Evaluating the Design of Akhoond District Center in Qazvin; Improving Security Level, Citing CPTED Approach

Safety is one of the most fundamental human needs and is a prerequisite for improvement of people’s welfare and health. In Maslow’s pyramid having safety is placed at the second step meaning that after physiological needs, safety is the most important need of human being that causes higher needs to be achieved and on the other hand enables people to attend public spaces. People cannot show up in an urban space without the sense of safety and therefor some dissonance will emerge when a space is vacant of people. The lack of safety is a remarkable reason that makes our public spaces unsuccessful. Thus, safety is essential for social life in public spaces. There are different methods to make a space safe for people but the most important of them are the dispositional approach and positional approach. CPTED is a positional approach effective in increasing safety in a space and aims to prevent the occurrence of crime. This method relies upon the ability to influence offender decisions that precede criminal act by designing the space in an effective way. Urban designers and planners can enhance the qualities of social life through appropriate environmental design suggested by CPTED. Akhoond district in Qazvin is an important district because of its history dating back to the Safavid period and even now many people still live there. Therefore, it is very important to investigate this district in terms ofsecurity. The center of Akhoond district is one of the most traditional spaces in Qazvin city and had been a good place for residents of adjacent districts to communicate with each other in past decades. However, currently the majority of its residents believe that insecurity and social disorders are the most serious difficulties of the district which have resulted in an unpleasant sense of place and loss of its social identity. The center of this district was redesigned in 2008 with the purpose of revival and animation[H1] of place, but security levels are still perilous. This paper first explains the concept of safe urban space and then introduces CPTED and its principals, theorists and studies. This is followed by an analysis of cases designed by CPTED principals. Finally, the case study of this paper,_center of Akhoond district, _ is evaluated according to CPTED strategies through a comparative-descriptive method by observing the space and social behaviours and subsequently some solutions are proposed. Research findings show that in designing the mentioned space the matter of safety has not been considered and consequently led to a high number of criminal acts. Hidden corners, inappropriate activities in and around the space and shortage of efficient surveillance are observed. Therefore, the proposed solution omits the spaces that allow criminals to commit crimes in that district. This way people will live in a safe environment and can use the space without fear.