Investigating the effect of comfort on social sustainability of urban spaces (Case study: sidewalk of Aali Qapo Street, Ardabil)

Increasing urbanization and acceleration due to technological advances, in addition to positive consequences, have led to increased stress and reduced leisure of public spaces and increased escape from urban environments, and intensified the need for relaxing spaces for leisure and presence in urban spaces. Has been made public. It seems necessary to study and analyze the spaces that have been designed to meet the immaterial needs of human beings in order to provide the ground for their contemplation and spiritual life in the shadow of creating peace and comfort. Aliqapo Street, due to its location on the historical route of Ardabil, is actually considered as the beating heart of the city in ceremonies and especially religious mourning. In the old context, this street faced many problems due to its integrated, closed and concentrated physical dimension. After the reconstruction and construction of the sidewalk, there is more fundamental weakness in terms of activity and performance. The present study, by emphasizing the effect of comfort in promoting social sustainability in urban spaces, seeks to identify the effect of comfort components on social sustainability of Aliaqapo sidewalk in Ardabil. The research hypothesis is that providing comfort has a direct and significant relationship with the social sustainability of urban spaces and the main question is to explain the relationship between comfort (climate, social, psychological and physical) and social sustainability on sidewalks with emphasis on the case study.

The research strategy to test the research hypothesis is a correlation strategy. In the qualitative dimension, the conceptual model of the research was extracted by studying previous researches Based on that, questionnaires (300 according to Charles Cochran's formula) based on 41 questions based on Likert scale were completed in the form of field studies (simple random sampling) and in-person referral of the questioner in the statistical community among passersby and businessmen. It was done in Aali Qapo Street, Ardabil. The variables of this study include the function of comfort (social comfort and environmental comfort) as an independent variable and social stability (indicators of social identity, social belonging, social sense, social interaction and social participation) as dependent variables and individual variables (gender, marital status, age, type of residence, occupation, income and education) The sample size was calculated and considered as 300 questionnaires based on Cochran's formula. To evaluate the reliability of the research items, Cronbach's alpha statistic with a range of (0) to (1) was used, which was 0.923 and confirms the validity and reliability of the questionnaire.

The result of the mean of the variable indices indicates that the mean of the applied psychological index is in the range of 24 to59, 38.59. the average of the behavioral index is in the range of 11 to 30, 22.58 is the average, and the thermal index is in the range of 11 to 35. 22.93 average level and sound index with an average of 10.46, between 3 to 15, is rated average. Also, the level of visual index with an average of 28.22 in the range of 13 to 40 is average. The results of the mean of the indicators of social stability variable indicate that the mean of the indicators of identity is 4.16 and belonging is 3.37 and social sense is 3.27 and social interaction is 3.70 and social participation is 3.50. The study of correlation coefficients between the components of comfort and social stability shows that between the variable of comfort with social stability between the physical variable with social stability, between the behavioral variable and social stability, between the visual variable and social stability and between the thermal and social stability variables with intensity "Strong" correlation has a significant relationship. There is a significant relationship between voice variable and social stability at 95% confidence level with "very weak" correlation intensity. Examination of the regression table shows that there is a linear relationship between all components of comfort and social stability. According to beta coefficients, the most influential factor on social stability is the behavioral component with a coefficient of 0.721 and the lowest is the sound component with a coefficient of 0.189. There is a linear relationship between the physical-psychological component and social stability, between the behavioral component and social stability, between the thermal component and social stability, and between the visual component and social stability. There is a weak linear relationship between the vocal component and social stability.

According to the findings, Aliqapo pedestrian street has moderate comfort and low social stability, and the existence of environmental and social comfort has a significant relationship with increasing the level of social stability in urban spaces with the strength of "strong" correlation. In terms of the factors affecting comfort on social stability, a significant relationship was found between the component of behavioral comfort and social stability with a greater degree of correlation than other components and it can indicate that security, presence, personalization, sensory experience and perception of each A person from his environment in creating a sense of comfort and increasing presence in public spaces and as a result leads to increased interactions and social stability. Therefore, in addition to the physical components, the effect of the social dimension of human comfort on social sustainability is also confirmed, which is an innovative aspect of research compared to previous research. Inclusion, accessibility, urban facilities, diversity and attractiveness, leisure, beautification, flexibility, pollution control, security and safety and compatibility are important factors in promoting the comfort of urban sidewalks.