Exploring Analysis of the Environmental Qualities Affecting the Design of Unmanaged Urban Under-Bridge Spaces

Today, the quality of urban spaces is one of the most important environmental design concerns. The present study aims to present the environmental preferences of users of under-bridge spaces to achieve an appropriate model for the design of these spaces. The study is carried out using two qualitative and quantitative methods. In the first stage, in order to examine citizens' environmental preferences, the opinions of 50 users of urban spaces about abandoned spaces under urban bridges are examined using Quicksort technique1 and in-depth interviews, and finally, the environmental patterns affecting the design of spaces under bridges are extracted. In the second stage, the environmental patterns obtained from the first stage of the study are examined by the participation of 144 graduates of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design using a questionnaire and by random sampling. Then, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire are assessed and finally, after collecting the data using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the model of this study is produced in SPSS Software and Lisrel software. The results indicate that citizens’ environmental preferences for the design of spaces under urban bridges are: safety and security, physical cohesion, visibility, vitality, sensory richness, sense of belonging, and climatic comfort. This study also shows that recognizing and understanding the needs of users of space will significantly help to provide better environment to understand and experience higher quality spaces and will provide the necessary theoretical frameworks to environmental designers, especially architects and urban designers.