Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Master of Urban Design, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tabriz Islamic Arts University, Tabriz, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Arts University, Tabriz, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Arts University, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
With the advent of the Corona pandemic around the world, the order of urban life was disrupted. This virus, which was spread through social communication, created circumstances that, unlike the previous cases, had a straightforward impact on urban life; it brought new areas of social and economic effects on both global and local scales. Changing the urban body, relationships, and structures was one of the most basic ways to survive this crisis. The speed of the spread of the virus was significantly high. The speed of the spread and globalization of this virus was more and more searchable in the nature of the city, urbanization, and the components of urban development. In other words, this virus has created conditions that, unlike previous cases riding on the pillars of today’s life, have brought new areas of social and economic impact, both on the global and local scales. Therefore, it can be said that coronavirus is an urban virus and is spread through social interactions and communication. Therefore, in the present study, the aim of creating a relationship between urban design and urban environment conditions in the era of infectious diseases was carried out under the name of pandemic-sensitive urban design to achieve the components and variables affecting the responsiveness and efficiency of cities in special conditions. In line with the purpose of the research, the questions of the present article can be considered as “What is Pandemic-Sensitive Urban Design and its Importance in the Contemporary Urban Planning System?” and “What are the components, variables, and measures of pandemic-sensitive urban design in urban interventions and studies?”
Materials and Methods
Since the present study seeks to achieve the components affecting the response of cities in specific pandemic conditions, in terms of method, it is done in a mixed form (qualitative content analysis of the texts extracted from the field of urban design and epidemic diseases and Delphi method). The type of research is developmental in terms of purpose. It is descriptive-analytical regarding data and uses logical reasoning (cultural discourse) and qualitative content analysis. To answer the research questions, the method of collecting the required information was the documentary (library) method. To express the theoretical concepts and explain the components and indicators of the research in the field of “Pandemic-Sensitive Urban Design: Components, Variables and Metrics,” using relevant studies and an expert questionnaire in line with the Delphi technique, and after evaluating the reliability and validity of the model and the final framework, it is presented. The procedure of conducting the research is that after reviewing the subject’s background and definitions, the theoretical part extracts the primary components affecting the response of cities, which were obtained from reviewing the literature in this field. Due to the nature of the issue and the various indicators obtained, the best way to identify and rank the components of the response of cities using urban design to the pandemic conditions is to use experts’ opinions in this field. For this purpose, after screening the identified criteria from different texts and sources, an expert survey questionnaire (Delphi questionnaire) containing the extracted criteria and sub-criteria was prepared and provided to the experts. Then, the criteria were categorized into four components based on the experts’ opinions and were screened based on frequency. After screening the experts’ opinions, the response indicators are extracted based on frequency and overlap with the theoretical field of information resources and texts and presented as a framework for urban design sensitive to the pandemic.
Findings
The selected people in the specialized fields were in four groups: “Urban designers, planners and managers,” “Sociologists,” “Doctors,” and “Psychologists.” The selection criteria, which included permeability, diversity, legibility, flexibility, inclusivity, self-sufficiency, culture and lifestyle, trust, intersectional cooperation and public participation, resilience, psychological security, and health, were categorized in a table based on abundance and frequency. In the first stage, when ten questionnaires were distributed among the experts, in total, these 11 criteria were identified and categorized into four main components: physical, functional, environmental, and semantic. In addition to the initial criteria, the results of the first stage added three criteria of sensory richness, color of belonging, and visual proportions to the response criteria. Then, 40 questionnaires were distributed among the experts in the second stage, seven response criteria were proposed, and the other criteria were categorized as variables in the subset of these seven general criteria based on the type of communication. In other words, seven criteria were removed, and three criteria were added to the response indicators of cities in pandemic conditions. Therefore, the concept of pandemic-sensitive urban design is an example of a sustainable environmental design framework whose exceptional flexibility against environmental crises, especially those related to the health of citizens, is one of the milestones in urban design. Therefore, the responsiveness of an urban context, by reviewing the components of the responsive environments and the opinion of experts, have been extracted in the form of patterns, sub-criteria, and primary indicators extracted from the questionnaires, including the following: wide passages (for better passage, especially in emergencies, air and wind penetration, street lighting, etc.), defining the edge for urban spaces as well as neighborhoods (for optimal management of neighborhoods and self-sufficiency, especially in the context of the pandemic and the reduction of communications), the low confinement of the roads (using the widening of the passages and also the reduction of the number of floors) and many other factors that are mentioned in the figure below.
Conclusion
The history of humanity and all aspects of human life have always been concerned with health issues, especially pandemics. Therefore, the readiness and flexibility of the living conditions of citizens in the current cities are key measures in the present era. This study redefined the criteria of responsive urban design in the form of pandemic-sensitive urban design. Accordingly, the four components, along with the seven constructive criteria of environmental response, were recognized, and their comprehensiveness was confirmed by using the opinions of experts and specialists in this field. Considering the necessity of this critical issue and the goals and studies of the present article, the results indicate that urban design plays a vital role in the correct response to crises, especially health-oriented crises and the Corona pandemic. Urban design, to respond to this crisis correctly, must apply holistic and managerial measures along with micro and popular measures according to the defined components. Also, the four functional, physical-spatial, environmental, and semantic-visual components of pandemic-sensitive urban design can be studied comprehensively. Therefore, the components and criteria of urban design that are responsive and sensitive to the pandemic can be considered as follows: 1) the physical-spatial component, including permeability, flexibility, and legibility in the body; 2) the functional component, including diversity and diversity, flexibility in function, 3) the environmental component including sensory richness and flexibility, 4) the semantic-visual component including sensory richness, legibility, sense of belonging, and visual proportions.
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