Investigating the criteria of pedestrian circulation to improve the quality of urban spaces with a historical-cultural axis (Case study: Safaris pedestrian walkway in the historical context of Ardabil city)

In recent years, according to the increasing population and the growth of cities, the movement of people in the urban environment and access are among the key issues in the quality of urban spaces. In this regard, urban infrastructures and the spatial location of activities are particularly important as factors determining the way of travel, ease of transportation, and accessibility. Walking is the most natural way of moving citizens on city streets. Pedestrian movement is the most important way to observe the streets, and walking on the streets has a spatial identity, a sense of belonging, and receiving the qualities of the urban space. The purpose of the current research is to investigate the urban space capability of the Safaris pedestrian walkway in Ardabil city as a pedestrian route. Effective criteria in this regard are determined by analyzing the spatial quality of the route. In this regard, choosing the right policy to improve the position of pedestrians in the city and reduce the dominance of cars in the historical context of Sheikh Safi Ardabil, it has been tried, examining the quality and existing spatial features, the possibility of converting the pedestrian path of Sferis into a pedestrian axis (reducing traffic private cars, not their complete elimination) should be paid.
For this purpose, after introducing the historical context of Sheikh Safi and the axis under study, the quality of the Safaris sidewalk has been measured and evaluated with the help of documentary studies and survey methods (preparation and completion of a questionnaire by 383 passers-by and citizens). The results of the research show that the design and implementation of the Safaris sidewalk have been suitable for the quality of urban life and spatial quality in this field, aesthetic, urban view, flooring, urban furniture, human discovery, etc. However, despite the acknowledgment of passers-by to the favorable changes after organizing the axis as a pedestrian path, most of the respondents emphasized the problems such as traffic, low accessibility of citizens, and the local economy of that area. However, despite the acknowledgment of the pedestrians, it deals with better changes after the organization as a sidewalk; the problems related to the answers are given by the issues such as traffic, access to local areas, and the local economy of that area. As a result, this plan has not been able to answer all the issues in this field and it has caused dissatisfaction among some residents in this area. Identifying the existing weaknesses and redesigning with a comprehensive approach should be done in this plan.