The role of Walkways in the Vitality of Humans (Case Study: Ferdowsi Street in Isfahan City)

Encouraging walking, many short and average trips currently taken by public transportation will be pedestrianized. As a result, the city's financial burden on public transportation systems is reduced. The revival of urban centers comes not only from government policies but also from the citizens' desire to act in their favor. Ferdowsi Street, as one of the most important streets of Isfahan City, which is the communication axis to reach the Zayandehrood River and the city center and it is one of the longest routes to Imam Square, the route to numerous medical centers on Amadegah Street and so on.Although the traffic is heavy and there is a lot of personal and public communication going on, no specific action has been taken to ensure that pedestrians play a vital role in Isfahan. In particular, Ferdowsi Street is an important street as one of the areas of gravity to access the various tourist center of the city and administrative centers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of walkways in urban vitality in Ferdowsi Street in Isfahan.

Sidewalks are confined streets, where traffic jams are removed, and only emergency vehicles can access them, and trucks are allowed to travel at specified times. On the sidewalks, there is a great deal of freedom for pedestrians to stop, pause, change direction, and direct contact with others, and according to Beau Canon, freedom of pedestrian movement in cities and urban spaces is a good sign of that city's civilization. The presence of pedestrians in the access network passages has a lifelong impact on the city, and has two main aspects, 1- interurban transport system, 2- space for communication, and social interactions, so that one of the ways of revitalizing civic centers The city is the sidewalks, which play an important role in discovering and perceiving the physical and social environment of the city, and represent the civilization, identity and civility of the city.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the pedestrian trend in urban vitality in Ferdowsi Street, Isfahan. The present research is a descriptive (non-experimental) study in terms of research method (data gathering techniques). In fact, the method used in this research is a descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population of the study consisted of all urban experts in Isfahan with 2865 people. The sample size is determined according to the Morgan Table. Accordingly, the sample size is 256 people, and 305 people were selected for more suitable analyses. SPSS software, Kolmoprof-Smirnov test and T-test were used to analyze the data.

Based on this survey, it was found that the improvement of the pedestrian paths in Ferdowsi Street in Isfahanhas increased the residents' satisfaction. Meanwhile, it has improved the mental and psychological well-being of the residents and the vitality of the urban space accordingly. With an increase in human trafficacross the street, the backdrop for business prosperity is created; On this basis, it is suggested that urban management, using pedestrian components, and based on the experiences of other successful countries, develop a strategic and operational document on pedestrianizing this street, and in other streets take actions, the results of which will be beneficial to the people and authorities in their vitality.

Movement, mobility and presence are essential to city life. Today, with the development of motorized vehicles, the emphasis is on riding and ignoring pedestrians. In our reviews, we realized the importance of urban streets and pedestrians and concluded that we could improve the quality and visibility of these routes through the factors such as diversity, vitality, flexibility and safety, and so on. To make urban centers attractive,attempts should be made to focus more on business satisfaction, relaxation and improvement, as well as the development of public transportation, traffic management plans including narrowing roads, widening sidewalks and a solution to the vehicle parks,and reforming the physical structure of the city through pedestrianization (space for walking).When it comes to pedestrian and pedestrian satisfaction, it offers many sub-variables, which can lead to tourism boom, business boom, livelihoods, improved social relationships, etc. Of course, other variables can also be examined in detail in the other contexts. Conclusions can be drawn about the impact of this area's pedestrianization on business prosperity, and the increase of people's happiness, and the satisfaction of users of this space, based on background information and experience of some pedestrians in Iran and the world. Received that this walking will increase business prosperity and popularity, as well as social outreach, which in turn will raise the spirit of cooperation and a sense of community. Compliance with these guidelines can be enhanced by observing the principles and methods of pavement design.