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provided by European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (ES)

vol.2, No.4, pp. 556-564 ISSN 1805-3602

Design’s factors influencing social interaction in public squares

Reihaneh Sadat Hajmirsadeghi1, Shuhana Shamsuddin2, Hasanuddin Bin Lamit1, Amir Foroughi3
1
Faculty of Built Environment, University Technology Malaysia (UTM); 2 UTM Razak school of Engineering and Advanced
Technology; 3Faculty of Education,University Kebangsaan Malaysia(UKM)

Received for publication: 21 August 2013.

Accepted for publication: 10 October 2013.

Abstract users’ social interaction from an urban design per-

spective; and to provide empirical knowledge that
This study provides a clear picture of effective can be utilized to develop future design guidelines.
use of public squares by taking into account the per- This study provides a clear picture of effective use of
ceptions of users in Sabze Meydan of Qazvin (Iran). public squares by taking into account the percep-
The study adopts a quantitative line of inquiry. The tions of users. Many previous studies were conduct-
specific survey method used is cross-sectional sur- ed to investigate the deficiencies of public space’s
vey design and a questionnaire survey. In the present redevelopment, the concept of effective use and the
study, the sampling method is non-probability (con- value of public spaces, but few of them integrated
venience) sampling with a sample size of 208 partici- these issues into a study. Furthermore, most of the
pants. The questionnaire includes a total of three con- previous studies relevant to this research are based
structs measuring design factors, social activity type on the situations in the western countries. The pur-
and perception of users (about social environment of pose of this study is to examine how public squares
public square). Items in all scales used 5-point agreed- are effectively used; the dimensions of impressive
disagreed statements. In assessing the reliability of the use and the multiplicity of the urban spatial dimen-
questionnaire the coefficient of Cronbach alpha was sions in order to appreciate the importance of Pub-
applied. The validity of the questionnaire, was tested lic Square in the daily lives of the people.
using the content and construct validity. The structur- A new wave of urbanization and physical urban
al equation modelling was used to test the hypothesis growth, following the rapidly growing population of
and the finding of the research which has the potential the cities imposed new urban needs of the city cen-
to enrich the body of knowledge among academicians tre. Looking back into the history of cities, the pub-
as well as practitioners. In this study, new and un-es- lic spaces traditionally had three significant func-
tablished relationships have been hypothesized based tions in relation to the life of the cities. The public
on theory. The result revealed that the function of the spaces functioned as meeting place, market place
public square has changed and there is a positive re- and as a means of connection or traffic space. Peo-
lationship between design factors, social activity and ple were talking, exchanging merchandise or mov-
users’ perception. ing about in this space. All functions were vital and
in the traditional cities, these three functions took
Keywords: Public Square, Design Factors, So- place side by side in the same space in a proper bal-
cial activity, Users’ Perceptions ance. In recent years, we have seen how this balance
in many cities has been deeply upset by a number of
Introduction factors, particularly the growth of vehicular traffic
(Gehl, 2003). However, the urban spatial structure
The main aim of this study is to extend the un- roles had changed as a result of urbanisation. The
derstanding of how public square design affects the integrated role of the square that invites people to

Corresponding author: Reihaneh Sadat Hajmirsadeghi, Faculty of Built Environment, University Technol-
ogy Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia. Email: shreihaneh2@live.utm.my.

Copyright © Reihaneh Sadat Hajmirsadeghi et al., 2013

European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences; vol.2, No. 4, pp. 556-564

556
 Social science section

stop and watch has now changed to the role of dis- ing, landscape and recreational space; as well as
tribution and passageway. The square, as an inter- safety (Nathiwutthikun, 2006). Physical aspects
active space and behavioral setting has now changed of squares consist of tools and facilities to serve the
to a space in the city for people to turn and choose daily needs of the people. Physical aspect covers
their directions. Since the invention of the motor- initially, the form of the square, then its size and vi-
ized traffic, squares are being turned into vehicu- sual complexity (Zeka, 2011). There is no confor-
lar crossings for facilitating safe and effective move- mity in terms of the shape of the square. However,
ment (Naz and Ashraf, 2008). Under the thrust of Moughtin (2003) suggested that the shape, like the
technological changes, the increase in population size of the plaza, should be in proportion with the
and vehicular traffic meant that the squares have dominating structures. The shape and sizes of the
lost their significance and are no longer the main square should, therefore be sympathetic to the hu-
nodes of the society (Madanipour, 2000). man scale and it is important to recognize that they
The quality of education in environmental de- are (traditionally) closely related to the dominant
sign and urban planning in Iran is quite adequate, building in the square (Moughtin and Moughtin,
but the dimension of the current urban develop- 2003).
ment problems is such that the young generation of The importance of the human scale ‎highlighted
planners and architects cannot handle them (Fer- the point noted by Zucker (1970), and was also indi-
dowsian, 2002). Moreover, the recent master plan rectly referred to by Short (1996) and PPS (2006c),
of Tehran demonstrates the lack of urban public which pointed out that the design of any elements in
spaces designed for the purpose of people’s social a city should be in harmony with the human being
gatherings (The ministry of housing and urban de- that could be measured through his physical dimen-
velopment, 2008). New towns have been developed sions, his senses and his movements. According to
without concern and respect for Iranian architec- many studies on visual complexity, aesthetic and vi-
tural heritage and without cultural identity (Fer- sual factors (such as seating and landscape factors),
dowsian, 2002). Most squares in Iran were convert- there are important factors of a successful square in
ed to the great circles long time ago, allowing cars physical phrases (Marcus and Francis, 1998).
to pass through or sometimes bypassed (Carmona,
2010). Nowadays the squares have lost their func- Behavioral and Psychological Aspects
tion as a popular gathering space where people can Talen (2000) argued that the doctrine of new
communicate. (Carmona, 2010). Urbanism, which seeks to promote a sense of com-
munity by adhering to certain principles about the
Literature review physical arrangement of space, brought the debate
about the use of public space and its effect on so-
Design Factors cial life to the forefront. Sternberg (1996) eluci-
There are studies that provide an approach dated that perception is the set of process by which
which is a combination of both physical and psy- one recognizes, organizes, and makes sense of the
chological approaches (Bonnes and Secchiaroli, sensations that one has received from the environ-
1995, Stokols, 1987). Urban square is a place where mental stimuli. In the context of urban design, al-
people gather and accomplish a diversity of social, most all spaces have intrinsic multifunctional facts,
cultural, political and economic requirements. It through which the users express their needs in them
is a place, where people have positive social inter- (Sternberg, 1996). In the use of space, this normally
actions, meet each other, have lunch, hold a pleas- arises through a misunderstanding of the intended
ant chat, watch the world, read something, rest for a or posited use of specific built space and its actual
while and shop around. In addition, urban squares use (Hall and Pfeiffer, 2000).
are the stages of political contests, yet today this is Comfort is one of the essential physical, mental
not the main function as it used to be (Tavakolian, and social human needs that has a direct effect on
1990, Whyte and Underhill, 2009, Gehl, 2011). place satisfaction (Austin, 2003). There are physi-
cal and activity based approaches to create secure
Physical factors and comfortable public spaces. Physical approaches
Physical factors at the spatial level involve ac- include effective lighting at night-time, designing
cessibility and location including facilities, light- visible and focal gathering spaces; and preventing

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 Social science section

cars from entering as well (Austin, 2003, Charkh- Francis, 1998). Despite the drinks and food, vend-
chian and Daneshpour, 2009). Comfort is primar- ing should contain particular products such as flow-
ily achieved by providing appropriate spots to lin- ers, handiworks; vendors and may be artisans (Mar-
ger, sit, eat, drink and converse. According to the cus and Francis, 1998). There should also be a plan
analysts of effective public spaces, these “comfort” about the vendors whether they are going to be
opportunities are crucial to make that place work. temporary or permanent. The design of the vend-
Public spaces perform as a placefor relaxation, ing constitutions (stalls, kiosks etc.) should be con-
which provide people with a relief from the stress- sidered since they also contribute to the character
es of daily life (Carr, 1992). On the physical plane, and identity of the placeand become an icon of that
the spaces in the urban landscape provide the fo- square/plaza (Childs, 2006).
rum for day-to-day activities as well as relaxation Management of a square needs a persistent and
and recreation (Laughlin, 2008). Public spaces are regular maintenance facility in order to maintain
significant because they are able to bridge that link. the success and use of it. With the provision of rap-
Carr et al. suggested that aside from bridging this id repairs, normal clean ups and clearing litter bins;
link, public spaces are important because they pro- grass care and planter preservation, it will express
vide avenues for movement, means of communica- that the square is being cared for and considerably
tion and a common ground for enjoyment and re- affects the users’ perception of the square as a more
laxation (Madanipour, 2003). delight- giving environment (Shaftoe, 2008). In this
regards, Marcus & Francis (1998) represented that
Managerial aspects in any public space, people will mind in an environ-
The managerial aspect covers the way that the ment if they see that management minds. A place
public space is managed, which is a vital point to be that has obviously been cared, will be much more
considered for the success of a square. Management popular than one that looks neglected. Lack of ad-
of place for a secure and safe environment can be equate maintenance also leads to “tipping”: an es-
done using two approaches, which are hard and soft calation of damage and deterioration (e.g. Graffiti
controls (Carmona et al., 2010). The square, which tagging that is not swiftly removed will encourage
is at the very heart of urban public open space, cre- more; if rubbish is not cleared up promptly, users
ates a meeting place for the people, humanize them will not hesitate to dump more) (Shaftoe, 2008).
and providing them with a protection against the
haphazard traffic, and freeing them from the ten- Geographical aspects
sion of rushing through the web of streets (Zuck- The geographical factors have high effect in the
er 1970). The other function such as a marketplace, shaping and physical development of the city. Loca-
parade ground, ceremonial place; setting for impor- tion (urban core, neighbourhood or suburb) – gen-
tant buildings, as a place where people to move and erally public spaces work best when they are rea-
mingle, and a place for leisure activities, have all sonably central, either in a town or neighbourhood,
been associated with the ancient as well as modern and are at the convergence of routes that people use
squares (Department of the environment (DoE), for other purposes. They also work better when they
1997). are surrounded by mixed uses rather than monocul-
Food and drink outlets can attract people in a tures such as offices or housing (Shaftoe, 2008).The
public space. These range from cafes and bars with other key factor that determines whether people
outside tables to portable refreshment kiosks where are drawn to use certain public spaces is their loca-
people can get takeaways to be consumed in adja- tion. Geographical factors can often override design
cent sitting areas (Shaftoe, 2008). One important and other considerations. Triangular public space,
factor to be considered is the provision of suitable wedged between the cathedral, the town hall and
litter bins and their regular emptying. Public spaces an arterial road could not be regarded as a particu-
can rapidly appear unappealing if they are strewn larly attractive place from the design point of view,
with discarded food and drink containers or over- and the management positively discourages certain
flowing bins (Shaftoe, 2008). Provision of vend- uses, most notably skateboarding. One of the main
ing opportunities in a square raises the vitality and elements in spatial design is traffic as a structure,
activity in the place; and since there is going to be which divides and connects urban spaces (Bendi-
increasingly many people around, it assists in sus- kat, 2002). Accessibility is related to traffic, either
taining the safety of the environment (Marcus and vehicular or pedestrian. Talen (2000) asserted that,

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 Social science section

with the exception of streets and sidewalks, the ac- ed potential to make a sense of community. On the
cessibility of all public forms of public space could other hand, it should be considered that, in the pub-
be measured and used as an indication of the degree lic space size, there is an evidence of connecting the
of the public space dispersion (Talen, 2000). That public environment with interaction and human be-
accessibility, which covers mobility and linkages, havior. How a Public Square is designed to physi-
depends on a number of factors. cally have direct and indirect effects on the social
Another main point contributing to the suc- life of its users due to human encounters and use of
cess of a public space is accessibility. Location of space is an important aspect to consider. In this re-
a square directly affects the accessibility concern- gard, to understand the associations between social
ing whether it is situated within a close distance to interaction and public square design, rather than a
major pedestrian and vehicular traffic routes and sense of community, may be more valid and useful.
transportation nodes (referring to the accessibility Compared to the sense of community, social inter-
of the square by all earnings of vehicular, but not action has the strongest empirical evidence where
being dominated by them) (Shaftoe, 2008). Whyte the character of the relationship can be framed
(2009) introduced a visual accessibility perception more specifically. Figure 1 shows the researcher’s
aside from physical accessibility for the grab of the conceptual model. The focus of this model is the ef-
people. On the other hand, the visibility of an urban fects of design factors on social interaction patterns.
square is significant for the society’s utilization of
the square (Marcus & Francis, 1998).

Social interaction

An evaluation of the literature on the public

space level of social interaction, including the the-
ory of the sense of community and incivilities liter-
ature, has shown six significant points. 1) Sense of
community is correlated to both environmental lev-
el and individual level variables, nevertheless, a pre-
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework.
vious study has not produced reliable findings about
which community level features and indicators are
related to individual level variables, 2) there is no
existing empirical evidence of a direct relation be- Based on the literature the following hypothesis
tween sense of community construct and the physi- was formulated:
cal attributes of the Public Square with its complete H1: There is a positive relationship between de-
meaning. Although, there are two researches sug- sign factors and social activity types.
gesting a link between the sense of community and H2: There is a positive relationship between de-
the physical environment, these studies did not in- sign factors and perception of users about environ-
vestigate the concept with its comprehensive mean- mental attractions of Public Square.
ing, including all the dimensions proposed in the H3: there is positive relationship between social
literature. 3) The physical aspects of the environ- activity types and perception of users about the so-
ment can contribute up to improved levels of so- cial environment’s attraction of the public square.
cial interaction between residents, which is only
one feature of the sense of community. Such studies Methodology
have not examined sense of community with its af-
fective variables. Design of the Study
Regarding these points, in order to realize the The proposed study adopted a quantitative line
correlation between the public square physical envi- of inquiry. The specific survey method used in this
ronment and social interaction, “sense of commu- study is cross-sectional survey design using ques-
nity” construct may be useful to a certain degree. tionnaire forms. This study addressed the content
Following the approach that the sense of communi- validity and construct validity. Several drafts were
ty is a multi-level construct, with multi-dimension- evaluated in order to increase the content validity
al and environmental variables only, have restrict- of the research instrument In the next step, drafts

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 Social science section

of the questionnaire were assessed. In the present checking the content validity of the instruments. All
study, the sampling method was non-probability items were translated into Persian language (by of-
(convenience) sampling and sample size was cho- ficial English translators) to let the panel of lectur-
sen based on DeVaus (2002) table. After distribut- ers verify the format, arrangement, appropriateness
ing questionnaires and screening data, around 208 of the content and the language used in the tool.
questionnaires were suitable to analyze. The re- The finalized questionnaires were examined in the
spondents are chosen from the square’s public users pilot study. In this study, for assessing the reliability
including the city’s inhabitants. of the questionnaire the coefficient of Cronbach al-
pha was applied.
Instrument and data collection procedure
The instrument in this study consists of a survey Demographic
and a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises A total of 208 respondents took part of whom
of a total of three constructs. These measures are 67.3% were male and 32.7% were female (table 6-1).
design factors, social activity type and perception of Of those surveyed, the highest percentage of the re-
users (about social environment of public square). spondents ie. 55.8% are of the old age group that
Items in all scales used 5-point agreed-disagreed reflects on the age group of the respondents who
statements. For this purpose, this research, in ad- regularly visit Sabze Meydan Square. Based on the
vance, reviewed the related literature and used stan- table (1) 88.5 % of visitors were locals and 11.5% of
dard questions. In the next step, drafts of the ques- them were non-locals. In fact, most of the visitors of
tionnaire were evaluated. Hence, a panel of Iranian Sabze Meydan are local and they use this square for
urban design lecturers (3 people) was selected for different purposes.

Table 1. Summary of the profiles of participants.

Variables Category Frequency Percentage

Male 140 67.3
Gender
Female 68 32.7
Local 184 88.5
Indigene
Nonlocal 24 11.5
Student 39 18.8
Retired 27 13.0
Self-employed 91 43.8
Executive / Managerial 8 3.8
Occupation
Housewife 6 2.9
Professional 33 15.9
Others 4 1.9
Total 200 100

Table 2. Demographic of visitors.

Category Frequency Percent
Visiting hours in a week 1-5 104 50.0
6-10 48 23.1
11-15 22 10.6
>16 34 16.3
Total 208 100.0
Visitor Alone 51 24.5
Friends 93 44.7
Family 58 27.9
In a big group (More than 5 people) 6 2.9

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 Social science section

Based on table the majority of respondents vis- Table 3. Overview on the quality criteria of all
it this square around 6-10 hours and most of them reflective constructs.
visit with friends 40.9 % and family 27.9%. Around
Constructs Composite Cronbach AVE
49.7% of participants visit this square every day.
Reliability Reliability
Design factors 0.890 0.865 0.503
Data analysis
Geographical 0.923 0.838 0.858
In the study a structural equation modelling Managerial 0.850 0.764 0.586
was used to test the hypothesis. SEM allows the re-
searcher to ‘’answer a set of interrelated research
questions in a single, systematic, and comprehensive Table 4. Correlation between latent variables (no-
analysis’’ (Gefen et al., 2000). This simultaneous mological validity).
analysis provides the researcher with a richer infor- Constructs Design Perception Social
mation about the extent to which the data supports factors Of Users activity
the research model than is possible with the first Design factors 1.000
generation data analysis techniques. The researcher Perception 0.305 1.000
chose the partial least squares (PLS) approach for
Social activity 0.428 0.460 1.000
its advantages over the covariance approach. The
advantages of this soft-modeling approach include
theoretical conditions, measurement conditions,
distributional considerations and practical consid- Table 5. Squared correlations of among Constructs
erations (Falk and Miller, 1992). PLS creates latent (Discriminant Validity).
variable component scores using the weighted sum Constructs AVE Design Per- Social
of indicators (Chin and Newsted, 1999). factors ception activity
Design Factors 0.503 0.503
Results Users’ 0.538 0.093 0.538
Perception
In two stages, PLS model will analyze and inter- Social Activity 0.620 0.183 0.212 0.620
pret the assessment of the reliability and validity of the Type
measurement model, and the assessment of the struc-
tural model.
Factor loading is one of the methods to evaluate
Assessment of the Measurement Model convergent validity. Table (6) shows that most of the
In first step measurement model was first evalu- factor loading is ideally 0.7 or higher.
ated using the full sample (208 individuals), all items
and dimensions and then the Smart -PLS results were Assessment of Structural Model
used to remove problematic items. To assess the sig- The Q2cross-validation test (Stone-Geisser)
nificance of the measurement model, certain criteria and f2 explaining the strength of effects; non-para-
needs to be evaluated. Reflective measurement models metric tests like R2 for dependent variables, are
should be assessed with regards to their reliability and used (Fornell and Bookstein, 1982). These values
validity. The following tables give an overview of the were well above the threshold level of zero (Fornell
quality criteria of all reflective constructs: Cronbach’s and Cha, 1994). However, regarding CV-redundan-
alpha, composite reliability and confirmatory factor cy index F2 (Q2) impulse buying tendency had high
analysis: Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Table 3 value. Furthermore, the 0.344 value of goodness-
shows alpha Cronbach reliability, composite reliabil- of-fit (GoF) index was quite acceptable. In addi-
ity and average variance extracted from the variables. tion, the results indicated that the model had an ac-
The other criterion for assessment of measure- ceptable predictive relevance.
ment model is discriminant validity. Table (5) de-
scribes that diagonal elements are larger than off-di- Discussion
agonal elements in the same row and column. The
result describes that the questionnaire had discrimi- Based on the table (8) the result revealed that,
nant validity. there is a positive and direct relation between de-

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 Social science section

sign factors and social activity. This relationship at the 0.05 level (β = 0.127, std= 0.076, t-statistic =
with 95% confidence is significant at the 0.05 level 1.66, P-value = 0.048). Furthermore, there is a pos-
(β = 0.428, std= 0.068, t-statistic = 6.268, P-value itive and direct relation between the social activity
=0.000). In addition, there is a positive relationship and perception of users. This relationship with 95%
between the design factors and perception of users. confidence is significant at the 0.05 level (β = 0.406,
This relationship with 95% confidence is significant std= 0.064, t-statistic = 6.374, P-value =0.000).

Table 6. Factor loading of constructs.

Constructs Index or Observe variables Factor loading
Comfort 0.568
Safety 0.722
Behavioural & psychological
Discovery 0.795
Joy 0.795
Location 0.901
Geographical
Accessibility 0.950
Vending 0.694
Maintenance 0.808
Managerial Aspects
Food 0.783
Uses 0.774
Generally, I am very attracted to the square 0.684
I visit it with my neighbours 0.682
Perception of users If I needed advice about something I could 0.777
go to someone in the square
I regularly stop and talk with people in the 0.783
square
Form 0.698
Sitting 0.781
Physical Aspects
Complexity 0.827
Aesthetic 0.738
Social Activity type 0.869
Social Activity
Social Contact 0.871

Table 7. Relevance of structural model. sized based on theory. According to Beck (2009), high
quality, well designed and managed urban public spac-
Constructs R2 Q2
es such as public square will promote the quality of life.
Perception 0.225 0.112 Since privatization Sabze Meydan Square has been
Social activity 0.892 0.511 standing as a place with poor quality design of archi-
GoF 0.344 tecture. From this point of view, the design and man-
agement – through privatization – need to change to
be successful in generating public life. It can be said
Conclusion that private sectors are more capable in managing
public space, since people are unsatisfied for physical
Despite several limitations of this study, the pres- quality aspects of Sabze Meydan Square but satisfied
ent research makes valuable contributions to both the- for such aspects of accessibility. According to Gehl
ory and practice. The finding of the research has the (2002), the quality of lighting at night relates to the
potential to enrich the body of knowledge among aca- level of safety and security in public space. Further
demicians as well as practitioners. In this study, new research is needed to study the safety and security
and un-established relationships have been hypothe- matter at night in Sabze Meydan Square in Qazvin.

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 Social science section

Table 8. Path coefficients, Std, ß, and T-statistics

Path β Standard Deviation T Statistics P_value
Design Factors Perception 0.127 0.076 1.668 0.048
Design Factors Social Activity 0.428 0.068 6.268 0.000
Social Activity Perception 0.406 0.064 6.378 0.000

Figure 2. Final Model.

Limitation and recommendations contributes to civil society. Administrative Theo-

ry & Praxis, 24, 355-362.
Although this research has managed to reach its Bendikat, E. (2002). The Public Urban Space in the
stated objectives, there were, nevertheless, some limita- Modern Age: Technical Functionality and Reg-
tions due to certain constraints, firstly the limitation in ulation’. German Journal of Urban Studies, 41.
terms of the sample size. Due to limited time and bud- Bonnes, M. & Secchiaroli, G. (1995). Environ-
get, this research had only been able to collect 208 sam- mental psychology: A psycho-social introduction,
ples. Second, a possible limitation to the study could be SAGE Publications Limited.
due to the respondents were answering in a hurry and Carmona, M. (2010). Contemporary Public Space:
therefore might influence the accuracy of the response Part One, Critique. Journal of Urban Design, 15,
as we would prefer it to be and that is why a bigger num- 123-148.
ber of respondents will be ideal. Studies on the public Carmona, M., Heath, T., Tiesdell, S. & Oc, T.
square in Iran are rare and few and this is one of the few. (2010). Public places-urban spaces: the dimen-
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