Analysis of Factors Effective in the Reproduction of Urban Landscape Following the Reconstruction and Renovation of the Urban abric (Case Study: District 12 of Tehran)

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Planning, Institute of Humanities and Social Studies (IHSS of ACECR), Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
The urban landscape is the art of visual and structural integration that is spatially perceived by the observer. The subjective perceptions of residents of the urban landscape regeneration and the factors influencing these perceptions are of great importance. This perception is more sensitive to planning and designer interventions in the city’s structure, especially in historical cities with valuable elements, history of mentality, and identity. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the factors affecting mental perception and residents’ perception of space and urban landscape.
Urban landscape can be studied in three global, middle and local scales. In this study, with emphasizing the urban landscape, it is always related to urban interventions in city and its structure can affect the urban landscape and create an active and passive affection in people. In historical neighborhoods, this coordination and integration can be seen. However, active intervention in the decorated textures means direct intervention in the positive restoration or destruction of urban landscapes. Also, any intervention that adds this coordination will have a positive impact on the performance, and when interruptions and segregation between elements are created. It will influence on fabric function. On the other hand, the transformation of the city is influenced by the form of urban life. The relationship between the person and the urban space is shaped by the process of perception. This process first begins with an individual's perception of the city, which is itself influenced by the structure and the regarding relationships. In this stage, indoor space and urban open spaces are shaped by the spatial and functional layout of urban elements (public buildings, special monuments, and urban spaces). But in the second, the objective continuity of its image and its sustainability over time forms a purely mental structure from the landscape of the periphery.
In this study, we explore the relationship between urban spatial structure and dwellers perceptions of urban landscape in the District 12, Tehran, Iran. The District 12 was selected as the main focal point of the construction and organization of the city in the historic period and the starting point of the formation of Tehran's skeletons. According to the research hypothesis, any Intervention in the historic texture can affect directly dwellers perceptions of urban landscape. Therefore, the positive restoration can enhance spatial characteristics of urban fabric and make better understanding of cognition of urban landscape.  
Methodology  
In this study, we employed a two-step mixed approach: First, a qualitative method with Delphi technique was used to specify sub-criteria and then 500 members in the District 12 were interviewed using a Likert-based questionnaire.
Then, the exploratory Factor Analysis (FA) technique was used to diagnose the factors affecting the urban landscape from viewpoint of users. The FA is a method for analyzing the issues where the goal is to summarize the data and convert them into the main factors, without losing the original data. In FA, the goal is not to establish a relationship between dependent and independent variables, but the dependence between the factors and components of the research is measured. Through this technique, the hidden connection is established between all the variables and ultimately the most effective factors have more explanatory power than others.
The main reason for choosing the district 12 is its importance in the metropolitan structure and the presence of historical and modern elements. The district 12 is included as the main part of "historical center” of Tehran in Qajar period. Today, because of the establishment of multiple services in metropolitan scale, as well as the allocation of vast surface areas to regional land uses, this district can be considered as the gravity center of Tehran.   
The city's historical core contains the areas of the Bazaar, Oudlajan, Sanglan, Imamzadeh Yahya, Cyrus, Khan Abad and Shoush as a decorated district in heart of Tehran. In the last decade, renovation and rehabilitation of inefficient tissues have been considered as main strategy in urban planning and design projects; but due to the prevalence of commercial and office applications, urban renewal has also been accompanied by modernization and reconstruction of commercial and office centers, with great changes in urban landscape.
Results and discussion 
The results of Delphi analysis indicated 36 items for 9 sub-criteria extracted from the previous studies. This survey showed that the elevation in both modern and historic buildings was not positively evaluated. Also, the results of the exploratory factor indicated that all the terms could be found in the 10 final factors, which explain more than 65.8% of the total variance. Based on the results of this study, the perceived components of urban landscape from a resident and active perspective include visual attractiveness, ease of access, legibility, diversity and harmony, reduction of visual disturbance, attachment, adaptability, and the variety of ultimate determinants affecting the urban landscape regeneration. Therefore, it is suggested to focus on refining the structure of these factors using the public participation.
Conclusion
In this study, this definition of Cullen, with visual experience as the starting point in understanding the overall perspective of the city, has been confirmed and identified as the most important factor justifying the largest share of variance. In the second, attractiveness and beauty, the individual's perceptions of ease of access to urban spaces and neighborhoods play an effective role. The first two factors account for about a quarter of the effects of the variance. Then, factors of Intelligibility, harmony and diversity, visual disturbance and attachment to the neighborhood have great influence on the individual's mental image in urban landscape reproduction. However, according to descriptive information obtained from the study, most people believe that beauty, proportionality, visual diversity, visual disturbance and harmony in the neighborhood and the urban environment have something to do with urban landscape planning. Accordingly, renovation and rehabilitation, as the goals for improving the urban landscape can reduce the spatial disturbances. It has failed to reproduce the order and proportion of the body and urban space. Based on the findings, the urban landscape reproduction from the mental dimension is most influenced by the urban space factors that at the moment come to the observer's view.

Keywords


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