نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

• پریما یامی مرندی ¹
• حسن سجادزاده ²

¹ دانش آموخته کارشناسی ارشد، گروه شهرسازی، دانشکده هنر و معماری، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران.

² استاد، گروه شهرسازی ، دانشکده هنر و معماری، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان، ایران.

چکیده

کافه‌های خیابانی در سال‌های اخیر به یکی از عناصر تأثیرگذار بر تجربه شهری در محور میدان انقلاب تا دانشگاه تهران تبدیل شده‌اند. این فضاها، فراتر از کارکرد خدماتی خود، ظرفیت شکل‌دهی به «مکان سوم» و تقویت تعاملات اجتماعی را دارا هستند. هدف پژوهش حاضر، ارزیابی نقش کافه‌های خیابانی این محور در ارتقای مؤلفه‌های مکان سوم بر اساس نظریه اولدنبرگ و تحلیل نحوه تأثیر شاخص‌های کالبدی، اجتماعی، مدیریتی و ادراکی بر تجربه کاربران است.این پژوهش از نوع توصیفی_تحلیلی و کاربردی است. داده‌ها از طریق پرسشنامه‌ای ۵۵ گویه‌ای مبتنی بر ۱۳ شاخص مکان سوم و با پایایی ۰.۹۴، از میان ۳۸۰ کاربر جمع‌آوری شد. تحلیل داده‌ها با استفاده از آزمون‌های کولموگروف_اسمیرنوف، پیرسون، فریدمن و ANOVA در نرم‌افزار SPSS انجام گرفت.یافته‌ها نشان داد که شاخص‌های کیفیت فضایی و تجربه حسی (۳.۸۰)، سرزندگی و پویایی اجتماعی (۳.۷۸)، فرم و معماری کافه (۳.۸۲) و به‌ویژه مدیریت کافه‌ها (۳.۹۰) عملکرد مطلوبی داشته و بیشترین نقش را در شکل‌گیری تجربه مثبت کاربران ایفا کرده‌اند. همچنین ابعاد حس تعلق، تنوع فعالیت و راحتی ادراکی در سطح متوسط تا بالا ارزیابی شدند. در مقابل، ابعاد مرتبط با تداوم فعالیت کافه‌ها (۳.۳۶)، تعامل کالبدی با خیابان و مرزهای نرم (۳.۵۰) و به‌ویژه شاخص محیط‌زیست شهری (۲.۸۸) کمترین میانگین را کسب کردند که بیانگر ضعف این فضاها در پایداری محیطی و پیوستگی کالبدی با فضاهای عمومی است.نتایج پژوهش نشان می‌دهد که کافه‌های خیابانی محور انقلاب_دانشگاه تهران، فراتر از نقش مصرفی، به‌عنوان عناصر فعال‌ساز شهری عمل می‌کنند و با تقویت تعاملات اجتماعی، ارتقای کیفیت تجربه فضایی و افزایش حس تعلق، نقش مؤثری در شکل‌دهی به مکان سوم دارند. با این حال، بهبود پایداری محیطی، ارتقای تعامل با خیابان و تقویت مدیریت ساعات فعالیت شبانه‌روزی، برای توسعه کارکرد مکان سوم در این فضاها ضروری است. این یافته‌ها می‌تواند به‌عنوان مبنایی برای برنامه‌ریزی شهری، بهبود سیاست‌گذاری و طراحی انسان‌محور در محورهای مشابه شهری مورد استفاده قرار گیرد.

کلیدواژه‌ها

• مکان سوم
• کافه های خیابانی
• نظریه اولدنبرگ
• میدان انقلاب تا دانشگاه تهران

موضوعات

• طراحی شهری

عنوان مقاله [English]

The Role of Street Cafes in Producing the Third Place with Emphasis on Oldenberg's Theory (Case Study: Enghelab Square to Tehran University)

نویسندگان [English]

• parima Yami Marandi ¹
• Hassan sajadzadeh ²

¹ Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

² Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan,,Iran.

چکیده [English]

Highlights

This study investigates street cafés along the Enqelab Square–University of Tehran axis as urban “third places.”
Street cafés perform functions beyond commerce by fostering social interaction, psychological security, and collective identity.
Café management, spatial quality, and social vitality exert the strongest influence on users’ experience.
Temporal flexibility, integration with the street, and environmental conditions emerge as the main weaknesses.
Management, spatial quality, and social interaction explain more than 70% of the perception of third place.
Major improvements include human-centered design, enhanced management, adjusted operating hours, and stronger integration with the sidewalk.

 
Extended Abstract
Street cafés along the Enqelab Square–University of Tehran corridor function as significant third places that enhance social interaction, sense of belonging, and urban experience. The findings indicate that café management, spatial quality, sensory experience, and social vitality have the strongest positive effects on users, whereas environmental sustainability and café–street integration remain comparatively weaker dimensions. Overall, these cafés make an important contribution to the creation of vibrant urban spaces; however, improvements in sustainability and connectivity with public space are still required.
Introduction
Urban public spaces play a vital role in supporting social interaction, shaping identity, and sustaining everyday urban life. The concept of the “third place” refers to spaces beyond home and work that facilitate informal social interaction, with cafés representing one of the most prominent examples of such environments. These spaces strengthen social capital and reinforce place attachment. Street cafés along the Enqelab–University of Tehran corridor operate as human-centered settings that promote interaction, memory, and urban vitality. Accordingly, this study examines their role in the formation of third places and explores how design, management, and micro-scale planning can enhance their social performance and improve users’ experience.
Theoretical Framework

General characteristics of the third place and the position of street cafés

The concept of the “third place,” introduced by Oldenburg, refers to informal and accessible spaces beyond home and work that support social interaction, a sense of belonging, and community cohesion. Such places help reduce loneliness and strengthen social life. In the Iranian context, they also provide opportunities for dialogue and informal engagement within urban environments. Street cafés constitute a key example of third places, where design qualities and semi-public settings encourage interaction and, in turn, improve livability, social satisfaction, and neighborhood vitality.
 

Street cafés as third places and spatial experience

Street cafés function as third places by offering informal and accessible environments for social interaction and the exchange of ideas. They bring together diverse social groups, thereby reinforcing social cohesion and trust, and often serve as a “second home” for regular users. Design features such as human scale, comfort, natural light, and soft boundaries encourage longer stays and richer patterns of interaction. Along the Enqelab–University of Tehran corridor, these cafés contribute to socialization and urban vitality and are assessed in this study through 13 third-place indicators.

Theoretical linkage of the third place with the views of Jacobs, Lefebvre, and Relph

The concept of the third place is theoretically grounded in the ideas of Jacobs, Lefebvre, and Relph, all of whom emphasize lively public spaces, everyday interaction, and place attachment. Third places foster social capital, identity formation, and civic participation through social, cultural, and physical dimensions. This study extends the concept by incorporating management and environmental sustainability, demonstrating that the physical, spatial, and managerial characteristics of street cafés shape users’ experiences and enhance vitality, psychological security, and sense of place along the Enqelab–University of Tehran corridor.
Figure 1. Conceptual model of the relationships among the research variables
 
 
Methodology
This applied descriptive–analytical study investigates how street cafés along the Enqelab Square–University of Tehran corridor contribute to the formation of third places. Drawing on data collected from 380 café users, together with expert opinions, the research evaluates 13 third-place indicators through questionnaires and field observations. The findings show that, owing to their accessibility, informal atmosphere, and street-edge location, these cafés function as hubs of social interaction and urban vitality. The principal contribution of this study lies in its comprehensive analysis of the social, cultural, physical, managerial, and environmental factors that shape user experience and place attachment within one of Tehran’s most important cultural corridors.
Case Study Introduction
The Enqelab Square–University of Tehran corridor is one of Tehran’s most vibrant cultural and social spaces, distinguished by its large student population, cultural activities, bookstores, and numerous street cafés. Field surveys identified 42 active street cafés that serve as accessible and informal gathering places for students, artists, employees, and visitors. The corridor’s strong cultural identity, social diversity, pedestrian-friendly environment, and concentration of cafés make it an ideal case for examining the concept of the third place. These cafés contribute to urban vitality by promoting social interaction, cultural identity, sense of belonging, spatial quality, and psychological security.

 
Figure 1. a) Location of the study area, b) Spatial distribution of cafés within the study area, and c) Photographs of the cafés
Results and Discussion
Street cafés along the Enqelab–University of Tehran corridor function effectively as third places. The study demonstrates high reliability ( ) and reveals that café management, spatial quality, social vitality, and sense of belonging are the factors that most strongly shape user experience. Among these, management, spatial quality, and social interaction emerge as the principal predictors, explaining approximately 71% of the variation in users’ perceptions. The weaker dimensions include temporal continuity, social equality, and integration with the street. Overall, the findings support Oldenburg’s theory and indicate that cafés enhance social interaction, place attachment, and urban vitality, although improvements in design, management, and pedestrian planning remain necessary.
Conclusion
Street cafés along the Enqelab–University of Tehran corridor function as important third places that extend beyond commercial use and contribute to social interaction, psychological security, place attachment, and urban vitality. Analysis of 380 questionnaires shows that café management, spatial quality, social vitality, and sensory experience are the strongest factors shaping users’ perceptions, while temporal adaptability, street integration, and environmental quality remain weaker dimensions. Correlation and regression analyses confirm that management, spatial quality, and social interaction are the main predictors of third-place formation, explaining more than 70% of its variance. Overall, these cafés successfully support third-place functions; however, improvements in operating hours, sidewalk integration, and environmental management are still needed. Key recommendations include strengthening human-centered design, improving management quality, adjusting opening hours, and enhancing the physical connection between cafés and the street in order to reinforce their role as urban social nodes.
Acknowledgment
The authors sincerely express their appreciation to all individuals who contributed to this research through their collaboration, guidance, or support.
This study received no specific financial or institutional funding.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

• Third Place
• Street Cafés
• Oldenburg’s Theory
• Enqelab Square–University of Tehran Axis