Reinforcing Social Interaction Among Persian Neighborhood Communities in New High-Rise Residential Development
Neighborhood communities are losing their social interactions when residences are stacked into high-rise residential buildings (HRBs) complexes in Mashhad metropolis, Iran. The houses would become mere physical shelters, hence lowering the quality of modern neighborhood communities. This study co...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2009
|
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/7543/1/ABS_---__FRSB_2009_4.pdf http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/7543/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Neighborhood communities are losing their social interactions when residences are
stacked into high-rise residential buildings (HRBs) complexes in Mashhad
metropolis, Iran. The houses would become mere physical shelters, hence lowering
the quality of modern neighborhood communities. This study conducted a mixedmethod
case study research in search for “How can architects adopt traditional
Persian spatial principles of neighborhood communities in developing social
interactions in neighborhood communities of HRBs complexes?” After a rigorous
literature analysis, the study develops two theoretical propositions. The first posits
that social interaction among residents will occur successfully when HRBs complex
provides secured, supportive, collective, and responsive spaces for them. The second
proposes that HRD (high-rise residential district) is a neighborhood community
consisting of several HRBs that encourages social interactions through wellintegrated
secured, supportive, collective and responsive spaces.
The study utilizes mixed-method data collection to support the proposed
propositions. It considers a HRBs complex in Mashhad as the qualitative unit of
analysis while considering a family living in one apartment as the quantitative unit of
analysis. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with selected experts,
non-participant observation of three selected HRBs complexes, and survey of
residents’ opinion. Validation of propositions is obtained using triangulation in data
collection of qualitative part of the study and statistical analysis. Interview reveals that experts support the needs for secured, supportive, collective,
and responsive spaces in improving the quality and quantity of open spaces in
contemporary HRBs complexes. They also agreed to redefine the concept of current
spaces to support residents’ socio-cultural behaviors. Field observations at the three
selected residential complexes reveal that residents do not appreciate open spaces for
the sake of having open spaces in their living area. They prefer to spend their time in
better quality spaces even when that open space is further away from their residential
complexes.
Although this study have identified the four influential constructs in the
establishment of social interaction in traditional Persian neighborhood
communities—secured, supportive, collective, and responsive spaces—it also found
differences in the level of priority of those constructs. Thereby, the study established
HRD as a neighbourhood community consisting of several HRBs that encourages
social interactions through well-integrated responsive, supportive and secured spaces
in a collective context. It recommends architects to design hierarchical spaces at
three territorial levels: single unit neighborhood community, a group of
neighborhood territories, and a residential district. The study believes that these
principles could promote unification of the neighborhood communities.
In summary, the study contributes in developing social interaction as the
contributing factor for maintaining values of traditional Persian neighbourhood
communities in the design of HRBs complexes in Iran. It merges socio-cultural
behavior in physical spatial features of the built environment for improving social
interaction in non-western HRD developments. Moreover, it redefines Newman’s
Defensible Space Theory on secured spaces where they are, in fact, the hierarchical
spatial structure that provides security by increasing the sense of familiarity and
responsibility among residents through informal interactions in Persian HRD. This
study helps to sustain the indigenous socio-culture of a developing nation as its
population and built environment evolve to follow western-inclined lifestyle. |
|---|