A study of Theoretical Streams Related to Urban Spaces

The frequency and plurality of ideas and approaches on the subject of “urban spaces,” as well as the variety of definitions, characteristics, opinions, and methods of dealing with this topic, has led to various and sometimes contradicting perceptions among academics in this field. Furthermore, because urban spaces theories are not limited to a single field of study and have been explored in philosophical, sociological, psychological, political, and economic contexts, research in this topic has clear complexities and requires more investigation. Typifying theoretical ideas is one of the most common techniques to simplify and handle such challenges. This article seeks to provide a typology and, more clearly, a kind of stream of theories and perspectives related to the subject of urban spaces.

This stream study organizes and categorizes the frequency of approaches in the field of “urban spaces”, making it easier to comprehend and analyze what different urban spaces theorists have proposed. Using this stream study, it is possible to discern what type of approach has been adopted, and what definition of “space and urban space” each theorist and theorist in each stream of thought has articulated. Furthermore, by identifying and framing streams of thought, it is possible to understand which stream of thought(s) each theorist belongs to, and then his/her views can be better understood. In addition, any researcher can use one or more streams in the future to conduct research. Additionally, each researcher can employ one or more streams for future study on the subject of urban spaces and better explain and explore his preferred urban space within the framework of that stream of thought.

To achieve the goal of this study, the “two-dimensional typology” method was used. This method consists of two steps. According to the purpose of the article, the first step was to “choose a typology strategy.” “Empirical strategy” was selected as one of the common strategies at this stage. The second step was to “build a typology”, which was completed by describing the “ Constructs “, “Bounds”, and “Representative types” and using them to fulfill the typology. The analysis section of the article explains how to use this method and how to create types.

The stream study of theoretical approaches to urban spaces is divided into three main streams and eight streams of thought: 1) empirical macro-stream  including a) empirical-cultural stream, b) empirical-behavioral stream, c) empirical-critical stream, and d) empirical-perceptual stream; 2) Theoretical macro-stream  includes: a) theoretical-psychological stream, b) theoretical-critical stream, c) theoretical-political economy stream, and d) theoretical-sociological stream; and 3) empirical-theoretical stream