Studying the effect of circumferential factors on forming leisure gatherings in urban parks Case study: Ahvaz city parks

Research shows parks are one of the most important leisure spaces in towns and cities and affect urban space in different aspects such as environmental، aesthetic، fabric، economical، social and leisure aspects. City dwellers go to parks as different leisure gatherings including individuals، families and friends and coevals so that international management and direct meaningful utilization of these groups in addition to quality scale up of urban parks can lead to more satisfaction of stakeholders. 2-Theoretical bases Leisure gatherings are groups including one or more persons that spend their leisure time alone or together. These gatherings encompass individuals، families and friends and coevals. Many different factors in two major types of individual and circumferential affect forming of these types of gatherings and frequency of each one in urban parks. Individual factors include age، gender، education level، economic level، culture and personal tact and circumferential factors include local desirability، spatial desirability، climatic condition and frequency of other leisure spaces. This research considers the effects of two circumferential factors including local desirability and spatial desirability of city parks on forming of leisure gatherings there. 3-Discussion Research is performed with a description-analytical method and data is collected from library studies، survey method with questionnaires from park visitors and observation register of number of leisure gatherings in understudy parks. Three parks include Dolat، Siahati and Shahrvand in urban function scale selected as samples for research and analysise of data is done with statistical software (SPSS، excel). Spatial desirability is assessed through 3 social and 13 fabric subfactors and local desirability is evaluated through 3 subfactors and it was observed that Dolat Park has the best situation in local desirability and Siahati Park is the best in spatial desirability. Results of statistical test show there is a relationship between local desirability with predominate leisure groups of parks and also between comparative ranking of parks about the presence of individuals، families and friends and coevals with predominate leisure groups of parks. Also about spatial desirability with mentioned factors the relationship is confirmed. 4-Conclusion The results show there is a relationship between local desirability of parks and so spatial desirability of parks with forming of leisure gatherings in them، and in understudy samples، more spatial and local desirability have led to more family presence in parks and deficiency of these factors has amplified the presence of friends and coeval groups. So we oughtn''t to consider parks just as expletive objects of vacant places in cities that developed in non-filled landuses by case and independently and appropriate goal-making and social direction should be in ascendency of urban management''s aims about urban parks. 5-Suggestions Attention to teenagers'' and youths'' leisure requirement via development of multifunctional and various spaces in parks، make Shahrvand Park more dynamic by utilizing of sport spaces and creating culture spaces around it and make Shahrvand Park out of connection-build situation to increase its local desirability of it are suggestions to increase parks'' desirability and direct leisure gatherings of them.