Mendeley TY _ JOUR ID - 1403081748507 TI - Explaining the Role of Sidewalks in Increasing the Morale of Citizens to Reduce Crimes in Urban Space (Case Study: Aligudarz County) JO - Iranian Islamic city studies JA - ES LA - fa SN - 2228-639X AU - AU - bazrphach hamid AU - mousavi mohammadreza AD - استادیار گروه معماری دانشگاه آزاد واحد هشتگرد AD - AD - دانشیارگروه حقوق، واحد کرج، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، کرج، ایران Y1 - 2025 PY - 2025 VL - 57 IS - SP - 117 EP - 132 KW - Sidewalk KW - Urban space KW - Vitality KW - Morale of citizens KW - Aligudarz city DO - N2 -

Explaining the Role of Sidewalks in Increasing the Morale

of Citizens to Reduce Crimes in Urban Space

(Case Study: Aligudarz County)

 

 

Mohammad Behzadpour*

Hamid Bazrpaj**

 Seyyed Mohammad Reza Mousavi***

 

As one of the key components of urban public spaces, sidewalks play an important role in shaping the sense of vitality and morale of citizens. In Aligudarz city, proper design and optimal use of sidewalks can have a great impact on reducing crime and misdemeanors. The present study is descriptive-analytical in nature, survey in implementation, and questionnaire in data collection method. This study seeks to examine the role of sidewalks in strengthening the sense of belonging to space and improving the quality of urban life by promoting social interactions and providing a safe and peaceful environment. By creating a suitable space for traffic, sidewalks allow citizens to be actively present in public spaces and establish positive social connections, which ultimately reduces the feeling of insecurity and creates a more social space. Also, proper design of sidewalks can have a great impact on reducing street crime, because spaces that are visually and physically clear and full of people are less prone to crime. The results showed that in Aligudarz city, increasing the quality of sidewalks plays a significant role in increasing the vitality and morale of citizens and reducing crime and urban interactions of citizens. According to the analysis of the questionnaires, increasing the quality of sidewalks has a direct impact on reducing crime and vitality among citizens; therefore, in Aligudarz city, the proper design and implementation of sidewalks will be a reason for citizens to be present in the urban space, which should be considered by urban managers and will reduce the excessive use of private vehicles.

 

Keywords: Sidewalk, Urban space, Vitality, Morale of citizens, Aligudarz city

 

 

Introduction

Providing pedestrian movement in the city and creating suitable urban spaces for people to be present in the urban environment has led to the development of new trends and perspectives in the field of urban planning and architecture in the world. (Jahangir et al., 1:1400) Cities and biological complexes are among the most obvious and tangible manifestations of human culture, which, by displaying objective and perceptible spaces, express many of the intellectual and mental components affected and resulting from it. (Sabermanesh et al., 3:1400) Sidewalks, as a key element, have a social role in which pedestrians have complete dominance. A weak physical space for pedestrians is a factor in the dominance of cars over public urban spaces and causes the decline of intimate walks and social interactions between citizens. (Aram and Mansoorian, 3:1400)

Today, the use of sidewalks, especially in the protection of ancient urban textures, has found its place in urban planning discussions and is used as a useful tool to preserve the spaces of the ancient urban texture and reconcile it with modern urban spaces and its residents. (Kalantari Khalilabad et al., 1:1395) Sidewalks play a significant role in the movement of city residents and the transfer of traffic between different areas of the city. Today, the increase in the population of cities and existing traffic problems evoke the need to pay more attention to the creation of sidewalks and pedestrian paths. Developing sidewalks and encouraging people to walk will play an effective role in the sustainable development of cities, provided that existing standards and criteria are used in the design of sidewalks. (2008, Forrester).

Based on this, the research hypothesis can be explained as follows: 1- The existence of well-designed and suitable sidewalks in Aligudarz County will increase the sense of vitality and social interactions among citizens, which will lead to a decrease in the feeling of insecurity and, as a result, a decrease in the occurrence of crime in the urban space. 2- Increasing access to safe and attractive sidewalks in Aligudarz County will reduce social isolation and strengthen the sense of belonging to the urban environment, which can lead to a decrease in crime rates, especially petty and non-violent crimes, in this area. The objectives and hypotheses of the research are as follows.

The main objective of the research is to investigate the effect of sidewalks on increasing the vitality and reducing crime among citizens of Aligudarz County, and the secondary objectives of the research:

1- To investigate the effect of sidewalk design and features (such as lighting, urban furniture, and green space) on increasing social interactions and the sense of vitality among citizens in Aligudarz County.

2- Analyzing the relationship between increasing the use of sidewalks and reducing the rate of social crimes (such as theft and violence) in different areas of Aligudarz city.

 

 

Research Method

This is a descriptive-analytical study that examines the current state of sidewalks and their effects on the sense of vitality, morale of citizens, and the reduction of crime in Aligudarz city.

The statistical population of this study includes citizens of Aligudarz city who use urban sidewalks. In order to select a sample, random sampling or stratified sampling can be used to consider representatives of all age, gender, and social groups.

 

Conclusion

The results of this study show that sidewalks in urban spaces act not only as traffic routes but also as an effective factor in increasing the sense of vitality, positive morale of citizens and reducing crime in urban environments. Considering the research hypotheses and objectives, this study has examined the role of various indicators such as accessibility, lighting, safety, sense of security, recreation, service and aesthetics in improving the quality of life and reducing crime.

Considering the proposed indicators, the results of the study show that the design of sidewalks should be done carefully and with attention to various dimensions such as accessibility, lighting, safety, sense of security, recreation, service and aesthetics in order to help improve the quality of urban life and reduce crime and crime rates. Sidewalks that have all these features provide a safe, cheerful and high social interaction environment, which in turn reduces social crimes and increases the general morale of citizens; Therefore, urban officials should pay more attention to the importance of careful design of these spaces and advance urban policies to improve the condition of sidewalks and public spaces.

By conducting this research, we can say that the hypotheses raised at the beginning of the article are acceptable and these hypotheses are confirmed by documentary and non-documentary studies. In this research, we find that people prefer to walk in places where design regulations and standards are observed and the path is enjoyable for people in terms of spirit and mental perception, and this creates vitality in the urban space and increases interactions in the city.

The results showed that sidewalks play a significant role in the quality of life and urban spaces, the vitality and urban interactions of citizens. Proper care and design of sidewalks will increase the presence of citizens in the urban space and is also very effective in reducing crime. This increases walking and reduces excessive use of personal vehicles. The factors that influence people's presence in urban spaces and the use of sidewalks include security and safety, vitality, legibility, access to uses, appropriate access for the disabled and physically challenged, visual appeal, etc., and observing them will result in the presence of as many people as possible in urban spaces and sidewalks.

 

Discussion and Conclusion

1-It seems that sidewalks have an impact on increasing the morale of citizens, social and economic interactions, and the vitality of the urban space.

 

Table 7: General characteristics of the regression analysis of predictor

variables that indicate that sidewalks increase citizen morale,

social and economic interactions, and the vitality of urban space

 

Statistical indicator

Regression model

Correlation coefficient

Coefficient of determination

Adjusted

  

F

Significance level

Sidewalks boost citizens' morale

0/977

0/954

0/952

578/467

0/0001

 

 

Table 8- Regression coefficients of predictor variables on sidewalks on increasing citizen morale

 

Statistical indicator

Regression model

Standard error Unstandardized coefficients

Standard error

(β)

t

sig

Pedestrian

0/079

0/071

0/085

1/112

0/271

Citizens' Spirit

0/969

0/083

0/897

11/680

0/0001

 

 


Table 9 - Pearson correlation matrix between citizen vitality and safety

factors, design criteria, and visual attractiveness of sidewalks

 

Variable

Safety factors, design criteria, and

visual appeal of sidewalks

Dependent variables

 

Correlation coefficient

Significance level

Between the vitality of citizens and safety factors, design criteria and visual appeal of sidewalks

 

0/901

0/0001

0/0001**p

 

 

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* Corresponding Author: Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Hashtgerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hashtgerd, Iran.

Mohammad.behzadpour@hiau.ac.ir

** Associate Professor, Law Department, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.

hamid.bazrpach@iau.ac.ir

*** Ph.D Student in Architecture, Tafresh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tafresh, Iran.

seyedmohamadreza.mousavi@iau.ir

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