The Production of Spaces of ‘High-quality Urban Life’, The Case of users of the City Centre of Rasht

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
A. Asghari Zamani 1
S. Shafiee-Masuleh 2
S. Roostaei 1
N. Zali 3
1 Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
2 PhD Candidate, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
10.2022/hsmsp.26.2.2
Abstract
The theory of the production of space involves the interaction of ideas (representations), locality (physical features), and human practice (lived life). Accordingly, it is assumed that space is not a fixed container, but a social product that is repeatedly produced and negotiated by human beings. They transform the designed space and make it closer to the lived space. In the present study, Lefebvre's notion of lived space was used to explore how users of the city centre of Rasht produce spaces of high-quality urban life. The presented results are based on the survey method. In addition to a paper questionnaire and evaluative mapping, the data were collected through unstructured conversations with respondents and walk-by observations. Analysis of the data was performed based on descriptive and inferential statistics. To conclude, this study showed that users of the city centre of Rasht give meaning to their lived everyday spaces by consciously choosing their leisure place and through special practices. They perform these practices in places with distinct physical characteristics (scenic quality, symbolic places). Moreover, constructing the notion of ‘sociability’ with friends and acquaintances through leisure, the users have meaningful social ties. In addition, from the users' point of view, the formation of spaces of high-quality urban life is interpreted through the seven desirable characteristics of green spaces, historical areas, activities, natural surveillance, sense of ownership, human scale, and management and maintenance.

Keywords

Subjects

- Aghayari, Mohsen; Karimzadeh, Hossein; Khaleghi, Aghil, “Analysis of Mental Indices Affecting the Quality of Life in Rural Areas (Case Study: Sina Rural District-Varzeqān County)”, The Journal of Spatial Planning, No.4, pp.1-35, 2017.
- Asadpour, Ali; Nikounam Nezami, Hadi; Omidyan nya, Alireza, “Analyzing the Evaluative Mental Image Components of Citizens from Quran Gate in Shiraz and its Surrounding Area”, Journal of Iranian Architecture & Urbanism, No.2, pp.53-68, 2019, DOI: 10.30475/isau.2019.87933.
- Barghamadi, M. & Meshkini, A., “Man, the Most Basic Differentiation of Space-Place Concepts According to Heidegger and Lefebvre Thoughts”, The Journal of Spatial Planning, No.2, pp.89-120, 2021.
- Basiri Mozhdehi, Reza; Daneshpour, Seyed Abdolhadi; Alalhesabi, Mehran, “Redefining the Ontology of Place as the Urban-Relational”, The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar, No.90, pp.5-18, 2020, DOI: 10.22034/bagh.2020.202498.4316.
- Cihanger Medeiros Ribeiro, Duygu, “The Poiesis of Everyday Life and Space in Yüksel Street”, Journal of Ankara Studies= Ankara Araştirmalari Dergisi, No.1, pp.1-25, 2019, DOI: 10.5505/jas.2019.63825.
- Duff, Cameron, “On the Role of Affect and Practice in the Production of Place”, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, No.5, pp.881-895, 2010, DOI: 10.1068/d16209.
- Erfanian Salim, Mona, “Editor-in-chief Note”, HaftShahr, No.53,54, pp.4-5, 2016.
- Ertem, Hazal, Analyzing Interrelations between Aspects of Spatial Triad in the Case of Syrian Refugee Craftsmen in Ulubey Neighborhood, Ankara, Master's thesis, Middle East Technical University, 2019.
- Ezati, M.; Gholipour, S.; Moradkhani, H., “Social Production of Urban Space; Case Study of the Nowbahar Park in Kermanshah Province”, Journal of Iranian Cultural Research, No.1, pp.131-162, 2020, DOI: 10.22035/jicr.2020.2375.2842.
- Ghaffari, Ali; dousti, Fatemeh; Behzadfar, Mostafa; VarijKazemi, Abbas, “The Production of Sociable Community Spaces in Inner-Tehran Districts”, Soffeh, No.1, pp.69-84, 2018.
- Goonewardena, Kanishka; Kipfer, Stefan; Milgrom, Richard; Schmid, Christian, Space, Difference, Everyday Life: Reading Henri Lefebvre, New York, Routledge, 2008.
- Hajizadeh, Maryam & Ahadnejad, Mohsen, “Space Production of Pahlavi Absolute Discourse”, The Journal of Spatial Planning, No.3, pp.147-173, 2021.
- Johnson, Asal Mohamadi. & Miles, Rebecca, “Toward More Inclusive Public Spaces: Learning from the Everyday Experiences of Muslim Arab Women in New York City”, Environment and Planning A, No.8, pp.1892-1907, 2014, DOI: 10.1068/a46292.
- Karimimoshaver, M.; Eris, B.; Parto, S., “A Review of Mental Urbanscape Using Map-Based Methods (Case Study: Tehran Ferdowsi Square)”, International Journal of Architecture & Urban Planning, No.1, pp.61-70, 2016.
- Kazemi, Abbas, Wandering and Iranian Everyday Life, Tehran, Farhang-e Javid, 2013.
- Kordel, Stefan, “The Production of Spaces of the ‘Good Life’–The Case of Lifestyle Migrants in Spain”, Leisure Studies, No.2, pp.129-140, 2016, DOI: 10.1080/02614367.2014.962592.
- Larrybaghal, Sayed Kianoush, “Providing Desirability Principles and Criteria for Upgrading Space Qualities of the River Side in Dezful in Area between Ancient Bridge and Roodband Tomb”, Paykareh, No.2, pp.67-82, 2013, DOI: 10.22055/pyk.2013.12906.
- Lefebvre, Henri, The Production of Space, Translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith, UK, Routledge, 1991.
- Mazanti, Birgitte & Pløger, John, “Community Planning–From Politicised Places to Lived Spaces”, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, No.4, pp.309-327, 2003, DOI: 10.1023/B:JOHO.0000005756.40934.84.
- Merrifield, Andy, Thinking Space, London, Routledge, 2000.
- Nasar, Jack. L, “The Evaluative Image of the City”, Journal of the American Planning Association, No.1, pp.41-53, 1990, DOI: 10.1080/01944369008975742.
- Nawrocki, Tomasz, “The Usefulness of Mental Maps for Sociological Research of the City”, Architecture Civil Engineering Environment, No.3, pp.19-31, 2017.
- Pereira, Patricia, “Production of Public Space and Everyday Life in a Gentrified Area of Lisbon1”, Portuguese Journal of Social Science, No.2, pp.157-175, 2015, DOI: 10.1386/pjss.14.2.157_1.
- Ross, Kimberley May, Women's Lived Experiences and Perceptions of Representation and Identity in Urban Space; A Case Study of Liverpool UK, Doctoral dissertation, University of Liverpool (United Kingdom), 2016.
- Salama, Ashraf M. & Wiedmann, Florian, “The Production of Urban Qualities in the Emerging City of Doha: Urban Space Diversity as a Case for Investigating the Lived Space”, International Journal of Architectural Research, No.2, pp.160-172, 2013.
- Shields, Rob, Lefebvre, Love and Struggle: Spatial Dialectics, London, Routledge, 1999.
- Tavana, Soheil & Shafiei, Masumeh, “Social Production of Space from the Perspective of Henri Lefebvre”, Journal of Society, Culture and Media, No.10, pp.131-140, 2014.
- Watkins, Ceri, “Representations of Space, Spatial Practices and Spaces of Representation: An Application of Lefebvre’s Spatial Triad”, Culture and Organization, No.3, pp.209-220, 2005, DOI: 10.1080/14759550500203318.
- Yazdanian, A. & Dadashpoor, H., “The Problem of Presence in the Space: Spatial Consciousness and Agency, with Emphasis on Urban Public Space”, Arid Regions Geographic Studies, No.26, pp.73-91, 2016.
- Zanganeh, Ahmad; Soleimani, Mohammad; Karami, Tajedin; Abaszadeh, Mehdi; Vaisi, Reza, “The Explanation of Physical-Spatial Dynamics in Rasht City’s Central District”, Journal of Studies of Human Settlements Planning, No.4, pp.873-892, 2019.
- Zieleniec, Andrzej J., Space and Social Theory, Sage, 2007.
The Journal of Spatial Planning and Geomatics
Volume 26, Issue 2
September 2022
Pages 33-55