A Comparative Analysis of Citizen's Satisfaction of Leisure Space, Case Study: Maragheh, Districts 1& 4

Leisure space today is one of the important areas of urban studies as the quality of how leisure time is spent has become more important. This comparative study was done to both measure satisfaction indicators of leisure time and to investigate the factors influencing leisure space satisfaction in two districts in Maragheh. In order to collect the data in this study, questionnaire surveys were conducted. The statistical population of the study were citizens living in District 1 and 4 in Maragheh and the population size in each area was determined based on Cochran formula. The questionnaires were then distributed in the leisure places by using simple-random sampling method. In order to analyze the research data, both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied by means of SPSS software. The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference in leisure space satisfaction between Districts 1 and 4. Additionally, it was determined by factor analysis that the leisure facilities, variety of leisure places, and access to them (with 38.9 percent variance) in District 1 and also the facilities and variety of leisure places as well as their cultural functions (with 38.7 percent variance) in District 4 have played the most important role in shaping the resident's satisfaction of their leisure space.