Desirability Evaluation of Urban Spaces from the perspective of Adolescents’ Presence based on their Needs and Preferences (Case Study: Golsar District in Rasht)

Current study concentrates on adolescents’ presence in urban spaces that can be a vital context for providing rich opportunities to develop a variety of personality characteristics. Today, due to ignoring this age group of urban studies in our country and its aftermath, inefficiency of urban spaces to meet their needs, adolescents’ presence is declining. So in this regard, the desirability of urban spaces from the perspective of adolescents’ presence aged 15 to 18 in Golsar neighborhood of Rasht, is evaluated based on the proposed model. Research method, has been descriptive-analytic and theoretical foundations through library and adolescents’ view analysis was carried out through questionnaire, focus group and map anchored interviews. By completing 271 questionnaires to assess existing urban spaces, we study adolescents’ movement and their activities, and then focus group and map-anchored interviews are used to test the quantitative method results. Quantitative data analysis, Spss and qualitative data was conducted using content analysis. Findings shows that the existing urban spaces do not have an adequate response to the indicators and 78.3% teens’ movement patterns are inactive. Their most important leisure activities were, internet activity, watching television and computer games. The results with emphasis that the proposed model can be a systematic and collaborative approach to assess urban spaces from the adolescents’ viewpoint show that adolescents’ presence in the existing urban spaces is declining because they aren’t compatible with their growth needs and this is a product of ignoring them from participation in the urban planning and design process.