, and meaning through interaction with the human mind, and plays an important role in promotion of the visual and perceptual capabilities of urban spaces. Although mere view and reading of the city as townscape will not be responsive to the complex urban problems, it is necessary to consider townscape as a basic, essential tool (although not sufficient) for reading the city text in order to respond to part of the urban issues and the rights of citizenship. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the visual and spatial quality of Imam Khomeini Square in the city of Qom, Iran based on expert viewpoints in order to answer the main research question: Based on the criteria and sub-criteria derived from Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique, which side of Qom’s Imam Khomeini Square is prioritized for redesign intervention? Theoretical Framework In visual analysis, different approaches to the subject can be adopted, some of the most important being the place-based approach, visual approach, subjective approach, physical approach, organizational approach, and visibility approach. Among the above, the physical approach is selected as basis for this paper, in turn based on the Simon Bell landscape analysis framework. In his book Elements of Visual Design in the Landscape, Bill proposes this framework to designers as an alphabet of aesthetics. This framework includes basic elements, variables, and patterns of visual organization, as follows. Basic elements: Point, line, plane, solid volume, open volume. Variables: Number, position, direction, orientation, size, shape (form), interval, texture, density, color, time, light, visual force, visual inertia. Patterns: The organizational principles can be grouped into three categories, as follows. Spatial: nearness, enclosure, interlock, continuity, similarity, figure and ground. Structural: balance, tension, rhythm, proportion, scale. Ordering: axis, symmetry, hierarchy, datum, transformation (Bell, 2007: 22). In visual analysis, different approaches to the subject can be adopted. Some of the most important approaches include the place approach, visual approach, subjective approach, physical approach, organizational approach, and visibility approach. Among the visual analysis approaches, the physical approach is selected as the theoretical framework of this paper, in turn based on the Simon Bell landscape analysis framework. In his book Elements of Visual Design in the Landscape, Bell proposes this framework to designers as an alphabet of aesthetics. The presentation of this alphabet follows a tripartite structure. First, the basic constituents of each landscape are investigated and discussed. Each of these basic elements may be varied in a number of ways. They may also be organized into different patterns. It is the combination of these three components—the element, its variation, and its organization—that describes the existing landscape patterns, or produces new visual designs and patterns. An appropriate design contributes to accurate choice of elements and variables and of coherently harmonious modes of organization. The components of the tripartite structure are as follows (Bell, 2007: 22). Basic elements: Point, line, plane, solid volume, open volume. Variables: Number, position, direction, orientation, size, shape (form), interval, texture, density, color, time, light, visual force, visual inertia. Patterns: The organizational principles can be grouped into three categories, as follows. Spatial: nearness, enclosure, interlock, continuity, similarity, figure and ground. Structural: balance, tension, rhythm, proportion, scale. Ordering: axis, symmetry, hierarchy, datum, transformation (Bell, 2007: 22). Methodology To help achieve the aimof this research, a descriptive-analytical method with a qualitative-quantitative approachwas applied. For assessment of the current conditions, the required data were collected and analyzed based on the Simon Bell Landscape Analysis Technique using observation, photography, and the SWOT and AHP techniques. After the research literature was reviewed, an initial survey and analysis was made of the visual qualities supported by the framework through field observation and photography of the square. Then, the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats of the tripartite organizing patterns of all the square sides were examined in SWOT tables. Next, the criteria and sub-criteria of the selected framework were weighted. For that purpose, the average viewpoints of thirty urban experts were taken into consideration using a questionnaire, evaluation matrices, and the AHP technique. The rate of inconsistency in the experts’ judgments was less than 0.1, indicating the consistency and logical validity of the experts’ viewpoints. Results and Discussion According to the research findings, the townscape analysis of Imam Khomeini Square based on the selected framework rates the spatial organizing pattern 43.9%, the structural organizing pattern 38.3%, and the ordering organizing pattern 17.8%. Overall, the evaluation of townscape organizing patterns exhibited the highest value, i.e. 44.4% of the score, on the eastern side, 29.4% on the northern side, 16.4% on the western side, and 9.8% on the southern side. Conclusion The results of the present study demonstrate that the spatial, structural, and ordering organizing patterns received the highest scores, in that order, from the experts’ viewpoints on the four sides of Imam Khomeini Square. In the spatial organizing pattern, the highest scores concerned the sub-criteria of figure and ground, interlock, enclosure, continuity, similarity, and nearness, in that order. In the structural organizing pattern, balance, proportion, rhythm, scale, and tension scored highest, and hierarchy, axis, symmetry, datum, and transformation obtained the highest scores in the ordering organizing pattern. The patterns of visual organizing exhibited the highest scores on the eastern, northern, western, and southern sides of the square, in that order. Therefore, the southern side of the square was prioritized for redesign.
