Analysis of the relationship between the two concepts of place identity and place attachment in urban open spaces (Case Study: Eram Garden of Shiraz)

The emotional relationship between man and place has been studied in different areas. Based on each domain, it is known as a specific title. For example, in the literature of architecture and urbanization, it is referred to as psychology. This relationship is formed at different levels and is introduced in the form of various concepts, including the concepts of place and identity attachment. In the field of architecture and urban planning, several studies have been done in relation to each of these cases. In these studies, the appearance of these relations in spaces has been studied. However, no research has been conducted on the theoretical relationship between these two concepts. Accordingly, the present study seeks to investigate the relationship between the two concepts of place and identity attachment and how these two concepts can be displayed in an open urban environment as the field of research. For this purpose, the Eram Garden of Shiraz was selected as a case study. By examining how these two concepts were used for users of this space, the relationship between these concepts was analyzed. The present study is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in collecting and analyzing data. In this regard, library and field methods are used to collect data and to use content analysis methods as well as statistical tests To analyze them. The statistical population in this research is the users of Eram Garden in Shiraz in spring and summer and the sample size in this regard was 326 people who were randomly asked at the garden level. The results of the research indicated that there is a significant and strong relationship between the two concepts of place attachment and place identity in urban open spaces; thus, increasing the attachment to the location lead to formation of place identity for users of the place. Also, factors such as individual emotions, spatial configuration, are both the most important in order to formation of place attachment to the location and place identity, respectively. However, the factor of memories and events in the place attachment and social activities in the environment, have a greater impact on the formation of place identity.