جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « Public Space » در نشریات گروه « هنر و معماری »

Problem statement: 

To increase the efficiency of the social function of the public space, urban researchers have listed many features in various conceptual models. It seems that these qualitative characteristics can be categorized under the configuration of space to converge the concepts and to evaluate them quantitatively.

 There is a cause-and-effect relationship between the qualitative factors that influence the ability of a space to shape public urban life. These factors can be evaluated through quantitative and qualitative methods. This research tries to put the necessary factors that increase the quality of the space in a more comprehensive category and evaluate them through the integration of the above methods.

The present study is applied research in terms of purpose. It used a descriptive-analytical method. First, qualitative variables effective in constructing and forming public spaces were identified and categorized by reviewing the literature. The factor of accessibility was identified as a common factor that all theoreticians have emphasized. This factor was considered to be the basis of using the space syntax method. The space syntax evaluated the qualitative characteristics of the space at the macro level. Then the results were discussed using logical reasoning.

The findings of the research showed that the analysis of spatial qualities can be defined in a two-step process: first, in an initial evaluation, the public space is analyzed at the macro level through axial maps based on the level of accessibility and mobility, which is the basis and foundation of spatial qualities. In the second stage, to measure how the space is experienced by the users, a micro-scale investigation should be done on the site by referring to analytical techniques such as questionnaires, mapping, surveys, etc.

In the latter half of the 20th century, it was recognized that good urban spaces must provide opportunities for social interaction and communication. This was deemed essential for the survival of cities. However, the advent of social media and mobile communication has gradually shifted the focus away from physical presence and towards the content and nature of cities. Information and communication technologies have become pervasive in human life, yet their impact on human presence and behavior in urban spaces is often overlooked. The introduction of connected users has redefined the concept of urban spaces in the age of technology, resulting in significant changes in interactive, cognitive, and spatial behaviors.

This study utilizes the qualitative content analysis method and coding technique in ATLAS.it software to explore the shifts in user behavior within Tehran's 6 and 12 districts. Specifically, the focus is on changes in relationships and interactive patterns.

The research based on behavioral maps shows that users' interaction behavior has shifted from direct and active communication to indirect and two-way communication. This change is more focused on the media, attention, and perception of the surrounding space and communication with others. As a result, the nature of public spaces has moved from traditional landmarks to temporal domains. This blurs the connection between the user and the space, causing the connected user to be moved from the center of the space to the margin. In an interactive approach, the user's focal role in space is weakened.

The research shows that technology plays a crucial role in how people choose, navigate, and socialize in physical spaces. This dependence on technology has led to changes in how people interact with each other and their environment. These changes offer valuable insights for urban planners and designers to create more efficient and effective spaces in modern cities. By understanding the various dimensions of these changes, planners can develop optimal solutions and patterns to enhance the user experience.

Regarding the importance of human and social development issues, many urban design and architecture experts have criticized modern urban planning and architecture and the physical-spatial quality of that system. The enclosure is one of the physical-spatial characteristics of such a system. In the present study, this concept is evaluated in three sub-branches of physical-spatial, activity-functional, and perceptual-semantic with increasing social activity and thus increasing social interactions in the central square of Bam City (Kerman Province, Iran). This descriptive-analytical study is based on the survey method. In the survey stage, a researcher-made questionnaire and field observation were used. The population and statistical sample of the study included 30 local specialists and experts in Bam selected by chain sampling who were familiar with the study area. Data were analyzed using the t-test and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) approach. The results showed that the view of the public space of the central square of Bam is chaotic and disordered. Overall, this issue is due to the heterogeneous accompaniment of the body (form, shape, and appearance), activity and space (events within the city), and the lack of coordination and appropriateness in the composition of elements (components and elements) of buildings placed next to each other and form an urban view. In the study area, neglecting the enclosure factor, including the walls and facades of buildings (a visual part of the city), was identified as a cause of social exclusion. The strengths and weaknesses of the characteristics of enclosure and the opportunities and threats existing in this space can cause the presence or absence of citizens and social interactions. Hence, the socialization and formation of public life in urban public spaces result from three mechanisms: physical-spatial, activity-functional, and perceptual-semantic, which are subsets of enclosures factors.

The campus's physical environment significantly affects student recruitment, retention, and satisfaction. Pressure to accommodate growing student populations has resulted in the unstructured physical growth of campuses in recent decades, jeopardizing student satisfaction with the campus's physical experience. As a result, studying the physical environment on campus is now – perhaps more than ever – a subject worthy of sustained academic inquiry. Additionally, with the shift from a "teaching paradigm" to a "learning paradigm" and technological advancements, the role of campus public spaces as informal learning environments designed to meet the needs of students has received considerable attention. As a result, reimagining the architecture of these spaces appears necessary to boost campus performance and meet the needs of the new generation of students. This paper examined student preferences and needs in campus public spaces to increase student satisfaction. Thus, the primary consideration focuses on the characteristics of university public spaces based on student preferences. The research methodology is qualitative, and the study area is the Art University of Isfahan's Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning. To this end, four public spaces on campus were selected  based on their popularity with students: the core collective spaces, the library, the area in front of the library, and the campus side entrance from the "Gozare Rahe Shahi." The data collection process included a qualitative survey and the placement of questionnaires in four public spaces on campus. These questionnaires were placed in designated locations for six days, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and a total of 248 comments were collected. Based on the collected data, student preferences for campus public spaces can be classified into two distinct categories: physical characteristics and activity-related characteristics. Furthermore, the library emphasizes a functional aspect, which refers to students' library access hours. According to the analysis of student perspectives, the physical aspect of the space demonstrates their desire for suitable landscape and furniture design, environmental comfort, and support areas in campus public spaces. Our findings regarding the activity dimension indicate that students value the environment's capacity to support a variety of individual and collective activities. These activities include solitude, interaction, academic engagement, recreation, and individual or group study in public spaces on campus. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates that the importance of these activities varies according to the four study areas mentioned previously.

 Problem statement: 

Regardless of the consensus about the necessity of efficient public spaces to improve various dimensions of life in the city, there is no agreement in terms of the criteria for the formation of efficient public spaces as an ever-evolving concept. It seems that some of the listed criteria, according to philosophical partialism, are not in line with the evolution of this concept from an urban space based on the opposition of mass and emptiness to an ideal space for the realization of democracy, the flourishing of social life, and a processual and relational existence. This issue clarifies the need to revise the normative definitions of “good form of public space” by adopting a holistic perspective that includes the human-meaning dimensions of the space and the effect of other agencies such as the characteristics of the context and power institutions.

The purpose of the current research is to evaluate the existing theories about “efficient public space” and its relationship with the process of the semantic and functional evolution of space in the public domain of the city. While providing a general picture of the development process of the interdisciplinary concept of “public space”, this study attempts to present the knowledge gap in the previous theoretical literature, and provide a more appropriate approach, to the possibility of progress and development of theory in this field.

This study used an integrative approach to combine and critique the previous views and lay the groundwork for the re-conceptualization of “space in the public sphere of the city.” The data was collected using the library method based on the conceptual structure of the review and analyzed using the methods of critical analysis and conceptual classification.

Normative-prescriptive definitions of efficient public space are not in sync with the evolution process of the content-descriptive definition of public space. As a result of the incorrect epistemological orientation to the concept of space, partial criteria only consider one of the physical and semantic aspects of space or the algebraic sum of the two and do not provide a comprehensive picture of the multi-dialectical and disputed concept of space in the public domain of the city. In such a way that, despite the new forms of interwoven communication between man and the city under the concepts of “public space” and “public urban process”, we witness a kind of historical regression to the concepts of “urban space” or a selected representation and image of the concepts of “public space” and “public space.” The definition of the good form of the public space, according to the continuously evolving and multi-factorial nature of the space, should go beyond the instructions about shaping the space and rely on a holistic approach and formulating a set of flexible and paradigmatic holistic, multi-dimensional, multi-scale, and multi-dimensional equations and dynamic processes. It includes the formation of public space.

Urban spaces in the age of technology are changing in all dimensions due to the addition of connected users, and neglecting to recognize these developments has distanced us from the current content of the urban space and deprived the city planners of the possibility of efficient planning and appropriate use of technology. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to explain the changes made in public spaces based on the dimensions of the urban space of Carmona under the influence of modern communication and information technologies.

This research is looking for the theories of public space in a historical process and by adopting an interpretative approach and benefiting from qualitative content analysis in the context of Atlas analytical software to analyze the changes of public space in the age of technology according to the six dimensions. Carmona urban space.

findings indicate that the impact of the technology paradigm was not the same in all aspects of the urban space. Among the most important ones, we can mention the transfer of social interactions from the space of place to the space of flow, the flexibility of the functional space, the formation of an independent perceptual system, and the weakening of the concept of access.

The results show that because of technology in urban areas, although all dimensions of urban spaces have undergone changes in some way, but the most changes have taken place in functional and social areas. Based on these changes, a redefinition of public spaces has been explained and presented in accordance with the characteristics of the technological era.

Problem statement: 

The problem of space in the public domain of the city extends beyond the simplistic definition used as “opposite of private space”. This issue is associated with the socio-spatial structure of urban life and has multiple dimensions formed under the influence of various social, economic, and political dynamics and the agency of city managers, designers, and citizens. Despite the growing concerns about the performance of public spaces in recent decades, there is no consensus among researchers about the different dimensions of “public space”. This issue has made it difficult to develop theoretical perspectives and propose practical solutions for this interdisciplinary concept.

This study attempts to shed light on the various dimensions of the concept of “public space” and show the contradictions and theoretical gaps in the existing theoretical literature. By combining and criticizing the views, this study aims at developing a new conceptual model and contributes to theory development and reconceptualization of public space.

In line with the purpose of the research, a hybrid review research method was used to develop the theoretical foundations of public space. The data was collected by the bibliographic research method and analyzed through content analysis and meta-analysis methods.

The conflicting definitions of public space are tied up with the concerns and interests of multiple stakeholders and influenced by human, contextual, and institutional agencies contributing to human actions. Publicness is a relative, abstract, and dynamic quality and, at the highest level of performance, is the common denominator of the specific characteristics of each space and the response of a multivariate equation, including the role of man, space, city, and time. Public space is a multi-dialectic system, a contested entity with a wide range of meanings and uses. It does not lend itself to a single definition because it is based on the relationships shaped between agencies, over time, and across space. Different manifestations and possibilities are available to different stakeholders, including citizens, designers, specialists, city managers, and power institutions. The substantive and functional dimensions of public space change under the influence of a series of relationships as a chain reaction and butterfly effect. A minor change in metropolitan processes, the context of public space, human actions, or even the transformation of public space in another part of the city can have far-reaching and unexpected consequences for the publicness of the space. The publicness of space should be explained as a holistic value through an adaptable model by considering the set of factors involved in each specific example and realized with larger strategies and long-term processes.

The components of a traditional Iranian city include harmonious and cohesive structures arising from different concepts. The network of passages is one of the most significant communicative elements in these cities, which in addition to connecting different parts of the context, have contributed to the presence and various activities of the residents of the neighborhood and have had an important place in the public domain of the city. The exposure of the space organization and current life in these passages to the content and physical transformation of cities is a significant issue. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to scrutinize the position of historical passages in the structural system of public spaces of the city and to extract the factors affecting the position. To this end, this study examined to see how this element works in the public and collective domains of today’s cities. This research employed a qualitative approach and a descriptive and analytical method, and it examined the concept and characteristics of historical passages and the components of public space related to them through bibliographic and document studies. These components included access and movement, hierarchy, stillness, contrast and divergence, mobility and diversity, land-use intermixture, spatial flexibility, and continuity. This study used spatial physical analysis to examine the interaction of factors in the study area of Dar-Khoungah passage. The analysis was based on visual evidence and field observations. Due to the formation of the public space of Dar-Khoungah passage based on the organization system of neighborhood centers and the existence of evident characteristics such as historical buildings, spatial openings, old land-uses, and their arrangements, this study analyzed this passage from different perspectives such as urban space organization, part-whole relationship, joint communications, and component analysis and explained its effective qualities on the public space of the city.  Analysis of the data shows that these qualities include physical connection and semantic relation of the public space, identification of the public space, balancing the public space, and the function of physical elements of the passage in explaining the public space, which can be a basis for future development of the passage, promotion of activities, social interactions and solving its physical issues and problems.

In recent decades, due to the deterioration of environmental conditions worldwide, attention has been given to environmental and ecological issues by theorists, planners and urban designers. Urban Place experts are no exception. The aim of this study was to provide a conceptual model to explain the relationship between urban place theory and landscape ecology and then turn this model into a pattern. In the pattern presented in this research, using the landscape ecology approaches, the creation of an urban place has been done by determining the position of the components involved in it. The model presented in this study as Eco Place Pattern has four Physical, Activity, Meaning and Ecological components. There are a number of criteria for each component, which include twelve criteria. These criteria include: Landscape Ecology, Accessibility, Human Scale, Readability, Flexibility, Visual Beauty, Environmental Comfort, Security and Safety, Activity, Attention to Economics, Sensational Richness and Identity. The Shohada-ye Khalij-e Fars Lake was selected as case study and it compliance with the Eco Place pattern was investigated by ANP method. The results of the studies show the extent of it high compliance with the proposed model, but due to the importance of changes in the landscape ecology principles, modification of ecological trends in order not to reduce the quality of these urban places is recommended.

Improving the desirability of spaces, which means that the spaces should be acceptable by the people and should affect the users, is an important desire and goal of urban regeneration. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of urban regeneration in the desirability of Haram public space in District 20 of Tehran Municipality. It used a descriptive-analytical method based on survey data collected from 240 old businesspersons in the space. To analyze the data, one-sample t-test in SPSS Software and structural equations in AMOS Software were used. Findings indicate that space conditions for the presence of women and people of different ages, pedestrian transportation facilities, space safety, good access, user comfort, and a sense of belonging to the space, were the 25 indicators with better conditions. Since the implemented projects were more physical in nature and less cultural or social, the indicators and dimensions related to these dimensions have also undergone more changes.

The frequency and plurality of ideas and approaches on the subject of “urban spaces,” as well as the variety of definitions, characteristics, opinions, and methods of dealing with this topic, has led to various and sometimes contradicting perceptions among academics in this field. Furthermore, because urban spaces theories are not limited to a single field of study and have been explored in philosophical, sociological, psychological, political, and economic contexts, research in this topic has clear complexities and requires more investigation. Typifying theoretical ideas is one of the most common techniques to simplify and handle such challenges. This article seeks to provide a typology and, more clearly, a kind of stream of theories and perspectives related to the subject of urban spaces.

This stream study organizes and categorizes the frequency of approaches in the field of “urban spaces”, making it easier to comprehend and analyze what different urban spaces theorists have proposed. Using this stream study, it is possible to discern what type of approach has been adopted, and what definition of “space and urban space” each theorist and theorist in each stream of thought has articulated. Furthermore, by identifying and framing streams of thought, it is possible to understand which stream of thought(s) each theorist belongs to, and then his/her views can be better understood. In addition, any researcher can use one or more streams in the future to conduct research. Additionally, each researcher can employ one or more streams for future study on the subject of urban spaces and better explain and explore his preferred urban space within the framework of that stream of thought.

To achieve the goal of this study, the “two-dimensional typology” method was used. This method consists of two steps. According to the purpose of the article, the first step was to “choose a typology strategy.” “Empirical strategy” was selected as one of the common strategies at this stage. The second step was to “build a typology”, which was completed by describing the “ Constructs “, “Bounds”, and “Representative types” and using them to fulfill the typology. The analysis section of the article explains how to use this method and how to create types.

The stream study of theoretical approaches to urban spaces is divided into three main streams and eight streams of thought: 1) empirical macro-stream  including a) empirical-cultural stream, b) empirical-behavioral stream, c) empirical-critical stream, and d) empirical-perceptual stream; 2) Theoretical macro-stream  includes: a) theoretical-psychological stream, b) theoretical-critical stream, c) theoretical-political economy stream, and d) theoretical-sociological stream; and 3) empirical-theoretical stream

 In recent experiences, from the perspective of culture-led urban design, events play a paramount important role in improving the quality of urban public spaces. However, less exists on the nature of urban public spaces and their constructive roles in the development of events. Even previous studies have failed to provide clear answers to key questions such as what factors affect the event-oriented public space? What is the effect of different types of public space on amount of events?

 This study aims to explain and develop event-oriented criteria for urban public spaces and then to measure and compare the extent to which different urban spaces in District 12 are event-oriented.

 The article’s methodological approach contains both qualitative and quantitative. In the first step, different methods were used to select case studies as an event place in District 12, such as content analysis of documents during two years, field visits, and in-depth interviews with experts. Then, the factors affecting the eventuality of public spaces were recognized based on the current literature. Finally, the event-oriented quality of several urban spaces in Tehran’s historical heart was measured and compared by using checklists and analyzing the data in SOCNETV software. 

 The research results show five criteria, including accessibility, connectivity, space facilities, inclusiveness, and security, have the most significant impact on events’ formation and durability. Also, among the different types of public spaces, the pedestrian streets and parks in Tehran’s 12th district have a higher amount of events compared to other types.

The Public spaces of each civilization are among the important issues in determining the social identity of that era and social history is a guiding background in the formation and success of these spaces. In order to recover the lost identity of the tribes, considering the preservation of the historical identity sequence, it is possible to refer to the past and re-read the signs and meanings hidden in the body. In the Safavid period, despite the use of force and seizure of public property in the process of construction of Naghsh-e-Jahan Square, this space was welcomed after a while, the effects of which remain to this day. This article seeks to find out how the Safavid government influenced the transformation of the meaning of space and the creation of social identity of Public spaces. In other words, the question has been how to construct a special social identity of the Safavid era and its role in constructing the desired Public space of this research. The present study, based on a documentary and library study of the social history research method, deals with the effects of social tendencies in architecture. For this purpose, after introducing the intellectual foundation of the Safavid government, the social results of these ideas and its effects on the architecture of the Public space and its social acceptance are examined. This research is based on the assumption that the measures taken politically and culturally to create religious and cultural integration have had the greatest impact on the identification of Public spaces. The result of this study made it clear that thePublic space of the Safavid era in terms of time factors of formation includes three dimensions of political, religious and territorial and in terms of causes in social practice includes three systematic parts of physical and spatial and construction and these factors led to collective spaces. This period should have unique characteristics that, except in the eyes of the rulers, gradually gained legitimacy and social identity from the point of view of the space audience

Due to their special functional, social and cultural role, pedestrian areas are the most significant urban spaces for leisure and social activities. For this reason, the streets and open spaces of the city center have a high potential to become pedestrian areas. This study aims to explain the feasibility criteria for converting a street into a pedestrian area in the central core of Babol, which was first done by logical reasoning and based on theoretical foundations and global experiences, the necessary criteria were developed and after modification and localization by face validity, they were finalized and ranked. Then, in the center of Babol, via the obtained criteria and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), suitable streets to become pedestrian areas have been identified and prioritized. The research results reveal that two types of criteria are significant in the feasibility study of the pedestrian area : first, the necessary criteria, which include two criteria: “The dominance of the social role over the transportation and access role and the possibility of transferring the role of transportation and access to the surrounding streets (maintaining the continuity of the main riding networks)” and “the average longitudinal slope less than 5%” and their absence prevents the street from becoming a pedestrian area . The second includes the criteria of “existence of attractive edges in the street”, “existence of voluntary and social activity in the street”, “population and suitable number of pedestrians”, “existence of important attractions inside or 500 meters away from the street”, “existence of important permanent elements in people's minds, inside the street (visual sign and activity node)”, “access to public transport station at a maximum distance of 500 meters from the street”, “existence of public parking at a maximum distance of 500 meters from the street”, “proper penetrability of the street”, “vegetation on the street” and “living on or around the street”, the absence of one of which prevents the street from turning into a pedestrian area . But their existence is very important in creating a successful pedestrian area and prioritizing them, and they can be strengthened or created after creating a pedestrian area with a good design. In the center of Babol city, Ayatollah Saeedi Street, due to having most of the mentioned criteria, is the most suitable street to become a pedestrian area and can be a suitable place to start the pedestrian area network.

The commodification of the public space is one of the influential processes on the generation of the urban spaces, which has been the origin of considerable evolutions in the recent two decades. An example of this process is the excessive commercial constructions and the unprecedented growth of large-scale shopping centers. Over the last two decades, malls were developed irregularly in Tehran. Various studies have been conducted on the emergence of malls and their effects and consequences on the cities from different perspectives. Some of these studies investigated the shopping centers as public spaces and analyzed their effects and consequences from various aspects. The public interest has not been mentioned directly or indirectly in these studies. However, they stated the characteristics, such as inclusiveness for all social groups, equal accessibility, being free, lack of discrimination, sociability, and security, all of which are considered examples of the public interest. Other research analyzed the large-scale urban projects from a public interest perspective, among which are the mega malls and malls. Since the development of the malls considerably depends on the will of the private sector investors along with the permissions issued by the government organizations, thus, it can be said that the main motivation for the production and development of these spaces is earning profit from the space. On the other hand, the public’s welcome of these centers and their role as the public space based on the consumption in the metropolitans requires the study of their effects and consequences from various aspects. The current paper studied the conflicts of the large-scale shopping centers of Tehran from the public interest perspective.

Public art in Iran has undergone dramatic changes since the beginning of its development, and especially after the 80s when Social and discourse arts started to give way to decorative, formalist and abstract art. As a result of this process, reconstruction discourse which characterized by its social function and brought about social harmony and solidarity started to fade. So, the development of human and vibrant environments in the densely populated cities of the contemporary age is a need that has obsessed all urban authorities such as designers, planners and policymakers. Thus, taking into account the role of audience in retrieving and utilizing the spaces devoted to art and public art activities and improving the quality of democratic spaces, the researcher made attempts to investigate the contribution of public art components to creation of democratic atmosphere of the 80s in Tehran’s Ab-o-Atash Park. The Embedded Design Mixed Research Method was used to conduct the study. Atlasti and SPSS software were used in the qualitative and quantitative phases of the study, respectively. The results show that the public art components have most significantly contributed to creation of graffiti, structural elements, simultaneous displays, celebrations and lighting (each having a coefficient of determination of 1). Water fountains and elements devoted to celebrities and dignitaries (with coefficient of determination of 0.893) and building structures (with coefficient of determination of 0.846) were ranked second and third, respectively. The results showed that public art components have had the least contribution to creation of stone sculpture (0.427) and the amphitheater (0.362) and the ski resort (0.467) respectively. In the years after Revolution the public art in social discourses affected by three decades' purgation or sublimation discourse in 1960s with a nostalgic and unifying moral function followed a public ethics and sustainability. With the end of the war and beginning of the 70s, the daily life in Iran has been changed a lot and the ethics of here is bravery and errantry of the what time gave way to rationality and computation of the construction period. New generation took a distance from the heroes of 60s to shape his daily life in another way. Therefore, the main confliction is that the heroism life is the dominance of the danger and violence and going to the danger, while the daily life is the dominance of the women and the reproduction and care. Iran had the experience of Revolution and war a head, needed to the features and ethics of heroism in art, not a mediocre ethic that avoids danger. In fact, in the 1370s more common and routine subjects were proceeded the martyr's wall paintings and fronts gave their way gradually to the decorative, formalist and abstract paintings). The lifestyle of the youth and the street wanderings cherry that were considered as a kind of idleness at the beginning of 1380s and were regarded as a fruitless routine in the civility system, became the predominant form of youth life in the 1380s. They gained and uninhibited and free experience in wanderings that has trifled in all of the cultural, educational and political formations. Wandering is described as democratic urban consumer. The loiterer is the hero of the daily life and interested in urban beauties and elegances at best. Wandering is the production of space; wandering is the art of daily life and how to use the space is important by the loiterer. The beautification discourse of 1380s, with the cultural function resulted in the public the esprit, social joy and enthusiasm and beautification discourse. In the meantime, the artistic events undergone some changes. The general art is also changing gradually from the idealistic pictures (Heroes) to the routine and interactive (facilitator) pictures and symbols. The events that can stabilize the discourse space and bring the general esprit, and social joy and enthusiasm and the discourse beautification. Generally, by entering the art to the general arena, the factors affecting the meaning of Art changed under the influence of the cultural, social and political situations and fields, the personal and public audience, the authority powers and artists, all of were effective in creating the meaning of art. This change in relations is somehow a change in the discourse, and this discourse method of the general art is the result of social functions, special time and place. This research has tried to answer below question with the purpose of considering the role of the audience in recapturing and seizing and how to use the space in relation to artistic activities and general art and qualitative improvement of the democratic space supporting those the general art components is effective in the democratic creation and experience of the Water and Fire Park. * How much were effective the elements of the general art in creation and experience of the democratic space in the 80s, in the study sample of Tehran water and Fire Park? The relationship between the art and urban space has been beneficial for both phenomena during the history, but the speed of the developments of the past century has caused challenges in the relationship between the art and urban spaces in our country, so that the applied art in the city has an ordered and attached nature, not popular. With the extraction of general art elements by the deep interviews based on the individual experience of experts in space and its verification by the special audiences, this research tried to answer this important question that: how much does the contribution of each of the general arts presented in the water and Fire Park effects on space production and the democratic experience in the space. During the qualitative section and the deep interviews, it was found that there are most of the activities in the space that should be accomplished to be able to comprehend the general art related to that, therefore, in this research the type of activity is dependent on general art. During the different periods of time the art has taken a void range of different forms and during the historical periods the artists have Sean is strong desire to engage via the physical and mental contexts of society and this issue have successfully gained when the artistic work has been connected with a specific place or event and has created the general art. The general art can be emerged in public spaces in different ways and forms such as the big and small statues, murals, paintings. public space furniture and ...., but in the meantime, along with the created charms by the general art, the social participation based on the cultural aspects of any public space under the influence of the different types of general art can make more people presented. the general art reliance in some way on interaction with the general public based on some common social ideas gives a very suitable opportunity for reviving these ideas and trying to revitalize the community and social relations. The need for human and vibrant environments in today's crowded cities is a need that has occupied the minds of all city officials including the urban designers, programmers and policy makers. The general art which is taken from and describes the historical narratives and holding ceremonies or periodic celebrations, simultaneously with the lighting of the elements in Water and Fire Park, have the greatest contribution in creating a democratic experienced by individuals which can be considered it equal among all kinds of arts in terms of value transmittal, and the simultaneous presence of all the arts is required. The arts mixed with conceptual metaphors and especial meanings are in the next stage and at last they are case arts.

Problem statement:

 By the beginning of the Safavid rule, a new era of civilization and progress started to initiate in the city of Isfahan. Economic and political stability, along with a balanced establishing of social, religious and governmental powers, prepared a fundamental change in the urban structure and the social and urban relations of Isfahan city.Therefore, the city moved toward a new kind of urban formation and the required basement for a dynamic social life in the form of public events with diverse perceptions was created, that all resulted in the foundation of a considerable range of public spaces in various type, including urban bridges. Accordingly, “Allahverdikhan Bridge”, with its functional and physical development, become a place of public gathering, recreation and urban interaction, which has played an important role in power balance in the target city.

The aim of this study is to examine the Safavid government relation with people, religion and city, and to study their effect on the formation of public spaces in Isfahan, especially Allahverdikhan Bridge. Based on this, the central position of this bridge in the Safavid power’s relation can be explained in accordance with the other components in the city.

A qualitative research study was adopted to analyze the concepts of research objectives through an interpretive-historical method and by addressing the library resources.

The results show that the special role of Safavid reign was to legitimize the power structure (reinforcing the religious and public base) in the process of social relations’ development and the formation of public spaces, especially in Allahverdikhan Bridge. The interaction and tolerance of the government system as the major base of power, in relation to ‘religion, society and city’, led to the formation of a connected space between the state and people (public spaces) and the balanced establishment between them. In this regard, Allahverdikhan Bridge as a public space, and considering its position and role in the urban structure of Isfahan in the Safavid era, become the center of power tolerance and social balance.

Participation is a concept in various fields and includes a wide range of meanings appropriate to its field of application.
Despite the relatively broad theoretical background of participation, its efficiency in the field of public space design process has been less.
Three components of individual, social and spatial dimensions are the main factors influencing the participatory design process of public spaces.

It is important to consider the participation of public space users in the process of architectural design, and each of the various definitions of public participation that is reviewed somehow expresses the richness of people’s involvement in urban affairs at different levels, viewing public participation as an essential, inseparable component of urban development and noting the positive, undeniable results of the public’s contribution to the design and architecture process. On the other hand, this issue has been considered by many researchers and designers of urban public spaces in recent years, where participatory design solutions have been presented in practical examples at the three levels of design, planning, and decision-making. Despite the existence of a specific method of participatory motivation in design, concern for the issue is limited in Iran mainly to low-level methods of receiving information involving, for example, interviews and recorded user opinions, and a kind of deception is observed at macro levels of design, planning, and decision-making. Thus, the results obtained from these measures are restricted to purely-written or low-level operational intervention. The important point in this regard is the improper explanation of the effective components of participation, on the one hand, and the ineffective structure of these components and its relationship with the design process, on the other hand. Therefore, it is necessary to address the various dimensions of public participation and identify the components that affect the participatory design of public spaces. Knowledge of the components affecting these spaces allows designers, planners, and urban officials to design and plan quality public spaces with the people’s participation.

Participation is a concept that comes in a variety of contexts, and includes a wide range of meanings tailored to its social, cultural, and practical aspects. It is regarded as a kind of notion that is easy to discuss but difficult and complex in practice. Despite the growing significance of public participation in architecture, urban planning, and urban management and the dedication of an important part of research in recent years to this issue, many architects, designers, planners, urban managers, and citizens still often disagree on public participation. Recognizing a black box on the path to individuals’ effective participation in the process of designing public spaces, they emphasize that efforts made in the field of public participation have often been ineffective, and efficiency has hardly been achieved in practice, especially in the field of design and architecture, even with the relatively broad theoretical background of participation. On the other hand, the diversity that is there in the field of participation in different disciplines has caused persistent problems with the way the concept can be used. Architectural designers and thinkers have different professional views on the process of participation in design, and the views of participation-oriented architects and participatory design have been considered as a new approach in the specialized training of architects. Collaborative design has assumed various manifestations in architecture, all of which have in common the use of opinions and the participation of more and more people in the design, especially in the architecture, of public spaces.

The present research is an applied deductive-review study.

The present article aimed to explain the participatory factors by presenting and analyzing a conceptual-structural model of the impacts of the effective factors in the process of designing public spaces. Accordingly, the three main components, including the individual, social, and spatial dimensions, were extracted as the main influential factors in participatory design. The intersections of these three with concepts such as the sense of place (in the semantic dimension), physical and functional diversity (in the socio-spatial dimension), and permeability and readability (in the spatial dimension) played the major roles in specification of the levels of participatory intervention. At the secondary level, the components of access, security, and invitation (in the spatial dimension) exhibited the next greatest parts. The secondary level of influence of the place facilitates people’s presence in public places, while the primary level of influence deepens the participation in public places, and creates an emotional, unconscious, semantic structure at the place.

This research emphasizes the essential role of the concept of participation in the design process, which is multiple, complex and multi-level. The findings obtained in the design process can be applied at three levels: in the field of decision-making and design planning management, in the field of physical planning and urban design, and, finally, in the field of architecture and micro-space design. The first level deepens participation in public places, and creates an emotional, unconscious, semantic structure. The second level causes this deepening process to continue, and the third level makes it possible to facilitate people’s presence at public places.

To embody a collective history of Isfahan through a symbolic and monumental physical space, the recent past (Sabze Meidan) is replaced by a new place named Imam Ali square. This research, emphasizing the political aspect of memory and forgetting\remembering, has approached a critical turning toward the experience of a social group that is ignored in the mentioned project. This study, adopting grounded theory methodology and interview method, explores the lived experience of those local tradesperson in the area who are still working there. The concept of “semantic inversion of the monument”, as the core category in research findings, describes the nature of the monument construction in experience of the studied group.