Motivational Modeling in Development of Urban Fringe Recreational Places, An Approach for Improving the Quality of Life - Case Study of the Recreational Area of Oun-Ebn-Ali, Tabriz

Most recreation areas in Iran been constructed on the basis of the fabric principle with less attention paid to the mental and behavioral needs of users, in spite of increasing demand for such facilities. In this paper we attempt to analyze the motivation of users with by employing seeking-escaping and Pull and Push theory. At first, we survey people’s main motivation for using the natural and man-made attractions of Oun-Ebn-Ali recreation center, based on seeking-escaping theory and then, as a final reward to the users, the relationship between their perceptions and improved indices of the quality of place were evaluated. The results show that the users go to Oun-Ebn-Ali to escape from pressures of everyday life and achieve peace through observing nature, doing sport and meeting friends. Although some undesirable factors such as a shortage of trees for shade and street furniture, congestion and unsuitable accessibility have adversely affected the process of developing recreation place uses and restricted the number of users. According to the results, improving the natural attractions and recreational furniture, better accessibility and distribution of furniture around different parts of the site have increased the desirability of using Oun-Ebn-Ali recreation place.