Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• behnam pezeshki ¹
• Saeid piri ²
• Alireza Estelaji ³
• Hamidreza Sabbaghi ²

¹ Ph.D. Candidate, Department of urban planning, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of urban planning, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

³ Professor, Department of Geography, Yadegar-e-Imam Khomeini, shahr –e- Ray branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

 
The regeneration of public spaces is an integral part of the urban regeneration process. By revitalizing existing public spaces or creating new ones, opportunities arise to enhance the quality of public spaces and strengthen the vitality and social life of cities. The aim of this research is to improve the quality of public spaces in Tehran's Velayat Park through an approach to urban regeneration. To achieve this goal, the most significant factors that contribute to urban regeneration have been identified, and a conceptual model has been presented. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) technique, employing AMOS software, was utilized to identify the factors affecting the recreation of public spaces and their communication and effectiveness. This study employed correlational research with library and survey information collection tools. According to the analysis results, among the physical dimension components, beauty had the highest factor coefficient (0.983); among the economic dimension components, justice had the highest factor load (0.964); among the socio-cultural dimension components, meaning and identity had the highest factor load (1.00); and finally, among the environmental dimension components, meaning and cleanliness had the highest factor load (0.671). Removing the comfort component from the other statistical values extracted from the model indicated good and suitable adaptation of the model. The selected components for measuring the regeneration of Velayat Park's public space in Tehran province were found to have adequate validity and could measure the research structure effectively.
Keywords: Sustainable Urban Regeneration, Quality of Public Spaces, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).
 
 

Introduction

The regeneration of public spaces is a significant aspect of the urban regeneration process. Through the revitalization of existing public spaces or creation of new ones, cities can greatly enhance the quality of public spaces and bolster the vitality and social life of urban areas. This study focuses on urban regeneration approaches, with a particular emphasis on Velayat Park in Tehran, to improve the quality of public spaces. The aim is to identify the crucial factors that contribute to urban regeneration and develop a conceptual model. The primary research question addressed in this study is: "What theoretical framework and model can be used to achieve the development of public spaces in urban regeneration?"

Litreture Review

In recent years, numerous studies have been conducted on the regeneration of dilapidated public spaces in Iran and other parts of the world; however, significant shortcomings still exist in this area. This section will review several studies carried out in this field. As evidenced by these studies, most research focuses on examining and assessing the regenerated urban space in a specific location or considers only one aspect of urban space quality, such as transportation, environmental or social issues. Few studies have presented a comprehensive model for urban space regeneration. Therefore, the present research introduces a novel approach using structural modeling techniques to develop a replicable model for regenerating public spaces in cities.

Methodology

This research is grounded in the positivist paradigm, given its specific purpose and research question. It falls under the category of applied research, while its methodology is structured as correlational research. The study employs a structural equation model technique utilizing AMOS software to identify factors that impact public space regeneration, communication, and effectiveness. Methodologically, this study involves collecting information from both library sources and surveys.

Discussion and findings

Before performing the SEM, it is important to ensure that the data follows a normal distribution. To achieve this, skewness and kurtosis were assessed using SPSS software, which is considered the optimal method for Likert scale and questionnaire data. Typically, if skewness and kurtosis fall within the range of -2 to 2, the data is considered normally distributed. The analysis confirmed that all variables exhibited a normal distribution.
The present study developed a conceptual model and examined the relationship between urban regeneration and the components of public spaces. The input data comprised four observable variables directly related to recreating public spaces. The model had 12 latent variables and 46 manifest variables, representing a meta-specific model with fewer fewer estimable parameters than data points.
Several indices evaluated the fitness of the SEM, including CMIN/DF, RMSEA, CFI, IFI, and TLI indicators. After verifying the model, two sub-indices, critical ratio CR and P, tested the significant relationships between the components and public space regeneration. Results indicated that there was no significant correlation between Velayat Park's public space regeneration and environmental comfort.
Based on the analysis, beauty (factor loading 0.983) among physical dimension components, justice (with a factor loading 0.964) among economic dimension components, meaning and identity (with a factor loading of 1.00) among social-cultural dimension components, and cleanliness and meaning (with a factor loading of 0.671) among environmental dimension components demonstrated the greatest impact on public space recreation.

Conclusion

The regeneration of public spaces has a significant impact on people's rural life experiences. The dimensions, criteria, and indicators for improving the quality of urban spaces (physical, economic, social, and environmental) play a crucial role in directly and indirectly enhancing the quality of these spaces. The body of research on this topic highlights the integration of factors that influence the quality of public spaces to achieve successful urban regeneration. Thus, the present study aims to identify the factors that affect the quality of public spaces related to the success of urban regeneration, utilizing the SEM.
The study employs a conceptual model derived from theoretical literature in conjunction with the provincial garden of Tehran city, and experimental application of this model demonstrates its efficacy in evaluating the role of components and indicators of public space quality in promoting urban regeneration. The findings indicate that it is possible to measure the indicators of public space regeneration in physical, economic, social-cultural, and environmental dimensions.
In the physical dimension, the components of beauty, readability, and comfort; in the economic dimension, the components of justice, vitality, and economic revival; in the sociocultural dimension, security, sociability, and meaning and identity; and finally, in the environmental dimension, cleanliness and protection components all have a significant relationship with the recreation of public spaces. Based on the results, the effectiveness of each component varies. Meaning and identity, beauty, security, justice, sociability, revitalization, vitality, and comfort respectively have the greatest impact on the recreation of public spaces, despite having a factor loading (regression coefficient) of over 0.7. Therefore, there is a strong relationship between these components and the recreation of public spaces.
 

Keywords

• Sustainable Urban Regeneration
• Quality of Public Spaces
• Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

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Main Subjects

• Urban and Regional Development Planning