Evaluation and analysis of urban public spaces using TOPSIS model (Case Study: Tabriz)

Public spaces، which belong to all the individuals of different ages، occupations، cultures، and races with no restriction، are one of the most important parts in a city. Today، the importance of the studies on these spaces، considering the needs of the citizens، is more evident. Study and evaluation of urban public spaces، is an urgent necessity in planning the urban management and improvement، and it is a sign of the reproduction of these spaces which is done to improve the city in cultural، social and structural aspects. The approach to the study of these spaces includes 3 perspectives that are considered problems in literature related to urban society: a) Surfaces or areas devoted to public occupancy: the discussion here is the fact that how much of the general net area is devoted to public occupancy. b) Distribution of these spaces over the city: In this part، the dispersion and accumulation of each one of the public occupancies in a specific area، is compared to its standard ratio. The purpose of researching and studying urban public spaces (in this case، Tabriz) is as follows: a) Evaluation of quantitative status of public spaces in Tabriz; b) Analyzing the settlement of public spaces in Tabriz and the dispersion of these areas; c) Comparing the different public spaces in distinct regions of Tabriz; d) Presenting required strategies to improve the general status of public spaces in Tabriz. The following research discusses these two assumptions: a) There is a meaningful relationship between the area and per capita public space in Tabriz and the current existing standards of the country; b) There is a meaningful difference between different regions of the city in terms of development. The research method in this study is descriptive-analytical. Statistical research population is the city of Tabriz which، based on the general pattern of the city، is divided into 9 urban areas. Evaluation of urban public spaces of the city of Tabriz is done by means of 11 main indices and their 75 sub-indices. Analyzing the data of the research is done by using TOPSIS scientific method and SPSS and GIS softwares. Theoretical bases: The current study first discusses concepts like space and urban space، different perspectives on urban spaces and a variety of different notions، different kinds of urban spaces، urban typology and urban theorists، content and functions of urban spaces; and finally it discusses the importance of these spaces. Based on the goals of the current study and also the acquired results، it can be understood that according to the different mentioned indices، there is development inequalities and physical imbalance between distinct urban areas of Tabriz. Also، based on the results which were shown in charts and in addition to them، the maps of different areas of Tabriz that were researched according to each and every one of the study indices، the previously mentioned research assumption were proven to be correct. Thus، based on the results of the study it can be comprehended that in order to improve and expand the city of Tabriz in upcoming decades، acquiring improvements in decision making and executing the urban projects in the best optimized approach، regarding how the urban functions are settled and their fair distribution over the 9 urban areas of the city، is essential. Urban public spaces are important factors in a city and in the field of urban occupancies، they are considered to be the field of physical and social communication. In general، citizens need spaces to meet their needs. Nowadays، we do not pay enough attention to these spaces and we have difficulties when it comes to their production or organization. Current study، based on urban public space indices، intended to illustrate the physical imbalance and also the improvement differences between urban areas of Tabriz. Suggestions: According to the ever growing population of Tabriz during the recent decades and the imbalance and inequality of public spaces in 9 different urban areas of Tabriz، study and assessment of population density in all of the 9 urban areas by related organizations and finding and executing proper strategies that produce balance between public spaces and the present population of a given urban area، is more urgent than before. So regarding the lack of urban public spaces in Tabriz in most of the introduced indices، it is imperative to produce required spaces in each one of the regions that، based on the indices، suffers a lack of urban public spaces. Urban traffic is one of the problems that can be seen in most of the cities، in Tabriz، especially in downtown and the old parts of town، there is a heavy traffic during daylight time. It can be inferred that if the distribution of public spaces is done properly، it is only logical that the number of the people who، because of the lack of a required space، go from one region to another district، will decrease.