Evaluation the Impacts of Spatial Scale on the Resident's Attachment to Place in Central Neighborhoods (Tabriz City)

Due to the weakening of the bonds of place-human that are part of globalization, spatial mobility, and environmental problems, bond and attachment to place (psychological issues) and cognitive issues are major factors in overcoming these problems, and in achieving environmental sustainability. Thus to enhance the attachment to place and to reduce the spatial mobility in new and central urban environments, it necessary to review the factors and variables affecting the place attachment in these environment. Place attachment involves positively experienced bonds, sometimes occurring without awareness, that are developed over time from the behavioral, affective, and cognitive ties between individuals and groups and their socio-physical environment. The neighborhood attachment is embedded in the relationships between physical, cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects of people-residential environment transactions. The few research studies that took into account more than one type of place demonstrate that attitudes towards place and their predictors may differ depending on the spatial scale. The present paper attempts to evaluate the theories of place attachment at central neighborhood and at three scales of home, neighborhood, city, and factors of place attachment and relationship among these factors with attachment intensity and spatial scale. The research is conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods such as drawing cognitive maps and distribution of questionnaires among Sorkhab (historical-central) neighborhood residents. Results of test showed that there is a U shaped relationship between place attachment intensity and spatial scale. Attachment to home has the highest value and attachment to neighborhood has the lowest one. There are descending linear relationship between cognitive and spatial scale from home to city and also a U shaped relationship between cognitive- attachment value and spatial scale. This relationship is of the highest value for the city scale and of the lowest for neighborhood scale. Evaluation of cognitive maps drawn by residents showed that cognitive maps of neighborhood have the highest frequency for the ways, nods, symbols and edges, while for the cognitive maps of city, this belongs to ways, edges, symbols and nods. So symbols at neighborhood scale and nodes at city scale have the more impact upon the residents’ mental image and legibility of neighborhood and city. Socio-demographic factors (gender, marital status, home ownership, car ownership, age, education, type of transportation, duration of residence) showed consistent impacts on place attachment and a strong positive and significant relationship was established between social factors and attachment to neighborhood. Understanding the relationship between place attachment and place identity and characteristics of the activities is useful for planners and urban designers in making livable and meaningful urban places. Also the results showed that increase of the spatial scale decrease the intensity of residents’ mental image. The results of the research indicate that in order for improving attachment to historic neighborhood, affective dimension (physical factors) and cognitive dimension of attachment to neighborhood must be taken into account, and more emphasis must be placed on improving symbols and ways in neighborhood; on the other hand, there is a need for improvement efforts for neighborhood center to enhance residents’ participation and social relations.