Urban Economics and Planning

Urban Economics and Planning

Pedestrian-Oriented Movement Analysis in Terms of the Lack of Air Quality in Tabriz’s Arak Sidewalks

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Afrang Beignejad Heric 1
Reza Valizadeh 2
Ali Panahi 2
1 Ph.D. candidate of Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
10.22034/uep.2024.437117.1456
Abstract
Introduction 
Concerning the world experiences of pedestrian construction, we can refer to the Limbeker and Ketweger sidewalks in Essen, Germany, Berdick in Kalamazoo, America, and Struget in Copenhagen, Denmark. Pedestrian construction in the mentioned cities has had effects such as the gradual reduction of traffic and parking, the economic prosperity of these axes, the adaptation of the city center to the changes of the seasons, and the vibrancy of the sidewalk day and night. Also, from the experiences of pedestrian construction in Iran, we can mention the pedestrians of Janat Mashhad, Tarbiat, and Valiasr in Tabriz, Khayyam Urmia, and Lian Bushehr. Currently, due to the establishment of beautification organizations in the municipalities, they have tried to overcome the problems of urban furniture to some extent. Still, the interference of the responsibilities of organizations and institutions has fueled this problem to some extent and overshadowed the tasks of the beautification organization. Is. The lack of the necessary rules and regulations that monitor the creation of the minimum required qualities of the sidewalks in Tabriz city, leads to considerable audacity. This means that despite the creation of sidewalks, due to the lack of attention to basic standards in the design and implementation of sidewalks, some of them are usually turned into unusable spaces and the costs and land related to the construction of such sidewalks Improper ways are considered wasted. Among the four pedestrian paths of Maqsoodiyeh, Ark, Tarbiat and Valiasr, Maqsodieh, and Arak pedestrian paths, despite the presence of urban landscape elements such as trees, etc. streets, the narrow width of sidewalks, and the passage of motor vehicles, the lack of proper facilities, etc., lacks an appropriate and standard urban landscape. Also, the spatial quality of these sidewalks is inappropriate and needs to be reviewed. So far, there have been significant studies on the pedestrian-oriented streets of Tabriz city, however, none of these studies have investigated the inadequacies and deficiencies in the pedestrian-oriented streets. Therefore, the current research aims to answer this question, what are the deficiencies of spatial quality in the pedestrian street of Orak axis in Tabriz city?
Materials and Methods
The present research method is descriptive-analytical and exploratory in nature, along with a combined qualitative-quantitative and survey method. To collect data, a documentary method was used along with a semi-structured interview and researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population of the research also includes two groups: the group of experts and specialists and the group of users, passers-by on the sidewalks of Tabriz city. A sample size of 20 experts was selected. The reason for choosing 20 people is that there is no limit in choosing the sample size in expert research. Regarding the sample size of users and passers-by, Cochran’s formula was used with an unlimited statistical population, which was equal to 384 people. After specifying the variables through interviews conducted by experts analysis with MAXQDA software and preparing a questionnaire for users and passers-by, the validity of the indicators was confirmed by the opinion of the statistical community of experts, supervisors, and consultants. The reliability of the questionnaire indicators is also 0.901 with Cronbach’s alpha test for the social and cultural component; functional-functional 0.876; Economic; 0.841; Access 0.894; Aesthetics was calculated as 0.803 and physical as 0.882.
Findings
Based on the findings from Table (9), all socio-cultural, functional-functional, movement-access, economic, aesthetic, and physical indicators (independent variable) have a significant relationship with the pedestrian-oriented dependent variable, and according to the indicators, socio-cultural with (0.615) and aesthetic index with (0.523), movement-access index with (0.316), economic index with (0.225), physical with (0.209) and Functional-functional with standard coefficient (0.192) have the most to the least effect on the dependent variable (insufficiency of spatial quality of the arch path) (pedestrian axis). Therefore, according to the coefficient of determination (2R), all the examined indicators affect the mediating variable of the spatial quality of the Ark sidewalk and the pedestrian-oriented dependent variable, and it can be said that the dependent variable is affected by the indicators of the independent variable, and the beta value also indicates The direct relationship of spatial quality indicators is on the dependent variable (pedestrian). As a result, the higher the value of Beta and T the smaller the significance level is (0.05). The independent variable (social-cultural, functional-functional, movement-access, economic, aesthetic, and physical) has a greater effect on the mediating variable of the spatial quality of the sidewalk and the dependent variable (pedestrian-oriented). According to the results of the research, it can be concluded that the most effective in terms of the spatial quality of Tabriz’s Ark pedestrian, directly and indirectly, is related to the socio-cultural index with a direct effect of 0.615 and an indirect effect of 0.313 and a total effect of 0.928. Therefore, in improving the spatial quality and solving the inadequacy of the spatial quality in the Tabriz Ark pedestrian walkway, to be pedestrian-oriented and pedestrian-orientated, social and cultural indicators should be paid attention to create suitable conditions for the presence of more people and users and more social interactions. It is on the sidewalk, which will bring life to the urban space since the Ark sidewalk is pedestrian-oriented. The least effects of inadequacy, both directly and indirectly, are related to the functional-performance index with a direct effect of 0.217 an indirect effect of 0.101, and a total effect of 0.318. Therefore, in the next priorities, the pedestrian center is placed to improve the spatial quality of the Ark sidewalk.
Conclusion
According to the results of the research, it can be said that one of the appropriate methods to encourage pedestrian-oriented pedestrians is to categorize the spectrum of users of sidewalks and consider their needs, for example, children, and young people. , adults, elderly, users in small cities or big cities, users in the upper and lower parts of the city, etc. Finally, the design of high-quality spatial sidewalks, although they require a lot of investment, in the long run, will reduce costs, reduce pollution, and reduce the mental and physical health of people in society.
Keywords
Pedestrian-Oriented
Pedestrian
Sidewalks
Spatial Quality
Tabriz City

Subjects

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Urban Economics and Planning
Volume 5, Issue 2
Spring 2024
Pages 22-40

  • Receive Date 22 January 2024
  • Revise Date 24 February 2024
  • Accept Date 24 February 2024