Comparison and Evaluation of the Quality of Urban Open Spaces for Leisure (Case study: Arak city )

Addressing the issue of quality in urban open spaces and evaluating and counting the shortcomings of these spaces, can be of particular importance for managers and urban planners in terms of leisure time. Therefore, introducing a process that can provide a comprehensive evaluation of urban open spaces in terms of environmental qualities and provide the possibility of comparison and ranking of urban open spaces is necessary and is one of the objectives of this study.

This research is a descriptive-survey method with a quantitative-qualitative approach and is a case study. In this study, using the theoretical foundations of the subject, 45 quality indicators, in open urban spaces, were introduced (as an evaluation checklist) and then, using the exploratory walking technique, the mentioned indicators were evaluated in 82 open spaces of Arak city. Necessary data were collected and these data were used to compare and rank the mentioned spaces, and evaluate 45 indicators, using BWM method and TOPSIS technique.

In examining the effect of quality concept indicators in explaining the concept of quality in open urban spaces, for the 45 indicators studied, a weight between 0.03 to 0.67 has been calculated. The lowest weight was related to the indicator "No control of the entrance to the space (with specified schedule)" and the highest weight was related to the indicator "Existence of playgrounds and facilities and excitement for all ages". By applying the calculated weights in the ranking of the studied spaces, the acquired score of each space is determined and the studied open spaces are ranked.

In this study was determined that the open spaces of Laleh Game City, Shohadaye Gomnam Park, Shahr Sanati, Mosalla Complex, City Park, Bazaar, Women's Park, Famous Park, Moallem Park and Rudaki Park are among the top ten spaces in Arak in terms of quality. Considering the acquired score of each space in the ranking of open spaces under study, it can be seen that none of the open spaces in Arak could obtain more than 70% of the desired quality points and about 47% of the studied spaces, scored between 50  to 60%.  And about 38% have less than 50% quality points. These numbers indicate the unfavorable condition of the quality of the open spaces under study and it can be said that the open spaces of Arak city are far from reaching the appropriate condition.