Interactions Among Different Dimensions of a Responsive Public Space: Case Study in Iran

Abstract

A place is generally identified by its varying physical, activity, social and meaning (connotative) characteristics. In this paper, the "Model of Responsive Public Space" is defined by these four aspects and each of them has its own special indicators as shown in previous studies on this subject. To examine this model and evaluate the interactions between these dimensions, experimental studies were carried out in two stages. In the first stage, open-ended structured interviews were carried out with 70 participants to adjust the model with personal opinions about public spaces in Qazvin city, Iran. In the second stage a questionnaire was used to explore the effect of the four dimensions on each other. 598 users of a selected public space participated in this study. The results were analyzed by SPSS software applying a Pearson correlation test and Excel software. These results indicate that not only in theory but also in practice, public spaces have four distinct aspects that must be taken into consideration when creating a responsive public space. The most significance correlation is that between the meaning and the social dimension of public spaces.

Engagement in public open spaces across age groups: The case of Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia

“…This confluence strengthens the base for learning and solidarity (Lieshout and Aarts, 2008;Shaftoe, 2008) as well as learning how to trust others (CABE, 2004). Therefore, they are places for peaceful coexistence, communicating and carrying out miscellaneous activities (Abdulkarim, 2004;Charkhchian and Daneshpour, 2009). These activities include socio-cultural performances, festivals and other outdoor activities (Melik et al, 2007).…”

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“…Charkhchian and Daneshpour [40] illustrated that the responsive spaces have different dimensions [41]. The first dimension is physical dimension, in which a large number of researchers were interested [37,41,42].…”

“…Also the social dimension forms the third dimension [37,44], while meaning is the fourth dimension [45]. Charkhchian and Daneshpour [40] maintains that the physical response of the place is summed up by several important factors like security and safety, comfort in all its forms, access to these spaces, and the availability of important elements such as natural elements. In the sequent sub-section, these four features are discussed.…”

“…Besides physical responsiveness, social activity responsiveness is very important [40]. Social activity responsiveness implies that the activities depend on the social characteristics of these spaces [46].…”

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