Recreating a Vibrant City Center in Response Urban Environments by Using AHP Model (Case Study: Qazvin City Historical Context in Iran)

Abstract

In this age of transition from decades of turmoil and instability in urban areas, urban centers validate their prestige and importance as a commercial, cultural and recreational center. Urban centers as the housing and shelter for millions of people and visitors will facilitate and improve human interaction. Since the city is very complex, existence and attendance of cycles of declining and wane, reform and reconstruction are obvious. At the best form, appearance of a city will be realized from its center & heart. Recently, in western countries, having vibrant and dynamic urban centers has caught the attention of many scholars. Actually creating an environment where social interaction is high and gives people a sense of vitality. On the other hand, to include such dynamism in context of an urban center, it needs adequate respondents. Therefore, in this paper, at firs the criteria for responsive environments, characters of a vibrant city center and the main & common features between them is introduced, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), criteria are weighted and prioritized. The results show that, sustaining the above criteria and codifying proposed policies and strategies, helps to recreate the historic core of Qazvin city.

A New Insight into Understanding Urban Vitality: A Case Study in the Chengdu-Chongqing Area Twin-City Economic Circle, China

“…Number of active and stationary people per unit area [2] Summation method Density (e.g., population density), accessibility (e.g., distance to school), livability (e.g., number of foodservice sites), diversity (e.g., urban land use diversity) [32] Spatial Topsis method Population demographics, employment, retail sales, number of restaurants, crime rate, business activities, diversity of uses, and pedestrian flows [33] Questionnaire survey Accessibility to amenities, land use diversity, visual propositions, sense of place, flexibility and intensity of land use, flexibility, organizer structure [34] Analytic hierarchy process…”

“…The result of these activities is that more people from different backgrounds are attracted to participate in more activities, thus forming a diversified life. Meanwhile, the environment, which supports and guarantees people's various activities, is the space carrier of the activities above [34,48]. Without the environment, activities cannot be sustained.…”