Int. j. econ. manag. soc. sci., Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015. pp.

263-266

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International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences

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Possibility of Enhancing the Environmental Quality of the City Center

According to Pedestrian
Ali Aram
Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Department of Urbanity, Yasouj Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yasouj, Iran.

Nosaybe Madhoushi *
Student of Urban Planning, Department of Urbanity, Yasouj Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yasouj, Iran.
*Corresponding author: n.madhoushi@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

Environmental quality
City center
Pedestrian

Human always tried to improve its living quality in itself environment at the beginning .this attempts have
been done in great scopes by philosophers, scientists and artists in throughout history from imaginative
and dreamy views, utopia by different technicians in recently decades [3]. One of the most important
purposes of city official always was obtaining of city resistants to suitable environmental quality caused
city and its resistants improvement. Nowadays this subject increasingly takes into consideration due to
decrease of environmental quality in city spaces. The issues relate to environmental quality is one of the
most fundamental subjects among city planners such as its assessment and improvement. The purpose of
this research is promoting of circumstance quality in Ghaemshahr city center scope. In this research tried
to use pedestrians opinion polling in quality comparison and quality comparison and quality
advancement to base on foot help. In this research, circumstance quality has been considered base on
circumstance users opinion with considering criteria after theoretical study assessment and noted scope
study. Suggestions provided so as to promote environment quality and condition improvement after
recognizing content level of citizen by T test, and obtain undesirable result of quality level in city center
of Ghaemshahr scope.

Derived from the master's thesis Nosaybe Madhoushi,

2014, to help Dr Ali Aram "Assess the environmental
quality of the town center with space based on human;
Case study: Ghaemshahr" Department of Urbanity,
Yasouj Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Yasouj, Iran.

1.

Introduction

At first glance, city center define synonymous with geometric and place center of each city, but in fact having operational and functional features
give the main concept. city center is recognized as the most centralization place of city activities, main presentation of showing social,
administrational and economical intellectual collaboration to city planners from ancient to nowadays because it is society receiver and human
base. in past city center was as the most important and fascinating place for people dominated attending, social events and collaborative
memories places, for this reason being human base place and attention to environment spiritual and social aspects are in top prior. But today
central texture has faced with a lot of difficulties special in social part and decreased its quality importance after modernism revolutions in
urbanism scopes that its clear sample is attending cars to city places. Inattention to environmental quality in city spaces particulate city center
that is as a place for answering to people social, economic and spiritual needing cause from hermit space. Inattention results can empty to
decrease citizenship living quality, social living. and environment activeness and vitality .general it can be said enough inattention to city spaces
caused to shorten identity of city central spaces. So decrease environment quality has drawn attention many city planners in city spaces specially
city centers. Also vitality and top eco quality increase attention importance to pedestrian at city spaces. In this direction this research has done
base on promote environment quality of Ghaemshahr city center. Research has considered attention to pedestrian and takes priority human and
also pedestrian role in improving city spaces.
1.1 Research history
Today pedestrian places and importance have decreased in city problems after modernism revolutions effect and increasingly industry
development in city planning scopes, in addition to facing with city texture with variety problems such as pollution and crowded. Being
undesirable city places and environment quality decrease invoked many researchers paid their self-attention to pedestrian and their around
environment. Variant acts performed in creating city places after in convenience conditions that provided modern city planning with prioritizing
car than human. attention to pedestrian movement referred to 1940 decades that in European cities brought up and exacted this idea with purpose
of extraction his to local places of cities against car domination for keeping ancient texture and social surviving of city centers [8]. Returning to
city centers regained potency in American cities in early 1960 s and mall pedestrian streets formed that were correspondence with business
destination at cities center. Meanwhile their purposes were creating suitable environments for buying and outing [6]. New approaches constituted
base on inside city changing, human capabilities, physical abilities and pedestrian understanding amount in coming and backing time at city
spaces in Europe after 80s. It named as base human city planning approach against based car city planning [5].

2.

Methodology

In this research first has paid to theoretical principal and subject literature in research base. Comparison approaches of environment quality were
used by environment users for comparing environmental quality of city space part in central core texture of Ghaemshahr. Environmental quality
of city center was assessed by question dire with being based pedestrian and satisfaction level about concerned space in suitable sample volume.
In this research answering to questionnaire question have been done on simple accidental method among pedestrian in city center places in
different hours for 10 days. The sample members are formed by male and female with different age and social groups. Environment quality
condition calculated in Ghaemshahr central core after analyzing data in related software and provided modus in order to promote environmental
quality.

Ali Aram, Nosaybe Madhoushi *

264

International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

3.

Theoretical bases

3.1 Urban environmental quality

Normally quality is used to many of completely clear for describing things and phenomena a degree of excellence .in doing so, appointing what
things and characteristics really are degree of excellence is difficult work. no exclusively due to things features different, also used different
value orders of people on consciously or unconsciously for assessing things features [7]. Generally quality is as a value that can weigh and make
quantity severally. Quality is calculated by human on person's subjectivity and objectivity. Environment quality is gotten by quality of
constitutive component of patent region [14]. In point of Bahraminezhads view (2003) city environment quality consists of social, cultural,
economic and skeleton condition-city environment space that is indicative of satisfactory or unsatisfactory level of citizens from city
environment.
3.2 Town center
City center is known with special titles such as city heart, city primary core and regain central job according to each one particular definition.
But central part is city heart in general case. The most active part of city is crowded. Centralizing activities in this part, is answering to all
residents needing other hand all regions. It's a place that people can refer to different reasons for removing different needing such as commercial,
cultural and even psycho-social. City center has great importance in point of sociology. It is defined as multi-functional social place and special
city environment with high centralization of variety social association, social activities, mush social relation and centralized places of social
living [1]. At last, it can be said city center is mush forming bed of group memories of city people and is named as the most important city part
by citizen because of city activities gathering and epitomize people social attending.
3.3 According to urban areas, according to human walking
The size and proportion of city formative components was based on human criterion and changing model was based on pedestrian movement
before industrial revolution that is, it appointed size and distances [5]. This kind of replacement experienced for thousands years and in fact
pedestrian movement has formed residential structure [10]. We can see the most beautiful civilized cities centers for instance, but today the more
cities are obviously concording with car and its difficulty. Industrial revolution and gradually car domination in cities induced till human
depended more to movement with motor things rather than movement with on foot. This was the reason for forgetting pedestrian subject.
Programming and planning of city spaces was performed according to pedestrian movement in the past, today it is based on riding movement
and vital car. Inattention to human scope and human axial approach in cities places are caused places that were places for meetings, social
understanding and cultural approaches in the past, are threatened severely with pedestrian and citizen role in cities places today. Problems and
difficulties create in many cities of world specially city centers parts that is valuable and important due to more connect and communication
people with each other's crowded, busy and blocks, undesirable seeing in environment, activities shorten in city centers, ritual resource rain,
creating pollution caused by traffic and noisy are factors that have induced high risk of city centers in many city of world today.
city planners were finding suitable ways to reach to desirable city plan for citizen due to creating unfit condition and residents humans in them.
One of the experienced methods in importance course to pedestrian movement is separating city center part by circle street and changing central
part to pedestrian region [6]. world experiences in relation with spreading pedestrian in city centers is with purpose of pedestrian attending and
allocating maximum place to it and minimum decrease to car movement spaces. in chart 2 it can be observed world important experience in
connection to separating riding and pedestrian course.
Table 1. the samples of important world experience in relation with separating riding and pedestrian course [6].
1858
1962
1970
1981

Separating courses in planning, NewYork central park. (Separating riding and pedestrian course).
changing main street of Copenhagen (Strget) to a pedestrian course
Mixed application development, facilities of pedestrian movement and expanding public transportation in Toronto Canada.
Optimizing plan of city center region of often on pedestrian expansion and improving skeleton face and city social.

3.4 The relationship between human walking routes and promoting environmental quality
On foot movement can the most important movement kind it is the most natural and ancient changing kind. Putting priority pedestrian than
vehicle things induced social activities increase. Rectifying human scopes at around environment and quantity promoting of skeleton
environment. It caused to creating suitable city places for forming civic living [6]. On foot living in city is main cause of social forming and city
spirit, depending to place and being owner of living environment induce comfort and mental balance of citizens [1]. Walkers and pedestrian
attending are parts of city places that provide the bed of happening events like's social, political, group memories and express group senses.
Citizens like city places due to creating social understanding, spending free time, security, calm and pollution. People desire that live every place
is having fascinating environment. So it can be said city space must consider correspond with pedestrians and their conditions. Tibbalds refers in
his book (2001) that city places belong to mankind no cars. That is comfortable environment with human scale is environment that has related
with compare son walker paces not with high speed of motor vehicles. In point of Cullen view (1961) city environment should be comfortable
experience for all people. And focus on human importance and their attending at city places. pedestrian act of freedom for pause movement and
direct connect with each other in city places specially in city centers cause to absorb a lot of social group and increasing social understanding. It
induces these places create crucial role in environmental quality promotion. Jane Jacobs, knowledgeable of city problems produces thesis in
point of sociology as these is active city centers. In his view being city alive and active one city depend to populous city centers. In point of his
view absorbing many residents to city center cause to creating more movement and activity to environment. The attending many citizens
accompany human social emotional needing at city and also economic development for the society. At last this activity density and people
mutual connect can cause promote environment quality and quality of city living [11]. So it can be said that attention to pedestrian is one of the
approaches that can be in fluency at promoting of environmental quality by pollution decrease. Increase of social contact, improving physical
and economic conditions.

4.

Discussion

the scope of Ghaemshahr city center that is the most ancient city part consist of man business building, administrative and service. Also it has
building with historical and cultural value and ancient. City center core is connect place of main course (connect place of streets main street that
is to Sari, Babol and Tehran) that in Taleghani square connect to each other.

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Possibility of Enhancing the Environmental Quality of the City Center According to Pedestrian
International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

The questionnaire completed and gathered so as to assess of environmental quality of understudied scope by citizens after studying in theoretical
base research and data gathering this questionnaire provided base on effective criteria selection on quality of city center scope environment of
Ghaemshahr. Environmental quality levels have been considered base on 3 main touch stone (skeleton, functional and environmental features)
and 9 indexes of main criteria. Unsatisfactory level of citizens determined each under index of main criteria, effective varieties condition on
environment quality of Ghaemshahr city center indicate users unsatisfactory from environment quality base on mono sample I test with
recording average index equal with 3, environment quality average in city center scope obtained 2.60 according to environment users view that
is indicative of environment quality un satisfactory in concerned scope. Chart 3 shows the condition consideration of research rarities base on
test.
Table 2. The condition consideration of research rarities
Average
1<average<5

Rarities
Perception environment
Functional features

Skeleton features
Environmental quality

Environment of Perception
Social function
Recreational function
Economic function
Security
Quality frontage
Passage
Light
Environment

2/82
2/73
2/23
3/21
2/83
2/44
2/39
3/26
2/41
2/60

Condition
value test:
average=3
Undesirable
Undesirable
Undesirable
Undesirable
Undesirable
Undesirable
Undesirable
Undesirable

We take this result with considering sub index condition that all indexes are in unsatisfactory condition except economical, and brightness
function sub index. Three main index of research have undesirable condition that is environmental perception, functional and skeleton features.
The most undesirable sub index allocates to entertainment function index, passage ways and eco characteristics. both field consideration and
citizens assessment indicate that the most important reason are being low passage ways index, the low of sidewalk width (according to
population that coming and going in square scope) lack of suitable furniture in city center scope. 68 percent of citizens feel unsatisfactory dye to
being low of width sidewall of city center scope, 73% didn't have suitable and enough furniture in city center scope. This is about undesirable
sub index of eco. The most citizen sadness in this case related to their unhappy feeling than under studied traffic scope. in one hand the most
residents pass under studied scope continuously due to central condition of scope and being trading, in another hand being small city center
scope case near to passing street and pedestrians in addition to being a lot of cars in under studied scope is as a fact or for sound pollution in
environment. 79%of citizen feel bother some due to available traffic in city center scope.

5.

Conclusions

as it was said environment quality of city has direct connection with pedestrian .as environment quality in city places can be effective in joy and
cheerfulness and increase of human living quality.in contrast one of the promoting methods in city environment quality is attention to pedestrian
with creating suitable cultural and social relations and creating joy in environment. By considering to pedestrian, planning of city space induce
human encourage to walking and creating more social connections expansion working beside decrease pollution due to motor vehicles, bring
social security increase and economic flourish .in addition to attention to pedestrian in effective in face quality and space planning with human
comparison. This research shows that the most undesirable sub varieties of environmental quality in city center scope belong to function of
entertainment passageway , eco ,face quality and social function it can be said that all decrease of sub-indexes connect with low or none
attention to pedestrian. For creating a more desirable environment and condition improvement can emphasize creating pedestrian environment
correspond with environment users opinions.
Suggestions
According to research purpose, by using gathered in formation and assessing environment users' opinion providing suggestion can help
environmental quality promotion with give matter to pedestrian.

Applying programs in order to prevent car entrance to city center scope of Ghaemshahr and creating complete place for human.

Planning so as to improvement and Development of green spaces and public to the scope of Ghaemshahr city center, and making free
Environments for pass Leisure citizens and Social interaction between citizens.

Planning so as to creating restaurant, food selling with planning different and special furniture's in around square scope for absorbing
more people at space.

Appointing movement, and pause courses in concerned scope by using of making surface, height difference and making light.

The use of vegetation, and provide regular and suitable lighting along pedestrian routes.
Good lighting for monuments and elements of the scope of Ghaemshahr city center, In order to create favorable conditions for the late hours of
the night.

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