Urban Scape
hajar Asadpour; Mahmoud Ghalehnoee; Armin Bahramian
Abstract
The visual aspects of historical urban landscapes are often overlooked, which leads to distorted and unclear images of landscapes that are recorded in the minds of citizens. To optimally manage the visual aspects of historical urban landscapes, it is necessary to take into consideration the affordances ...
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The visual aspects of historical urban landscapes are often overlooked, which leads to distorted and unclear images of landscapes that are recorded in the minds of citizens. To optimally manage the visual aspects of historical urban landscapes, it is necessary to take into consideration the affordances of the urban landscapes. A recent research study was conducted to explain the process of visual management of historical urban landscapes based on environmental affordances in the studied sample. The Zandiyeh area of Shiraz was chosen for the study due to the changes it has undergone in recent development and organization processes. The research aimed to answer two questions: what are the steps of the visual management process, and what is their status? What is the level of environmental affordances in the area? After conducting library studies and identifying the affordances of the environment, the studied area was networked using the "Photo Grid" technique. Experts were then asked to rate each affordance in this area based on images and their previous knowledge, using an image-based questionnaire. Additionally, various steps of the visual management process in Shiraz were evaluated. The results showed that the current situation of the historical urban fabric of Shiraz is plagued with three categories of problems: "Design and Planning Challenges," "Management Challenges," and "Challenges related to Understanding the Context." In the visual management process, the steps of "Developing Visual Protection Goals" and "Landscape Organization" are the least prioritized for action.
The research determined the visual management process in historical urban landscapes, which can be used in the Shiraz historical tissue. By emphasizing the step of framing and environmental affordances, it was determined that Zone No. 5 of the Zandiyeh area (the area adjacent to Vakil mosque and bathhouse) has all the affordances at the optimal level, while Zone No. 2 (Divankhaneh area) received a lower score than other parts, which requires more attention.
Urban Scape
pooria saadativaghar
Abstract
Highlights- Using the quantitative method of oppression analysis of tall buildings, one can judge the location of an urban tall building.- A quantitative study of the psychological effects of tall buildings can be a complementary method to laboratory studies in this field.- Using the EFA method, the ...
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Highlights- Using the quantitative method of oppression analysis of tall buildings, one can judge the location of an urban tall building.- A quantitative study of the psychological effects of tall buildings can be a complementary method to laboratory studies in this field.- Using the EFA method, the underlying characteristics of perceptual-psychological variables were grouped in terms of quality as pleasant, depressing, green, or remarkable. IntroductionIn recent decades, humanity has moved towards the vertical expansion of cities with the help of significant advances in technology and the construction industry and for various reasons such as population growth, scarcity, high cost of land, and profitability. This issue is expanding into most countries and is not specific to advanced, rich industrialized ones. The expansion takes place at a higher rate in developed countries and at a lower rate in developing countries. The experience of examining these buildings demonstrates that besides their benefits, they create many problems for their residents and citizens who encounter them on urban roads, which has caused people’s dissatisfaction to some extent. The country of Iran is not exempt from this issue and has experienced these high-rise constructions (although at a lower rate) for several decades.However, the regulations concerning high-rise buildings in Iran have not yet been fully compiled in all aspects of these buildings, and there are shortcomings in this field that need to be reviewed and evaluated by experts.Theoretical FrameworkThe increase in the number of tall buildings that are built in various forms in the narrow streets of cities raises the need to pay attention to these buildings. These various buildings impose many effects on the city and citizens by being established in different urban areas. The current research is based on an aspect of the perceptual and psychological effects of these buildings under the title of oppression (psychological effects) on the city and citizens, which is usually less noticed by architectural and urban planning experts in cities. This subtle, significant effect of tall buildings is felt by citizens as they walk in the city streets and see the buildings, and in the long run, living in such places can create and stimulate many psychological problems for people and endanger their mental health. The present study is aimed at this important practical issue in the field of psychology of urban environments (along with tall buildings).In fact, the present study investigates the effect of configuration-related parameters and the tall building landscape on the perceptual and psychological components by focusing on the citizens’ feeling of oppression that is created by the tall buildings in the urban landscape on a daily basis.MethodologyThe present survey discussed the impacts of the variables concerning the appearance and visible view of tall buildings in the case study on psychological variables after extracting the psychological variables affected thereby with the library-document research method. Results and DiscussionThe results reported in this section demonstrated that with an increase in the solid angle of the building, the participants who encounter these buildings undergo more suppression, and satisfaction with the oppression decreases. In order to discover the underlying properties of perceptual variables, exploratory factor analysis was used, and the results indicated that the sixteen perceptual variables could be grouped into four categories in terms of quality: pleasant, depressing, green, and remarkable. Moreover, the effect of the solid angle of the building on the depression rate in the landscape demonstrated that the landscape becomes unpleasant and depressing as the solid angle of the building increases, but the effect of trees and vegetation on this environmental quality requires further research.The rest of the study is dedicated to a comparison of the oppression of the Zagros tower (the subject of the case study) on the participants who face the tower from different streets (to the relevant international standard).The results reported in this section also demonstrated (according to the mean statistics) that the pictures taken from Beynolnahreyn Street exhibit the lowest level of oppression and the highest level of satisfaction, from the participants’ point of view. Conversely, the pictures taken between Aref and Taleghani, on Jahannama, and between Mirzadeh Eshghi and Jahannama were perceived with the highest degree of oppression and dissatisfaction. Therefore, it seems that from the perspective of the above streets, the impact of the tower on participants’ perceived psychological pressure (oppression) has received less attention.ConclusionThis method can be used as a practical tool by urban decision-makers to locate tall buildings (with the aim of psychological sustainability of the urban landscape) if further studies are carried out.AcknowledgmentI would like to express my gratitude to Dr. M. Asgarzadeh, senior researcher at Harvard University, who shared with us a copy of SPCONV and guided us throughout this study. This article is based on the research project titled "The effect of visible Configuration and scape of tall buildings from urban pathways on the perceptual-psychological reactions of people (Case study: Zagros Tower in Hamedan)" which is being conducted by the author in Department of architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering & Architecture, University of Malayer, Malayer, Iran.
Urban Scape
Hajar Assadpour; Mahmoud Ghalehnoee; Armin Bahramian
Abstract
Highlights- The six layers of the research onion include research philosophy, approach to theory development, methodological choice, strategy, time horizons, and techniques and procedures including data collection and analysis.- The researchers developed the research onion for the concept of urban landscape, ...
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Highlights- The six layers of the research onion include research philosophy, approach to theory development, methodological choice, strategy, time horizons, and techniques and procedures including data collection and analysis.- The researchers developed the research onion for the concept of urban landscape, visual evaluation of landscape, and visual management of landscape through a systematic review. - The urban landscape research onion model was presented in seven layers along with researcher guidelines using the idea of word clouds.- The researcher must choose among the three categories of objectivist, structuralist, and subjectivist, as mentioned in the philosophy layer.- Techniques and procedures were proposed in the central core of the urban landscape research onion and divided into the direct (by asking people) and indirect (through specialist analysis) categories. IntroductionThe urban landscape is part of the understandable objectivity of the reality of the existing space around people in the city. As a phenomenon, urban landscape cannot be assumed to have only subjective or objective dimensions. The connection between different methodological components in different fields of landscape research is always necessary. The research aims to strengthen the necessary foundations of research in urban landscape with a holistic, comprehensive viewpoint by examining the components and layers that the onion model of urban landscape research includes. Therefore, a systematic review was applied of the articles conducted in the field of urban landscape. The identification and analysis of the cases used in the majority of the research onions presented by Saunders et al. led to the urban landscape research onion through changes applied to this model. Researchers can choose their lines of research more accurately and faster using the research onion.Theoretical FrameworkSpecifically in the field of research methodology, a book entitled Research in Landscape Architecture: Methods and Methodology was published in 2017 by Routledge Publications. This book deals with the conflict between objectivists and subjectivists. It states that pragmatism is the only solution to this duality (Hashemizadegan, 2019: 55). In addition, many studies have been conducted with an emphasis on urban landscape and its relationship with other urban concepts. However, there has not been a comprehensive viewpoint on their methods and processes. The research onion (moving from the outer layers to the core) was developed by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2016) for business studies. It is widely used in social sciences to construct a theoretical framework for research. In various studies, the layers proposed in the research onion model have been modified and changed according to the field of study. The research onion consists of six main layers: research philosophy, approach to theory development, methodological choice, strategy, time horizons, and techniques and procedures including data collection and analysis (Melnikovas, 2018: 33; Sahay, 2016: 1).MethodologyAfter a search of article titles and keywords for the concept of urban landscape, more than 110 with more citations were selected. After a study of the article abstracts and other preliminary studies, 71 articles were selected, analyzed, and categorized using the qualitative method and content analysis. Finally, the research onion for each of the areas (the concept of urban landscape, visual evaluation of landscape, and visual management of landscape) was drawn and explained. Then Comprehensive research onion could use in landscape study and research compiled.Results and DiscussionThe research conducted in Iran in the field of visual management of landscape has generally been carried out at the macro scale (city), medium scale (watercourses and parks), and micro scale (streets). The survey research method and the descriptive-analytical approach have been adopted to investigate and analyze the current situation with the questionnaire tool. Many articles in the field of visual management have evaluated the visual aspects of landscape. Visual evaluation of the landscape is proposed as an independent concept in the field of landscape. In the field of evaluation, it is possible to become closer to people’s experience; therefore, quantitative methods, an experimental approach, a variety of techniques and analytical tools, such as visual protection levels, and Philip Thiel’s technique were used.The concept of urban landscape was addressed further with a view of the landscape as a whole. Aesthetic, critical, and semiotic theories were proposed as the theoretical support for the studies. The research process pursued in most of them is qualitative and analytical, and comparative, inductive, interpretive, and descriptive methods have been used therein. After choosing the desired method, the authors have used the Delphi technique, aerial photos, cluster analysis, systematic review, in-depth interview, review of narratives, photography, and collaborative mapping as data mining and data analysis tools. The model presented in this article involves an extra layer with respect to Saunders’s research onion model. The outer layer, which includes the ontology of the research, corresponds to the stage that specifies the researcher’s beliefs in the research process. The researcher must select their position from among the three categories of objectivist, structuralist, and subjectivist, as considered by Deming and Sowfield.A) The descriptive approach is added to the analogical inductive one proposed in Saunders’ research onion.B) In the strategy layer, experimental simulation and descriptive, correlational, hermeneutic, and analogical-adaptive analysis are added.C) In terms of time horizon, all studies are placed in one of the two categories of longitudinal and transverse research, and most of them are conducted with a longitudinal time horizon.D) Techniques and procedures are proposed in the central core of the urban landscape research onion. Research techniques are divided into two general categories with an emphasis on the opinions provided by experts: direct (by asking people) and indirect (through specialist analysis) (Karimi Moshaver, 2013; Tveit et al., 2006; Briggs & France, 1980).ConclusionThe urban landscape research onion model is composed of seven layers. It can be of different types according to the research problem, questions and objectives, choice of ontology, methodology, approach, strategy, and appropriate tool for analysis of the collected data. Given that most of the conducted studies applied various techniques, it is necessary to consider other layers of the research onion. This model attempted to provide a comprehensive overview of urban landscape research and introduce an integrated framework of the diverse, scattered types thereof. The model can help determine the paths of the research and avoid confusion and incorrect choices of analytical tools. The onion of urban landscape research can open the doors to researchers in the field. In future research, emphasis can be made on the specific concepts of landscape such as cultural landscape and vernacular landscape. On the other hand, similar research onion models in the field of urban landscape can be investigated with an emphasis on landscape scale (micro, medium, or macro).AcknowledgmentThis article is extracted from the first author's PhD thesis in titled "Explaining a semantic model of the urban landscape; a case study of the urban landscape of Shiraz". It is in progress at the Art University of Isfahan under the guidance of Dr. Mahmoud Ghalehnoee (the first guide) and Dr. Armin Behramian (The second guide).
Urban Scape
Aida Arjmandtabar; Raheleh Rostami
Abstract
Highlights- The physical characteristics of streetscapes, including the widths of the pathways, are effective on the functions of Kaplan’s matrix.- Kaplan’s visual preference matrix plays a more effective role in non-urban landscapes than in urban ones.- A higher green index causes more final ...
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Highlights- The physical characteristics of streetscapes, including the widths of the pathways, are effective on the functions of Kaplan’s matrix.- Kaplan’s visual preference matrix plays a more effective role in non-urban landscapes than in urban ones.- A higher green index causes more final visual preferences.- Narrower pathways are stronger functions of Kaplan’s matrix.- Mystery was found to be the most stable variable, and legibility was identified as the weakest in urban landscapes, as well as non-urban ones. IntroductionEvaluations and assessments of the visual preference matrix adopted from Kaplan’s theory in natural and non-urban landscapes have demonstrated that landscapes are preferred by individuals that fulfill the audiences’ needs in four types of perceived quality, including coherence, complexity, legibility, and mystery, under the title of informational variables. However, the theory has not been studied effectively in urban landscapes. The importance of the vegetation that is there on urban pathways, like streets and alleys, due to the daily observation of such landscapes by the citizens, in view of the observers’ environmental and mental health, caused the authors to investigate the effect of this part of observable vegetation in urban landscapes besides other structural factors of pathways, such as their widths, on the perceived and informational variables of Kaplan’s matrix, thereby evaluating the role of the matrix in urban landscapes.Theoretical frameworkAccording to Kaplans, the visual information that facilitates understanding and exploration is very important in the formation of human preferences. The sum of the two information needs and the degree of their deduction by time (urgent or in near future) resulted in a matrix consisting of four informational variables: coherence, complexity, legibility, and mystery. The structure of mystery and complexity is based on the need for exploration (the former by lapse of time and the latter immediately), and the structure of legibility and coherence is based on the need for understanding (the former by lapse of time and the latter immediately). Any landscape, having a degree of these variables, provides a type of perceived quality for the audience. This study aims at understating the level of effectiveness of each of these variables on the audience’s preference, based on the increase in the greenery in pathways of particular widths (8, 10, and 20 meters), to provide the necessary attention for their desirable effectiveness through knowledge of the level of effectiveness of each of such variables.Research methodologyGiven its aim, i.e. to recognize the quality and degree of the effects of the relevant variables on each other, the methodology of this study is descriptive-correlational, and the method of data collection is quantitative based on the structured questionnaire. 280 participants were provided online with the questionnaire, involving a combination of questions and colored images from the streetscapes in question. The streetscape images were taken from the observer’s perspective based on location at the pathway crossroads and some other features, and the questions were borrowed from those raised by Kaplans on the informational variables and provided to the participants more clearly and more fluently. The understanding of the green index of each image and its increased level was accomplished using Photoshop 2020. Finally, the responses were analyzed and assessed through a number of tests using SPSS 24.Results and discussionThe results of preference in States (1) and (2) for the green index obtained through the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test indicated that the average of this variable has increased significantly in all the three pathways with the increase in the green index. In the investigation of the effect of informational variables on the preference variable, the results of the linear regression test indicated that the increase in the green index in the 8m pathway has raised the preference variable, affected by the three variables of coherence, legibility, and mystery (rather than the single variable of mystery in State (1)). Moreover, there have been effects in the 10m and 20m pathways from the two variables of mystery and complexity (rather than the single variable of complexity in State (1)) and the single variable of complexity (rather than mystery in State (1)). An increase in pathway width reduced the effect of informational variables on the preference variable.ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that even in the present situation of the urban landscapes, suffering deficiency in coherence and coordination, an increase in the green index could significantly affect citizens’ satisfaction generally in all pathways. However, with respect to the effect of Kaplans framework on visual preference in artifact landscapes, the results demonstrated that informational variables affect preference more significantly with an increase in the green index in narrower pathways, and the effect decreases as pathway width rises. This implies the sensitivity of concern for narrow pathways, which calls for greater attention to an increase in all informational variables due to the severer enclosure. If pathway width increases, there will be less concern for the lack of coherence in the buildings, while an increase in complexity and mystery is effective in the satisfaction of the audience of such residential streetscapes. Due to its lively, dynamic nature, therefore, vegetation inherently involves the required variety and complexity and great capacity for exploration. It also exhibits sufficient potentials for an increase in the mystery feature through the creation of an attractive enclosure and blockage of the observer’s view. Moreover, this study demonstrated mystery (the most stable of the four informational variables) as the strongest variable with the highest degree of significance and legibility (the last predictor of the preference matrix) as the weakest variable. Thus, it seems that vegetation could have an effective role in the increase in the legibility of urban landscapes with a particular form and scale.
Urban Scape
nazila rashidpour; Mohsen Habibi; Manouchehr tabibian
Abstract
Highlights
- As a social space and cultural production of modernity and the capitalist economy, the metropolis has been encoded to convey the preferred meanings.
- The metropolis cannot present itself beyond the limitations of any strictly positivistic outlook, and it requires semiotic and phenomenological ...
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Highlights
- As a social space and cultural production of modernity and the capitalist economy, the metropolis has been encoded to convey the preferred meanings.
- The metropolis cannot present itself beyond the limitations of any strictly positivistic outlook, and it requires semiotic and phenomenological models like reading and experiencing.
- For a complete understanding of the city and the basis for its social realities, it is necessary to explain the hieroglyphs (hidden language) of the modern metropolis.
- Concern for spatial images, urban mindscape, and reading what has never been written provides the best way to decipher the hidden language of the modern metropolis.
- Cinema is one of the most important factors in the reconstruction of spatial images and urban mindscape.
Introduction
The metropolis plays an important role in the contemporary society. It features prominently in the public imagination as the very site of modernity and capitalist economy that has been encoded to convey the preferred meanings. Thus, it can be understood as an amalgam of objects of cultural production. To understand the metropolis is–to some extent–to understand our present age. As a patchwork quilt of traces of human existence, the metropolis could not present itself beyond the limitations of any strictly positivistic outlook, and it requires semiotic and phenomenological models like reading and experiencing. Thus, it might be read as a text, with its forms deciphered and its meanings understood. This means that the metropolis itself does not exist, and can only be understood through its various manifestations.
In the reading of a city, or indeed any cultural artifice, it is important to know that meaning is never univocal. A city–any city–is always open to a variety of interpretations, and meaning must always remain plural and contested. Because there is no single way of understanding the metropolis, everything depends on how one views the metropolis and who views it. The reader, the “lover” of cities, must therefore be open to a range of “readings”, which go well beyond straightforward, rational analyses to open up the “poetry” of the city.
Theoretical Framework
Mindscape and spatial images play an important role in the experiencing and understanding of the city, as they result from a combination of different factors such as literature, art, media, myth, and narrative. As a German cultural theorist, Siegfried Kracauer, puts it, where the hieroglyphics of any spatial image are deciphered, the basis for social reality presents itself. Any Marxist-inspired cultural theorist would argue that what we see on the surface is the product of deeper underlying forces, in order to understand which we need to interpret the surface level. The unconscious nature of surface-level expressions reveals the hidden logic behind these phenomena.
Cinema is one of the most important factors involved in the reconstruction of spatial images and urban mindscape. Emphasis on the relationship between cinema and the city denotes emphasis on culture and how the city is represented thereby. Apart from anthropological fieldwork, nothing compares with watching movies made for a community’s domestic market when the community is to be known. Most broadly viewed, cinema represents both the real and the imaginary. Architecture and urban architecture make up the body of the city for the presence of both lives, and cinema is a novel platform for re-reading the relationship between the body and the soul of the modern city.
Methodology
Quantitative and qualitative content analysis methods were used in this research to explain the hieroglyphs of the modern metropolis of Tehran in the representation of the mysterious language of the city. For a concrete study of the city through official narratives, its representation in the selected movies of 2016 was studied, and seventeen movies were selected after the sample size was specified using the purposive qualitative sampling method.
Result and Discussion
According to the findings, we can conclude that the language of the modern metropolis of Tehran is discontinuous and disintegrated under the effect of the modernity paradigm and capitalism. We can claim that it is not possible to experience the metropolis of Tehran through movies although it makes up the location in most Iranian movies. Movies made in Tehran have failed to introduce the physical space of the city in the sense intended by Balzac and even Zola. This makes it more important to analyze this absence. Tehran has created its own specific metropolitan type. Thus, a cold, unfriendly stereotype defines the characteristic of people living in a Tehran. Modernity has been manifested there in a negative sense, and the city has turned into a refuge for the darkest aspects of modernity.
Conclusion
Finally, it is important to know that the city must be read by those who seek to create, shape, and transform it. Their reading of the city crucially conditions their writing of the city text and its buildings, streets, street furniture, etc.
Thus, the task of any theorist intending to analyze the metropolis is to act like a detective, interrogating the traces and revealing the secrets. The metropolis therefore lends itself to research as a textual object. It constitutes a series of spatial image hieroglyphics–which may be deciphered in order to provide access to deeper underlying questions about society.
Acknowledgment
This research has been extracted from the Ph.D. thesis of Nazila Rahidpour, entitled “Explanation the hieroglyphics of Tehran modern metropolis with emphasize on reading, experiencing and memory”, defended in the Department of Urban Planning at the Islamic Azad University of Qazvin, under the supervision of Dr. Seyyed Mohsen Habibi and advisory of Dr. Manouchehr Tabibian.
Urban Scape
Faranak Kabiri; Bahador Zamani; alireza khajeh ahmad attari
Abstract
Highlights:Artworks concerning frontages as media of communication among the artwork, the artist, and the public and frameworks for interaction with locationsCommon viewpoint held by untrained observers (citizens), trained observers (visual art specialists), and creators (artists) in the appraisal of ...
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Highlights:Artworks concerning frontages as media of communication among the artwork, the artist, and the public and frameworks for interaction with locationsCommon viewpoint held by untrained observers (citizens), trained observers (visual art specialists), and creators (artists) in the appraisal of the perceptual-visual desirability of muralsCloseness of the citizens’ and artists’ attitudes toward the appraisal of the perceptual-visual desirability of muralsCitizens’ greater appreciation of the use of creative designs with rhythms and formal contrasts in the appraisal of the perceptual-visual desirability of murals IntroductionAs subway stations are regarded as public spaces in cities, their frontages, involving public artworks, especially murals, are taken into account as part of the urban townscape. The artworks on frontages can provide a medium for interaction, functioning as a visual communication system among the artwork, the artist, and the public. Therefore, it is important to identifying the factors influencing the visual preferences of the audience. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of the visual elements of murals on the perceptual-visual desirability of frontages at the Tehran Theater subway station. It seeks to answer the question of how the visual elements of the murals at the station affect the perceptual-visual desirability of the station frontage.Theoretical FrameworkAmong the large number of visual components assumed by various theorists, the main common components taken into account is this research include color, shape, texture, line, tonality, and light (Jansen, 1998: 69). This study investigates element quality, the quality of the relationship between elements, and that for figures and the ground (Pakzad, 2006) to achieve the degree of visual desirability in response to questions about the aesthetic component and the scape quality. The element quality is mural, and the relationship between the murals is considered for appraisal of the quality of the relationship between the elements. Moreover, the relationship between the mural and the wall is considered for appraisal of the quality of the relationship between the figure and the ground. The components related to the quality of the element include intensity, tension, and ingravibility, those pertaining to the quality of the relationship between the elements include balance, symmetry, proportion, dominance, clarity, and density. The components concerning the quality of the relationship between a particular element and others (figure and ground) include contrast, opposition, conformity, advantage, hindrance, emphasis, enclosure, narrowness, openness, sequence, and concentration (ibid.: 121-136)MethodologyFor achievement of the research aim, a mixed method was adopted based on data collection through archives, observations, interviews, and visual preference techniques. Among different cities, Tehran was selected due to its position, and the Tehran Theater subway station was chosen among different stations because of its location in the proximity of Vali-asr Street, Tehran Theater, and Daneshju Park. Then, nine murals were selected from among those available at the station. Given the nature of the data, the methods of regression analysis and correlation analysis were used along with SPSS techniques for analysis of the collected data.Result and DiscussionThe results indicated that perceptual-visual desirability existed in all the three groups: untrained observers (citizens), trained supervisors (visual art experts) and creators of artworks (artists). The findings also demonstrated that tonality (degree of darkness/brightness), shape (design), color, line, and texture exhibited the greatest impacts on perceptual-visual desirability, in that order. The elements of shape, color, tonality, line, and texture played the greatest roles, in order of priority, in the perceptual-visual utility of the station frontage for the citizens, the elements of tonality, shape, line, texture, and color for the specialists, and shape and tonality, color, and line and texture for the artists. The most important reasons for these differences follow. The main reason why tonality was selected as the first priority by the three information sources is the community’s need to observe color diversity at different levels of the society. Unfortunately, this field has been neglected for years. However, its negative effects, such as the increase in the number of patients with depression, are evident. The second priority involved the designs and patterns used in the murals, which demonstrated the significance of form and content and of the choice of subject and consideration of the aspects of visual beauty. In the studied cases, the messages and feelings that the artist tried to convey to the audience had a negative impact on citizens’ perception although understood to a large extent by the audience, as the predicted lighting was not considered properly, the mural lights were used only occasionally, and inappropriate accessions led to visual disturbance. ConclusionThe results indicated perceptual-visual desirability in all the three groups of untrained observers (citizens), trained observers (visual art specialists), and creators (artists). Furthermore, the citizens’ and artists’ opinions were close to each other. The citizens appreciated the use of creative designs with rhythms and formal contrasts, being satisfied both with the location of the murals in terms of visibility and view-shed and with their association with the frontages, but not with the lighting of the works. These were identified as the main perceptual-visual desirability factors in the studied samples.
Urban Scape
soudabeh gholipour; Jamaloddin Mahdinezhad; Bahram Saleh Sedghpour
Abstract
Highlights
Relevant key issues were extracted form users’ responses to an open-ended questionnaire and their application to a closed-ended questionnaire.
The environmental variables affecting the security of urban public spaces were documented and summarized.
The factors and criteria effective ...
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Highlights
Relevant key issues were extracted form users’ responses to an open-ended questionnaire and their application to a closed-ended questionnaire.
The environmental variables affecting the security of urban public spaces were documented and summarized.
The factors and criteria effective on users’ sense of security were extracted using exploratory factor analysis.
Introduction
One of the most important components of environmental quality, environmental security plays an important role in the use of urban spaces. In fact, the feeling of fear and lack of security in urban environments, including parks, has turned into a problem in today’s societies. Parks are areas in cities where any citizen can spend their leisure time and enjoy park-based recreational activities. Many factors affecting the security of urban parks can be attributed to their design and physical conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to identify these factors and provide appropriate solutions to improve their conditions. Since an urban park needs a conscious design that provides the users’ satisfaction, it is necessary to consider their characteristics, which can be achieved through their participation.
Theoretical Framework
To explain the theoretical concept of security, two distinct dimensions are mentioned. The first is the objective dimension, which is evaluated using objective environmental and behavioral parameters, and the second is the mental dimension, which is understood based on the security of the community. Both dimensions can have a positive or negative effect on the other. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the two dimensions together in order to improve public security.
Methodology
Since a comprehensive questionnaire was not found to measure the security of urban parks based on users’ preferences, a researcher-made questionnaire was prepared, and its validity and reliability were verified. The research method was qualitative and qualitative-quantitative. In the first step, the qualitative research method was used based on content analysis, and the questions of the open-ended questionnaire were implemented in textual form based on the contents of the experts’ statements. The components were obtained from content analyses of users’ responses to the semi-structured open-ended questionnaire, and the closed-ended questionnaire was developed on that basis. The final questionnaire was designed as a closed-ended one to quantify the variables faster and be capable of running on a larger scale. The questions had the structure of a four-point Likert scale, with the answers ranging from strong disagreement to strong agreement. The questionnaire was distributed among 250 visitors of Mellat Park, Tehran. Since the differences in the environmental, socio-economic, and physical characteristics of different places can give different senses of security or fear to citizens, a major park in Tehran (Mellat Park) was chosen for a case study. It extends over an area of about 34 hectares in Municipal District 3. The purpose of this study was to construct, normalize, and validate a security scale for urban parks from the users’ perspective.
Results and Discussion
Content validity was verified through preliminary implementation, open interviews with users, and expert approval. In the preliminary step, reliability was measured using the internal coordination of the questions with Cronbach’s alpha. The final questionnaire was distributed among 250 park visitors. The results indicated that the questionnaire was valid and standard, and eight explanatory factors were obtained from the users’ preferences as the data obtained in SPSS 22 were analyzed using the exploratory factor analysis technique. These included artificial element design, control and surveillance, plant design, readability, physical accessibility, aesthetics, activity patterns, and space size and extent. From the users’ point of view, artificial element design was the most significant factor, followed by control and surveillance, plant design, readability, and physical accessibility, and aesthetics, activity patterns, and space size and extent were ranked next.
Conclusion
Understanding users’ perceptions of landscape design methods and considering their preferences and desires helps landscape designers with their jobs. It can be considered as a topic for future research how each of the obtained components can induce a feeling of fear or security in urban park users. Examples include specification of the relationship between vegetation or readability and the feeling of fear or the standard for each of the service elements, pieces of furniture, etc. Through presentation of a model, the hidden relationships between factors can be achieved, and a theoretical pattern composed of many different components can be examined both entirely and partially. Of course, it should be noted that none of these factors alone induces fear or security; rather, there are a number of factors that contribute to a complex interaction, such as personal characteristics (age, gender, etc.) and social characteristics (familiarity with the environment, solitary presence, frequency of presence, etc.), which can be investigated in future research.
Acknowledgment
This article was extracted from Soudabeh Gholipouri’s doctoral thesis, entitled Modeling the environmental security in urban parks based on users’ preferences, developed under the supervision of Dr. Jamal-e-Din MahdiNejad and advisory of Dr. Bahram Saleh Sedghpour at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University.
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.
Urban Scape
Mohammad Azad Ahmadi; Mehrdad Karimimoshaver; Saeid Alitajer
Abstract
Highlights The quality of urban views leaves desirable or undesirable emotional responses on people. City is a homogeneous or heterogeneous network of diversity of urban views to upgrade or diminish citizen's emotions. Introduction The appearance of a city can influence the creation of good or ...
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Highlights The quality of urban views leaves desirable or undesirable emotional responses on people. City is a homogeneous or heterogeneous network of diversity of urban views to upgrade or diminish citizen's emotions. Introduction The appearance of a city can influence the creation of good or bad feelings to a large extent, depending on the structure and characteristics of the physical elements of the city. Citizens remember a city with an image of its urban spaces, especially the streets and squares, or of certain views, and it is their experience of the city’s physical environment that creates the image. On that basis, visual perception of the physical spaces of the city has a greater effect than other senses on the creation of different emotions in citizens. Appropriate urban views can play an effective role in the formation of clear, legible perceptions in people and in the acquisition of pleasant feelings about the city. Moreover, different perspectives can have different visual effects on the citizens of a city. A large number of studies have been carried out so far on various aspects of urban view. The present research analyzed urban views and their visual impacts on citizens, and sought to identify them along with methods of their categorization and explanation and conditions and factors that create and influence them. Urban views can have two major impacts on citizens in the form of likes and positive emotions or dislikes and negative emotions. Accordingly, attempts were made in this study to categorize the effects of urban views in general, which helped to draw the final conclusion. Theoretical framework Data collection and analysis was based in this study on an interpretive paradigm within a contextual examination of popular feedback from urban perspectives and expert views thereon. Hence, the main framework of this research was based on Jack Nasar’s definition of mental activity and emotion. He argues that the environment involves a large number of variables, and viewers go through some, pay attention to others, and evaluate what they see depending on internal and environmental factors. This assessment can include variable amounts of mental activity, and may also involve emotion, which is directly related to the structure of the form (visual environment), and requires little perception and mental activity. Methodology Due to the nature of this research, the main approach adopted in the design was a qualitative one using the grounded theory method, based on Corbin and Strauss’ approach, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding data analysis. Other important reasons besides the comprehensive nature of the research included the nature of the research questions and the lack of an established theory on classification of urban views. Attempts were made here to step into the participants’ world and observe the subject from their point of view, to achieve new discoveries in the field, and to develop empirical knowledge in the field. The researcher first selected the sources of information and observation, and then used data from the participants for exploration and completion of the final model. The data were collected through library and field studies, interviews, and semi-structured questionnaires. The population and the participants were selected using theoretical sampling, where sampling continues until the data are saturated. The participants in this research included residents of and experts in Sanandaj. Results and discussion The results of the research showed the selective categories of observation effects and emotional responses including excitement, relaxation, pleasantness, and communication. Moreover, the causal conditions that create urban views, the contextual conditions, and the intervening conditions and their effects were obtained. The relationship between these categories and the outcome of the research was formulated and presented in a comprehensive model. The final core category was also summarized in the statement The city is a homogeneous or heterogeneous network of diverse urban views developed to upgrade or diminish citizens’ emotions. Conclusion The study demonstrated that a large number of factors are involved in identification and analysis of an urban view, in isolation and with respect to each other. Therefore, an urban view is highly complex, and is not easy to compare to another, with many factors involved to be examined and analyzed. It is better for the effects of different views on a city to be proportionate, so that their effects on citizens are desirable and balanced in the long run. For example, axial views may evoke a sense of dynamism or boredom in citizens, but broad or panoramic views may be exhilarating. According to the principle of diversity and complexity in aesthetics, these effects had better be combined, intertwined, and coexistent in a balanced manner for citizens’ different applications in response to their different emotional and spiritual states.
Urban Scape
Mohammad Azad Ahmadi; Mehrdad Karimi Moshaver
Abstract
Today, the issue of visibility assessment and visual impact (dominance) of a building on its surrounding context is considered as one of the most important issues of urban landscape. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the visibility of two high-rise buildings in the center and west of Sanandaj using raw ...
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Today, the issue of visibility assessment and visual impact (dominance) of a building on its surrounding context is considered as one of the most important issues of urban landscape. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the visibility of two high-rise buildings in the center and west of Sanandaj using raw input data and processing them by GIS and ArcGis 10. For the visibility analysis in urban landscape, the mutual visibility between high-rise building and its surrounding area is calculated. This is done traditionally by taking photos from urban areas. However, in this method, the whole region is studied by considering all points and places. The available vegetation such as trees with an approximate transparency ratio is considered to obtain more accurate results. Also, for better evaluation of differences between the amount and trend of visibility, the areas around both buildings (region number 1 is relatively flat and has a river-valley with low depth and mild slope; region number 2 involves dune hills) were classified into the close, intermediate and far fields. The visibility of these two high-rise buildings in their surrounding areas is in the form of output GIS images which is calculated separately for both buildings and all their floors. It means that for building number 1, which has 17 floors, 17 output maps of visibility to surrounding areas are obtained by the software. Also, for building number 2 with 14 floors, 14 output visibility maps are obtained. The findings show that visibility trend of different floors of these two buildings is not a constant and linear trend, it has variations in some points. Among these points, visibility and its effect, relative to surrounding areas, is more important than other floors in the triple fields. The points where visibility curve has track change, steep change and sudden increase show the greater importance of their visibility and their relative dominance than other floors. These floors can visually have more effect on their surrounding environment. Therefore, the design style of these particular floors (milestones in the visibility curve) in high-rise buildings can be important. The changes in floors visibility trend and their values were different for the two buildings. By evaluating the related diagrams, the reasons for this difference were found in three cases: first, the difference in average height of buildings around of two buildings; second, the difference between the tilt around the two buildings; and third, the dune hill in region number 2. Finally, we can say that visibility analysis is considered to be a tool for modeling the visibility in planning high-rise buildings. Before constructing such buildings, visibility analysis can be an effective method to estimate that a floor or an apartment will or will not have a good view after completion. Therefore, this tool can be used to investigate the positive or negative value of a region. Also, the extent to which a building is or is not visible can be very important in decisions about determining the height of a building relative to its surrounding texture (especially in cities with historically valuable texture and touristic landscape).
Urban Scape
ali asadpour; Paria Barzegar; Niloufar Keshavarzi
Abstract
Attention to the users is one of the main factors in successful architectural design. Therefore, for successful urban design with which all age groups can interact, it is necessary to know enough about each of them. For example, the mental and physical scale of children is different from adults. As a ...
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Attention to the users is one of the main factors in successful architectural design. Therefore, for successful urban design with which all age groups can interact, it is necessary to know enough about each of them. For example, the mental and physical scale of children is different from adults. As a result, design requirements for them are also distinct from other age groups. However, this issue has been underestimated in today’s urban design in Iran. Accordingly, the first step to find out design principles is to identify the factors which are considered by children. In other words, their mental image should be investigated because it is the result of a two-way communication between the observer and the environment. It is through this interaction that the observer selects, organizes and gives meaning to what he/she sees. The purpose of this paper is, thus, to identify physical (elements and components) and non-physical (behaviors, events, memories) factors effective on 5-7 years old children’s mental image of Shiraz urban streetscape. It should be noted that the choice of the street is due to the fact that it is the first and most important site in people’s relationship with the city. In this research, mental images were obtained through the sketch map (children drawings) technique. The statistical population of the research consisted of 111 children selected out of 257 children aged 5 to 7 years in District 1 of Shiraz (based on field visits in 2016). A total of 118 drawings were collected by this method. In addition to descriptive analysis, they were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis in SPSS 22. Children’s drawings were examined from three dimensions in consultation with their teachers: a) in terms of drawing elements; b) in terms of color variation and the level of details drawn by the child; and finally c) the level of exaggeration in the drawing of the elements. The results indicate that sex has no meaningful correlation with the type of drawings and their content. Therefore, sex was removed as a factor of analysis. The most frequently drawn physical elements on the street (fixed and movable) are cars, street linings and traffic lights which were drawn with exaggeration in 27% of the cases. Short and tall buildings were also seen in the drawings as part of the physical elements defining the streetscape. In addition to these, the sky-related elements (e.g. cloud, sun and rain), natural elements (e.g. green space, mountains, living creatures and humans) and even events (e.g. accidents, respecting the rules, playing, etc.) were an inseparable part in children’s drawings. The streets drawn by children were without color variation or lots of detail. This could indicate lower color variation of current streets. The children in this study referred to a combination of natural elements and games as the main factor in their mental image of the street. The subsequent factors included street regulations, the sky, street structure, city landscape and intersection structure which were extracted from factor analysis.
Urban Scape
sadaf ostad ghafari
Volume 5, Issue 17 , February 2016, , Pages 29-40
Abstract
Legibility is one of the most important characteristics of good urban environments which improves the communication between people and place by helping them to perceive and recognize their environment more deeply and precisely. Unfortunately, achieving legibility in today’s urban environments has ...
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Legibility is one of the most important characteristics of good urban environments which improves the communication between people and place by helping them to perceive and recognize their environment more deeply and precisely. Unfortunately, achieving legibility in today’s urban environments has become very hard due to the increase in incoherent developments and partial renovation projects. Moreover, in practice, the concept of legibility has often decreased to some simple solutions to facilitate urban orienteering. However, a comprehensive meaningful concept which includes different parallel aspects and components should be considered. Contrary to the customary one- dimentional solutions, legibility- based urban regeneration would be an appropriate approach which enables the urban regeneration action to play a really effective role in enriching people’s perception and awareness of the environment as well asproviding them with a joyful and memorable experience. The most effective factor which can enhance legibility at different scales of the urban environment is a strong and plain organized structure which turns individual parts and elements into a coherent whole through creation of a comprehensible order. Therefore, it improves legibility by increasing distinction and clarity of both objective and cognitive image of the environment. On this basis, the purpose of this study is to identify principles and strategies which increase legibility in old urban textures by regenerating its main structure, which means revitalizing and retrofitting both its physical and nonphysical aspects. For this purpose, it is necessary to present a thoughtful and comprehensive explanation of legibility and its physical, functional and sensory- semantic components, and also, to specify its meaningful relation with the concept of the main structure, the role and the position of each component in urban main structure and in regeneration plans. Thus, providing effective guidelines for main structure regeneration with the purpose of increasing legibility becomes possible. These guidelines, contrary to the superficial and partial approaches to regeneration, are able to provide a comprehensive holistic framework to deal efficiently with various individual problems of the urban environments and lead to its actual revival, improvement and enrichment through adopting all valuable physical aspects along with their non-physical contents. Thus, a comprehensive in depth study of the concept of “legibility”, in order to identify all its different components and effective factors, can be very helpful. In this paper, legibility- based urban design principals are proposed in three groups based on the three identified components of the concept of legibility, which are the physical copmonents, functional components and sensory- semantic components. Therefore, these principals can support physical unity and coherence of the built environment, its functional vitality and activeness, and the sensory- semantic hoard enrichment of the human environment. In fact, the main focus of these principals is on complete alignment and convergence among the environment’s physical appearence, its function aspect and its sensory- semantic content. This also can provide best compatibility and favourability between people and environment by improving the environment’s identity, unity and comprehensibility. Thus, it promotes people- environment relations and communications significantly.
Urban Design
m f; f m; m r; m a
Volume 4, Issue 13 , February 2015, , Pages 5-16
Abstract
Apart from providing homes for native wildlife, parks have many values. The last few decades of the 20th century have seen a rapid change in approaches towards nature in the urban environment, which reflects more familiarity with nature amongst the general public and landscape professionals. Benefits ...
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Apart from providing homes for native wildlife, parks have many values. The last few decades of the 20th century have seen a rapid change in approaches towards nature in the urban environment, which reflects more familiarity with nature amongst the general public and landscape professionals. Benefits and values of contact with nature have been investigated by environmental psychologists. It can be said that such contact is necessary for human health and existence of natural and open spaces have many psychological and aesthetic benefits. Evidence regarding the influence of nature on the health and well-being of individuals and communities has emerged from a number of traditional disciplines such as psychology and in recent fields of research like recreation and leisure. Although much emphasis has been put on urban nature from different perspectives and on preferences of urban natural areas in comparison to built-up areas, studies focusing on perception and preferences of different forms of nature are rather scarce. For increasing use of urban green spaces, it is better that these spaces be designed based on the public’s preferences and needs. There is proof which show that some people do not respond to natural landscapes in urban areas, and view them as messy, worthless or even frightening, and prefer formal and designed landscapes. This research paper examines public attitudes towards urban naturalistic in contrast to designed landscapes. Public opinions was evaluated using site-based questionnaire and random sampling in natural and designed spaces (Lale and Daneshjoo Parks, respectively) and these two methods were then compared. The survey sites should be in the same area and approximately similar in size in order to eliminate possible effect of population differences, distance, and size on perceptions and preferences. Following site selection, a questionnaire was designed to measure public perception and preferences of contrasting landscapes. The questionnaires were conducted on a face-to-face basis with 200 park users (100 per site) at the survey sites. In the next stage, researchers asked them to classify 16 photos of different parks with varied landscape characteristics into 5 groups (very elegant, beautiful, simple, ugly, very ugly). Results demonstrated that the study population did not have a clear understanding of natural and organic design patterns, prefered regular and plaid patterns for urban green spaces and derived more benefits and values from them. Laleh and Daneshjoo Park were appraised as more attractive and safer, respectively. It can be concluded that peace and quiet, safety, nature observation, experiencing seasonal changes and social interactions are rated higher in designed parks (Daneshjoo) and other factors such as contact with nature and being beneficial for wildlife are superior in natural parks (Laleh). Furthermore, natural parks are more effective in creating excitement and sense of freedom in users. On the other hand, designed parks (Daneshjoo) are more calming and have more positive effect such as relief from stress and sense of renewal. Recognizing public perception of landscape design styles and paying attention to their preferences and needs in green spaces can help landscape designers in designing such places and enhancing their use.
Urban Scape
m k; a a; m a
Volume 4, Issue 13 , February 2015, , Pages 33-42
Abstract
Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis tools are used to quantify and measure the quality of space, and despite their lack of maturity and evolution, they are considered to be the future of space analysis tools by researchers. This study was undertaken with the purpose of introducing the aforementioned ...
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Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis tools are used to quantify and measure the quality of space, and despite their lack of maturity and evolution, they are considered to be the future of space analysis tools by researchers. This study was undertaken with the purpose of introducing the aforementioned tools for analyzing Sanandaj’s urban areas. In this study, four different urban areas in Sanandaj were selected and after the software was prepared, the areas were analyzed by Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis. Then, the charts and data obtained from these regions were compared. The interpretation of the findings of the Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis reveal that in the old region builders used a sort of inherent and collective standard for measurements despite building without modern urban development maps. Amongst all the four urban areas of Sanandaj, this region has the greatest visual richness and diversity; in addition, the special analysis of neighborhood size indicates harmony and balance in this region. Moreover, the results illustrate that the nearest wall and special neighborhood size indices have the highest correlation, followed by jaggedness which has the highest correlation with revelation. However, openness factor and the nearest wall have the lowest correlation. The openness factor indicates the degree observers feel themselves in the space and also present their visual dominance over the space. In this factor, the standard deviation values of the new and the middle areas are low which indicates that the openness coefficient is the same in all areas and the individual experiences monotony and boredom. The feeling of being in space and attention to the environment in these regions (especially in new areas) is significantly reduced. In addition, in this index the high standard deviation for informal settlement areas is merely due to the diversity of the streets and sidewalks, but in the old area, the high standard deviation is due to the combination of sidewalks with squares and various open spaces spread in the region. Thus, the only area with visual richness and diversity is the old area. The nearest wall index signifies the domination of the wall in the informal settlement area over the spaces. In the middle area, the surrounding long streets and linear views along with visual opening and open spaces with lower degree of circumscription appear. According to this index, the old area has the lowest standard deviation which indicates visual space sequence and the feeling of the existence of a united identity in the area by the observer. Since the revelation index indicates the rate of change in the field of view during movement, the highest value of kurtosis and drift in the revelation index of the old area indicates that this area has the most variations and changes in vision for the moving observer and meets the quality of mystery in vision and visual richness. Finally, the results concerning the four types of regions in Sanandaj indicate that the Isovist and Visibility Graph analysis factors reveal the similarities and differences between these regions in terms of space properties and visual quality. Therefore, using these tools in decision-making related to urban design can significantly contribute to the promotion of the visual quality of the urban fabric.
Urban Scape
j m; h d
Volume 2, Issue 7 , July 2013, , Pages 61-72
Abstract
Abstracts The cities are the most outstanding symbols of modernity and are the main context for constructing and developing public spheres. In Iran, the urban public spaces, despite their significant function in creating social interaction, have usually been neglected and unused. Urban gardens and parks, ...
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Abstracts The cities are the most outstanding symbols of modernity and are the main context for constructing and developing public spheres. In Iran, the urban public spaces, despite their significant function in creating social interaction, have usually been neglected and unused. Urban gardens and parks, as public spaces, due to this neglecting, encounter many physical and social problems. Reparation and reconstruction of these public spaces could create an emancipating context for social and economic participation and for developing physical and aesthetic aspects of cities. This research using mixed methods rely on social impact assessment approach to study the economic, social and cultural impacts of reparation and reconstruction of urban gardens and parks on everyday life of people. Social impact assessment approach argues that any project in the field of development should be oriented to increase participation of people. So, the best model of development is sustainable development. Social impact assessment approach includes the process of analyzing and managing the intended or unintended consequences of any social policy, especially urban planning. In other words, social impact assessment approach attempts to explain and predict the consequences of a project in the context of people’s everyday life. This approach can help the policy-makers and decision-makers to pay attention to the cultural, ritual and social aspects of the local residents. In this research, we have used mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) to study the different dimension of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks. In quantitative section, survey method and questionnaire technique were used to study the residents of discrete 18, and in qualitative section we have used individual interview and focused group interview to study the opinions of experts and policy-makers. In this way, social impact assessment of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks, in quantitative section, was analyzed in two different aspects: from the viewpoints of respondents and in relation to civilities and social interaction. But in qualitative section it was analyzed in aspects such as “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on cultural and social interaction”, “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on social security of the residents”, “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on mental and physical health”, “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on availability of urban equipments”, and “the impact of reparation and reconstruction urban gardens and parks on the social and economic situation of interested groups. The findings show that this repairing and reconstructing result in positive aspects like increasing social solidarity, social trust, social capital, sustainable development and individual gratifications. In other words, we can say that it has different functions such as psychological, social and cultural, aesthetic, environmental and political. Therefore, it is argued that all the urban residents are the interested groups in these projects. According to the results, some suggestions could be provided like: providing security for urban gardens and parks, preventing any kind of vandalism, inventing counseling centers and recreational equipments, and increasing the interaction between residents and policy-makers.
Urban Planning
Kyoumars Habibi; Jahede Tekyehkhah; Mohammad Azad Ahmadi
Volume 1, Issue 3 , August 2012, , Pages 13-23
Abstract
Natural tourism planning is the first step in tourism approach natural resource management in which prone areas for recreational planning is zoned. Aimed to identify the different forms of tourism zoning in Abidar natural forest park in Sanandaj City, a systematic analysis method was used. We produced ...
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Natural tourism planning is the first step in tourism approach natural resource management in which prone areas for recreational planning is zoned. Aimed to identify the different forms of tourism zoning in Abidar natural forest park in Sanandaj City, a systematic analysis method was used. We produced a recreational potential map using systematic analysis model in GIS. The results of this evaluation indicated that the study area lacks first class concentrated recreation potentiality and the maximum surface area of the study area has been consisted of the second class potentiality. To evaluate the impact of factors affecting tourists, 450 questionnaires were distributed among the tourists. The survey results indicated that most tourists have selected the area because of the access to water resources. The buffer map of water resource was prepared to promote the systematic analysis model and to assess the effect of water resources on different recreation classes of the model and it was integrated into a recreational potentiality map of system model and the final map of the recreational potentiality was prepared. The evaluation results showed that 6% of the area has first class concentrated recreational potentiality, 28 percent of the area has second class concentrated recreational potentiality, 35 percent of the area has first class discrete recreational potentiality, and the rest 31% of the area has second class discrete recreational potentiality. Comparing two recreation potentiality maps showed hat in systematic analysis model, the region does not have first class concentrated recreation place. However, scoring the water resources factor made 6% of the region earn first class concentrated recreation potentiality. The results of this survey indicated that water resources, herbal coverage, accessibility ways, and physical factors (gradient and direction) have the most effect on the evaluation process of recreation potentiality in the region as they are mentioned in order of effectiveness. While the effective parameters in recreation potentiality evaluation in systematic analysis model are gradient, soil, direction, water, plant, and climate. Based on our findings, it was found that recreational activities expected in broad zones include things like walking, trekking, visiting landscapes and snow skating, etc., which do not need to deploy and service of recreational trails, except in designing walking routes in certain circumstances. But, in areas having concentrated recreation zone, activities such as camping, family picnics, etc., require suitable facilities for establishment of tourism.
Urban Planning
Volume 1, Issue 4 , March 2012, , Pages 55-68
Abstract
Human beings are rooted in nature, and when we travel in greenery areas, we become more aware of this connection. As we are more immersed in nature, we become more relaxed and comfortable and likely to make generous decisions. But rapidly growing urban population and changing patterns of work and live ...
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Human beings are rooted in nature, and when we travel in greenery areas, we become more aware of this connection. As we are more immersed in nature, we become more relaxed and comfortable and likely to make generous decisions. But rapidly growing urban population and changing patterns of work and live have increasingly removed our societies from the natural world and allowed ourselves to be encapsulated in an artificial environment. This created a widening gap between people and natural settings in modern era. For this reason, urban greenery areas, in addition to the aesthetic values, can make a significant contribution to well-being, health and also improve the quality of life by providing a setting for people gathering and social life interaction. Urban parks, as part of urban greenery areas and open public spaces, can generate tremendous values by providing open space and recreational opportunities. In this regard, it further contributes to larger urban policy objectives, such as job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community building. Apart from this, urban parks in developing countries are generally facing great problems due to the poor urban management, rapidly urban growth which is almost geared towards the automobile and resource crunch for the maintenance of existing parks/gardens and for the creation of new ones. Considering these, Deedgah recreational complex (Mellat Park) located along Pasdaran Boulevard, as the main north-south corridor in Sanandaj and gateway to Kermanshah, has been selected as case study of the research. Due to its location, function and long historical background, it gained a symbolic identity in the collective memory of the people. In recent years, its social life of the park is threatening due to some improper management practices concerning two underpass bridges have been built to ease traffic congestion. To reach the main aim defined as the title of research, a kind of descriptive-analytical method has been used regarding the results of literature review and field survey conducted in autumn 2011. For more information regarding the users’ view, the questionnaire and interview with experts has been used. To evaluate the existing conditions and for strategies and prioritizing them, SWOT and AHP as a decision-making methods has been used regarding certain spatial elements. The results show that Viability, Environmental health and Permeability respectively fall into the high-priority strategies for maximizing Deedgah recreational park function. This means that the proposed action plans should be more in line with the prioritized strategies.
