Browsing by Author "Paydar, Mohammad"

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    Assessment of Residential Satisfaction in Mehr Housing Scheme: A Case Study of Sadra New Town, Iran
    (Routledge Journals, 2017) Etminani-Ghasrodashti, Roya; Majedi, Hamid; Paydar, Mohammad; CEDEUS (Chile)
    This paper aims to contribute to theory and practice concerning residential satisfaction in public housing through an assessment of the Mehr housing scheme (MHS), which is a significant project of the Iranian government's current development plans. This study is based on household surveys conducted in two MHS projects in the new town of Sadra, Iran. Data were collected through a sample of residents to explore their satisfaction with physical characteristics of housing units, public facilities and services, and also the social participation and cohesion among residents. Using descriptive statistics, factor analysis and categorical regression, the hypothesis that satisfaction is based on the relationship between different key factors was tested. The results of descriptive analysis demonstrate that only 32.5% of respondents were satisfied with living in MHS. Findings from categorical regression revealed that built environment variables such as buildings' physical features were the main determinants of respondents' overall satisfaction while the social features of the housing projects had little to no impacts on residents' contentment. These results suggest that while primary aspirations for physical characteristics of public housing and access to essential services and facilities were disregarded by planners, social association, cohesion and ties among residents will likely become less important.
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    Perceived legibility in relation to path choice of commuters in central business district
    (2016) Paydar, Mohammad; Kamani-Fard, Asal
    Commuters are the major group of pedestrians who walk for daily transportation along the short pathways between the metro stations and their workplaces in the central business district (CBD) of Kuala Lumpur. Shorter walking times and shorter distances are significant criteria in commuter path choice; however, in the presence of multiple pathways of virtually the same length, the criteria of perceived time and perceived distance play the key role in path choice. In this regard, this study investigates perceived legibility (PL) as an alternative path choice criterion for commuters on the basis of its hypothesized correlation with perceived time. For commuters, a more legible pathway is a well-signed directional pathway, which generates a strong sense of direction toward the destinations along it. As Perceived legibility (PL) is assumed to be a positive factor for commuters' choice of path, the main question of this research is whether the highest PL is taken into account by commuters as an important path choice criterion in the case of available alternative pathways of almost the same length. In this regard, the importance of the highest PL for commuters' path choice was examined in comparison with other probable path choice criteria. In addition, the components of the highest PL were explored according to the perceptions of commuters. It was conducted in nine zones of the CBD of Kuala Lumpur. The zones were selected and finalized based on the design of the zone selection process. The collected data were processed using two consecutive survey questionnaires and an observational analysis. The highest PL showed moderate importance regarding commuter path choice. However, because of the significant correlation between PL and perceived time as well as sense of pleasance as two of the most important path choice criteria, highest PL or strongest sense of direction toward the destination is taken into account as one of the key factors for commuter path choice. Furthermore, factors such as the presence of buildings according to their height and facade, and commuters' greater ability to see their destination point while walking, were found to be components of PL. Such relationships indicate the importance of these physical and visual factors for improving the path choice and walking rates of commuters in the CBD.
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    Perceived security of women in relation to their path choice toward sustainable neighborhood in Santiago, Chile
    (2017) Paydar, Mohammad; Kamani-Fard, Asal; Etminani-Ghasrodashti, Roya
    The fear of crime and perceptions of insecurity are among the most important issues with regard to a sustainability framework, relative to crime itself, in cities with low crime rates. Santiago in Chile is a city with a moderate to low rate of crime as compared to the average amount of crime in the cities around the world, but the fear of crime and perceptions of insecurity greatly concern the residents of this city. Therefore, in general, studying Santiago residents' perceived insecurity seems to be more important than considering actual urban insecurity and its aspects in regard to achieving a more comprehensive sustainability framework for this city. Regardless of the influence of individual and social factors on perceived insecurity, the design of the built environment plays an important role in enhancing perceptions of security. In addition, women have been found to be more fearful of crime and their perceived insecurity is recognized as being a serious problem for their walking patterns in the residential neighborhoods of Santiago. On this basis, and due to the importance of the design of the built environment for generating the fear of crime and perceived insecurity, this study focuses on design elements that are related to the perceived security/insecurity of women. By studying the typology of neighborhoods based on their inclusive houses and a selection of neighborhoods with apartment blocks, the three residential neighborhoods of Villa Frei, Villa Olimpica, and Villa Portales were selected for this study. To consider the influence of environmental factors on perceived security/insecurity, the routes traversed daily by the residents were identified using 3D maps. A survey questionnaire was used to measure women's perceived sense of security/insecurity, and to learn how these attitudes influenced their daily walking patterns. The qualitative data was analyzed through context analysis, and the quantitative data was analyzed using an ordered logistic regression. Although respondents mostly declared that their neighborhood is somewhat secure, they agreed that their feeling of insecurity influences the path they choose in their daily walking activities. This finding shows the importance of women's perceived insecurity or low perceived security for their daily walking patterns. The results of the open-ended questions show that the "presence of others", in terms of stationary and dynamic surveillance, "proximity to shops, schools and parks", "open spaces", and "presence of familiar people", emerged as the most important factors for enhancing women's sense of security. Moreover, findings from ordered regression analysis indicate that among the different dimensions of built environmental factors, evidence of vitality through the arrangement of furniture, surveillance, signs of disorder and vegetation were the strongest determinant of women's perceived security. These findings indicate the need to address the perceived security/insecurity of women in residential' neighborhoods as the most important policy for improving the sustainability framework, and leading to the creation of sustainable neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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    Recreational cycling in a coastal city: Investigating lifestyle, attitudes and built environment in cycling behavior
    (ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2018) Etminani Ghasrodashti, Roya; Paydar, Mohammad; Ardeshiri, Ali; CEDEUS (Chile)
    Active mobility and especially cycling can play an important role in increasing sustainable travel behavior of urban residents. While increased recreational cycling can lead to further bicycling for other purposes, this study highlights the factors influencing recreational cycling. Recreational cycling in a coastal city is explored through investigating individuals' lifestyles, attitudes, and the effects of built environmental features on frequent cycling. Data were collected from 426 residents of Kish Island, an Iranian city which has been provided with well-designed, dedicated cycling paths. Using confirmatory factor analysis, lifestyle patterns have been extracted from leisure activities which are mostly engaged by both tourists and residents. Additionally, attitudes were evaluated by exploring individuals' preferences through selecting various cycling facilities. Results from ordinal regression analysis revealed that residents with an active and beach-oriented lifestyle have a higher tendency toward recreational cycling. Among other classifications of attitudes, landscape design made the highest contribution to recreational cycling. Furthermore, findings demonstrated that network connectivity does not significantly influence recreational cycling. Although findings from this study suggest that identifying lifestyle patterns and cyclist attitudes in coastal cities can enhance the probability of recreational cycling among residents as well as tourists, they can also be of interest to planners and policy makers in terms of enhancing the frequency of cycling in other regions with similar situations, namely, being a tourist destination and having a well-organized infrastructure in terms of cycling paths and other required cycling facilities that support recreational as well as other types of cycling behavior.
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    University-related travel behavior: Young adults' decision-making in Iran
    (2018) Etminani-Ghasrodashti, Roya; Paydar, Mohammad; Hamidi, Shima; CEDEUS (Chile)