Principles of urban public spaces design based on social trust model and enhancing social interaction

Subject Areas : Urban Design

Hosna sadat Shams Dolatabadi ^{1 *} , Kiana Etemadi ² , Elham Parvizi ³

1 - Department of Architecture, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Arts, University, Tehran, Iran.
3 - Department of Architecture, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

Received: 2024-09-05 Accepted : 2025-06-09 Published : 2025-07-03

Keywords: Public open spaces, Public spaces, Social Interaction, Social trust,

Abstract :

Considering the effects of public urban spaces on social interaction and participation, this study aimed to provide guidelines for designing public urban spaces to enhance social interaction and trust in urban spaces. In this research, a quantitative-qualitative research method is applied. Furthermore, the Delphi method was utilized for data collection to construct a content table and questionnaires. Randomized cluster sampling was implemented. The data underwent evaluation using SPSS, employing R factor analysis to generate an analytical model in Amos. The research findings suggest that physical attributes of the space, encompassing sociability, spatial diversity, flexibility, physical comfort, social trust and interaction, pedestrian accessibility, ease of navigation, and psychological comfort, significantly influence alterations in social interaction and trust within public urban spaces. The results demonstrate that social, physical, design, and psychological environmental characteristics in urban spaces establish the requisite conditions for enhancing socialization and pedestrian access, thereby fostering trust and social participation

References:

Ablitt, J. (2020). Walking in on people in parks: Demonstrating the orderliness of interactional discomfort in urban territorial negotiations. Emotion, Space and Society, 34, 100648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2019.100648
Andersson, C. (2016). Public space and the new urban agenda. The Journal of Public Space, 1(1), 5–10.
Auge, M. (2016). Non-places: Introduction to an anthropology of super modernity (J. Howe, Trans.). Verso.
Bell, P. A. 2008. Environmental Psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. London.
Brain, D. (2019). Reconstituting the urban commons: Public space, social capital and the project of urbanism. Urban Planning, 4 (2), 169–182. doi: 10.17645/up.v4i2.2018
Bravo, L., & Guaralda, M. (2016). An open-access forum for discussing and advancing research about public space. The Journal of Public Space, 1(1), 1-4.
Carmona, M., Tiesdell, S., Heath, T., & Oc, T. (2010), Public places urban spaces: The dimensions of urban design (2nd Edn). Architectural Press.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95-120.
De Backer, M., & Pavoni, A. (2018). Through thick and thin: Young people's affective geographies in Brussels' public space. Emotion, Space and Society, 27, 9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2018.02.005
Fainstein, S. S. 2010. The Just City. Cornell University Press. New York.
Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (2001). Social cohesion, social capital, and the neighborhood. Urban Studies, 38(12), 2125–2143.
Ghel, J. (2010). Cities for people. Island Press.
Harms, P., Hofer, M., & Artmann, M. (2024). Planning cities with nature for sustainability transformations — A systematic review. Urban Transformations, 6(9), 98-112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-024-00066-2
Harpham, T., Grant, E., & Thomas, E. (2002). Measuring social capital within health surveys: Key issues. Health Policy and Planning, 17 (1), 106-111.
Haupt, P. (2018). Design with nature and design for the people: The principles of architectural education. World Trans. on Engng. And Technol. Educ., 16 (1), 70-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.05.003
Hou, J. (2010). (Not) your everyday public space. In J. Hou (Ed.), Insurgent public space, Guerilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities. New York: Routledge.
Huang, J., & Fang, Y. (2021). Income inequality, neighborhood social capital, and subjective well-being in China: Exploration of a moderating effect. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13, 6799. Jian, X., Han, X. L., Li, G. C., & Ceng, H. (2011).
Ijla, A. M. (2012). Does public space create social capital? International Journal of Sustainable Architecture, 4(2), 48–53.
Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. Random House.
Johnson, A. J., & Glover, T. D. (2013). Understanding urban public space in a leisure context. Leisure Sciences, 35(2), 190-197.
Kohn, M. (2004). Brave New Neighborhoods, The Privatization of Public Space. NewYork: Routledge.
Li, A. X., Chen, J. P., & Zhen, M. H. (2017). How can social capital improve farmers' credit? Empirical analysis based on the three dimensions of network, trust and norm. Finance and Economics, 49–59, 03.
Li, W. J., Yang, S. J., Li, J., Li, Z. X., Yan, C., Gui, Z., & Zhou, C. C. (2021). Social capital and self-rated health among Chinese rural empty nesters: A multiple mediation model through sleep quality and psychological distress. Journal of Affective Disorders, 298.
Liu, L.B., Thijs, P. G., & Steg, L. (2019). Effects of trust and public participation on acceptability of renewable energy projects in the Netherlands and China. Energy Research & Social Science, 53, 137-144.
Liu, Y. Q., Cao, L., Yang, D. D., & Anderson, B. C. (2022). How social capital influences community resilience management development. Environmental Science & Policy, 07.028.
Madanipour, A. (2015). Urban design and public space. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2nd Ed.).
Madden, D. J. (2010). Revisiting the end of public space, assembling the public in an urban park. City & Community, 9(2), 187-207.
Mao, Y., Qi, J., & He, B. (2020). Impact of the heritage building façade in small-scale public spaces on human activity: Based on spatial analysis. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 85(5), 106457. DOI:10.1016/j.eiar.2020.106457.
Mehrotra, N., & Yammiyavar, P. (2013). Facilitating social interaction in public space. In A. Agrawal, R.C. Tripathi, E. Y. Do, & M.D. Tiwari (eds), Intelligent interactive technologies and multimedia (Vol. 276). Springer.
Mehta, V. (2019). Streets and social life in cities, a taxonomy of sociability. Urban Design International, 24(1), 16-37.
Melichová, K., & Hrivnák, M. (2025). Co-designing urban interventions through the lens of SDGs: Insights from the IN-HABIT project in Nitra, Slovakia. Urban Planning, 10(2), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.9133
Mehta, V. (2014). Evaluating public space. Journal of Urban Design, 19(1), 53-88.
Müller, R., Andersen, E. S., & Kvalnes, Q. (2013). The interrelationship of governance, trust, and ethics in temporary organizations. Project Management Journal, 44 (4), 26–44.
Nyka, L. (2019). Bridging the gap between architectural and environmental engineering education in the context of climate change. World Trans. on Engng and Technol. Educ., 17(2), 204-209.
Patricia Simões Aelbrecht (2016) 'Fourth places': the contemporary public settings for informal social interaction among strangers, Journal of Urban Design, 21:1, 124-152, DOI: 10.1080/13574809.2015.1106920
Putnam, R. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.
Putnam, R.D. (1998). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology.
Ramlee, M., Omar, D., Yunus, R. M. & Samadi, Z. (2015). Revitalization of urban public spaces, An overview. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, (201), 360-367.
Relf, E. (1976). Place & Placeness. London: Pion.
Ruca, M., Kloeckner, Christian A., Bengt, L., & Monica, L. (2016). The impact of neighborhood social capital on life satisfaction and self-rated health: A possible pathway for health promotion? Health & Place, 11, 09.
Ryan,S., & Räisänen,Ul. (2008). It's like you are just a spectator in this thing: Experiencing social life the 'aspie' way. Emotion, Space and Society, 1 (2), 135-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2009.02.001
Shams Dolat Abadi, H., Etemadi, K., Rabbani, T., & Porfatollah, M. (2021). Characteristics and elements of urban open spaces based on social trust model to enhance social interactions from citizens' perspective (The Case Study of Yousef-Abad Neighborhood). Journal of Sustainable City, 4 (5). "Persian"
Stauskis, Gintaras & Eckardt, Frank. (2011). Empowering Public Spaces as Catalysers of Social Interactions in Urban Communities. Town Planning and Architecture. 35. 117-128. 10.3846/tpa.2011.14.
Sun, X., Wang, L., Wang, F., & Soltani, S. (2020). Behaviors of seniors and impact of spatial form in small-scale public spaces in Chinese old city zones. Cities, 107.
Thomas, M. (1991). The Demise of Public Space. In V. Nadin & J. Doak (Eds.), Town Planning Responses to City Change, Avebury: Aldershot.
Wentink, C., Vaandrager, L., Van Damb, R., Hassink, J., & Salverda, I. (2017). Exploring the role of social capital in urban citizens' initiatives in the Netherlands. Gaceta Sanitaria, 32(6), 539-546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2017.05.011
Yang, Z., Zhou, C., & Jiang, L. (2011). When do formal control and trust matter? A context-based analysis of the effects on marketing channel relationships in China. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(1), 86.
Su, Y., Zhang, X., Chen, X., (2023). How to alleviate alienation from the perspective of urban community public space—Evidence from urban young residents in China, Habitat International, Volume 138.