The Effective factors in the improvement of the environmental quality of sidewalks in Iranian-Islamic cities (Case Study: Emam Hossein and 17 Shahrivar sidewalk)

In the history of Iranian-Islamic urbanism, the urbanization elements such as unity, balance, harmony, beauty, symbiosis with nature and sustainable urban development have been taken into consideration. One of the features and goals of the Iranian-Islamic Utopia has been the human presence and its social-cultural interaction in urban areas including urban sidewalks that have an important role in the liveliness of cities. The objective of this research is to answer how it is possible to organize the uses of Imam Hossein Square and Hefdahe Shahrivar sidewalk in order to improve the quality of urban areas. The method the research uses is the descriptive-analytic approach and the statistical population of the area which is 442 shopkeepers in the sidewalk boundary. The method of collecting data has been a survey that uses a combination of SWOT and AHP techniques. The results obtained in regard to the matrix show that at the present time, there are certain uses such as Imam Hossein Mosque, the Municipality of region 12 building and the historical structure with the weight 0/178 and the economic position which includes markets located in the margins of Imam Hussain and Bazarche Shahrestani in an area with the weight 0/166 contributing to the prosperity of the sidewalk. But the aforementioned uses cannot lead to the liveliness of the whole area of the sidewalk. The results indicate that the economic, transportation and accessibility and the social-cultural factors are considered to be the most important ones in improving the quality of the sidewalk. The most important strategy in improving the quality of the sidewalk is the consideration of the economic role and in the later stages, the accessibility and the social role. Therefore, in order to achieve the liveliness of the sidewalk area, the integration of some land uses and changing them into business uses and attractive travel services such as cultural, educational, administrative, touristy, welfare, and so forth must be taken into account.