People and use of public parks in Iran

During the past two decades, Iran has undergone significant social and institutional changes. Tensions have been observed in society between the cultural structure and the increasingly younger, educated and secular population (Statistical Centre of Iran, 2011). Iranian landscape designers have to understand how people’s preferences for urban parks are changing within the cultural setting, with rules governing the behaviour of men and women in public. In this study the patterns and preferences of use as well as the characteristics of visitors to two older traditional gardens designed according to Persian classical principles (Chehel-sotoun in Esfahan and Bagh- Phin in Kashan) was investigated, then we compared with two modern parks designed in the 1970s following Western principles (Jamshidieh and Mellat in Tehran). We used a combination of a close-ended questionnaire aligned with site observations. Also we collected and analysed the Information on the respondents’ age, gender, marital status, employment, and educational level and the frequency and timing of visits. The content validity of the questionnaire with using the Delphi method was checked. The results indicated that compared to the west, parks are used rather differently. People were used the traditional gardens rarely, mostly on holidays and weekends, for a couple of hours in the mornings or evenings. Finding indicated that people were used the more modern parks daily or weekly in the early mornings and – most significantly – at night. much younger, better educated and a mix of males and females used the park more frequently. This pattern of use can be attributed to the value placed by young couples to be able to meet and date.