Achieving design guidelines of neighbourhood open spaces through user ’ s characteristics in different times

The importance of open spaces to our environment and quality of life is increasingly recognized. Open spaces include public parks and recreation grounds, non-roofed-over urban land and undeveloped natural landscape, and neighbouring spaces between buildings. User surveys are significant sources of data to help the planning, design and management processes of urban open spaces and also important to identify users’ needs. This paper focuses on the users of Kalad open space, located in the east part of Tehran, in three different times for survey and evaluation purposes. To analyze the use of the open spaces, a literature survey and a questionnaire survey were carried out together. The former describes the distributional structure of the open spaces whereas the latter makes assessments by exploring the characteristics of open space users, user satisfaction, reported problems and requirements. Results were evaluated using chi square (χ 2 ) correlation test. The findings suggest that the use of open space has its own characteristics although there appear some similarities within the studied areas. As a result, recommendations for future planning are suggested.

The importance of open spaces to our environment and quality of life is increasingly recognized (Chiesura, 2004;Maruani and Amit-Cohen, 2007).Ward Thompson (2002) pointed out that urban open space must provide a place for the meeting of strangers and a place where one can transcend the crowd and be anonymous or alone.Additionally, great cities are known for their great public spaces, and one measure of any city's greatness is its ability to provide recreation, and natural beauty for its citizens (Rogers, 2003).Public open areas often constitute the only outdoor space for exercises.Breathing clean air was another popular demand (Lo and Jim, 2010).
As stated by Calthorpe (1993) and Pasaogullari and Doratli (2004), location and design of public space can play a significant role in bringing people together.Welldesigned public open spaces encourage walking and cycling (Turel et al., 2007).Factors affecting the use of and satisfaction of the users of public spaces are classified as accessibility, measures of comfort, the variety of activities and facilities, indicators of quality, safety, physical attractiveness or maintenance as an aesthetic consideration (Hatry and Dunn, 1971;Massam, 1975;Erkip, 1997;Pasaogullari and Doratli, 2004).
The basic approach on developing public open spaces which have been constructed in the aspect of users' expectations is to form environments which can be used by all age groups of people (Turel et al., 2007).Because the ability of using the public open spaces by different groups of people is a success indicator of those spaces, understanding users' interest and wishes help designers to plan according to users' needs and aspirations in open spaces.This will in turn results in using new opportunities to build a sustainable future.User characteristics also affect the utilization of the public spaces (Massam, 1975).Garcia-Ramon et al. (2004) pointed out that the success or failure of urban planning in creating or remodeling public space should be assessed by measuring both the number of male and female users and the diversity of the profiles of the people who use it, as well as the variety of activities and interrelations taking place there.User characteristics will be considered here, since it is the scope of the study.
While open spaces may be insufficient and unequal, the recreational importance of neighbourhoods for users from various parts of the society needs to be given extra attention.This study determined the sufficiency of Tehran open spaces, through the examination of user satisfaction.The other objective of this research was to act as a performance indicator of existing neighbourhoods and provide guidelines for further work about the management of Tehran neighbourhoods by Municipality.User surveys are important sources of data to aid planning, designing and managing process of open spaces and also important to identify users' needs.In this study, main objectives include; (1) to analyze the characteristics of neighbourhood open space users in different times, and (2) to source problems and requirements of users.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Tehran is located in the mid-north of Iran (35°40′).The average altitude is 1200 m.The city is situated on the southern slopes of Alborz Mountains that are mostly higher than 3300 m ranging on the direction from east to west (Yavari et al., 2007;Azadi et al., 2010).
Data for the user surveys were collected from three different times (6 to 8 a.m., 9 to 11 a.m., and 6 to 8 p.m.) in Kalad district of Tehran, in order to present a cross-section of the city (Figure 1).Kalad, located in the east, lies between middle income housing areas (as Narmak and Fadak neighbourhoods) and it is quite far away from the city centre.
This neighbourhood, which is quite different from the other districts in character, basically consists of a green, tranquil valley.The Kalad open space includes a pool, trees and lawns as well as a playground that is mostly of interest to young people and children (Table 1).Public open spaces may also be important venues for children to engage in active play (Bedimo-Rung et al., 2005;Timperio et al., 2008).Faizi (2006) reported that there are public demands for recreational activities in open spaces of Tehran.
A total of 743 users were asked to participate in this study, and 726 agreed.Investigators received completed questionnaires back Faizi et al. 4001 from 605 users, giving an overall response rate of 81.4%.Questionnaire forms were completed on the neighbourhood open space by interviewing people face-to-face.This sample size was obtained according to observation numerical records and based upon the number of people visiting the neighbourhood open space in July and August.The questionnaire was applied by random sampling in determined hours.This subject questionnaire was held throughout the summer months of 2010, in which the open spaces were most intensively used.Questionnaire forms included 15 questions.Investigators asked questions from the users present on the neighbourhood open space and recorded their answers.
The first 4 questions identified users profile; the following 5 questions were to determine the users' recreational habits and finally the remaining questions were to comprehend the level of users' satisfaction.Data analyses were carried out using cross tables, which enable the comparison of the variables.In line with this, a chi-square (χ 2 ) test was carried out to obtain the significance of the research data.

RESULTS
In total, 605 persons, of whom 256 were males and 349 females, participated in the survey.The user characteristics of the three times can be summarized as follows: In two times (9 to 11 a.m., 6 to 8 p.m.), female users were counted more than male users (Table 2).
For the open space studied, these percentages were 49.0, 70.7 and 52.9% for female users in 6 to 8 a.m., 9 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m., respectively.When the results from chi square (χ 2 ) correlation test were considered, statistically very significant differences were found between the genders of three times (70.7% of users of 9 to 11 a.m. were female and 49.0% in 6 to 8 a.m.; p= 0.000<0.001).
The variables of time preference and marital status are related variables.The percentages of single users who preferred 6 to 8 a.m., 9 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. are 34.3,62.8 and 44.9%, respectively.A comparison between all users shows that married users (51.2%) visit neighbourhood open space more than single users (48.8%) (Table 3 4).For the age, there were also statistically significant differences between the times (p= 0.000<0.001).
The largest number of open space users is in the 601-900 USD income group (38.0%) and 901-1200 USD      2008), utilization of recreational facilities increases as the distance between home and facilities decreases.Distance from home to open space also seems to influence the frequency of use.An individual who lived 50 m or less from an urban open space visited it 3 to 4 times weekly, but when the distance was 300 m, the number of visits reduced to an average of 2.7, and if the distance was 1000 m, visits occurred only once a week (Neuvonen et al., 2007).Location and design of public space can play a significant role in bringing people together.
Research showed that the decision to participate in neighbourhood recreation open space is dependent on the time and place.The proximity and good weather have been found to be an important attractiveness factor in one's living environment.A short distance to recreation areas was important for 76% of the users.The findings showed that people who live farther from Kalad open space visit it in afternoon (6 to 8 p.m.), but people who live closer to the open space use it in different times (Table 7).
When the participants were asked about their preferred activities in the open space, the most frequently provided response by the users were 'sitting on a bench and watching the world go by', 'walking and exercising' and 'using the playground facilities'.The 'to exercise and walk through the open space' response is mostly given by 6 to  8 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. users.The 'to meet and play with friends' response is mostly given by 9 to 11 a.m.users, which is probably because of the desire for social contact of the younger age groups (Table 8).When users were asked about how satisfied they were with their open spaces, 65.8% responded that they were satisfied to a certain degree.Attractive features of the open spaces such as pleasant landscape and visual elements, nearness to water, peaceful atmosphere were listed as the primary reasons of satisfaction by all users.57.8% of the users who responded that they were completely satisfied with the open space were visitors of 6 to 8 p.m., whereas 36.4% of the users who responded that they were completely dissatisfied were found in 9 to 11 a.m.Users complain about the poor service quality of cafes and toilets in the open space.Other areas of user dissatisfaction are detailed as inappropriate behavior of other users, lack of maintenance, safety and control.Seventy-two percent of all users, however, recommend the open space they use to other people, which propose a general degree of satisfaction.The majority of users asked for the programmed cultural activities, such as botanical gardens where special plants are introduced and a library service in the open space, respectively.

DISCUSSION
In this study, individual features of users (gender, marital status, age, education and income level) and differences among these features were attempted to be determined.The survey contains a series of questions dealing with users' needs and expectations.The urban open spaces contribute to the formation of a modern life-style as public recreational areas.Although it was expected that the open spaces are equally used by the two gender groups, according to the questionnaire results female users visit the open space in greater numbers than the male group.The preference of the young age groups for the open space can be interpreted through the availability of sports facilities and other activities.The older age groups of 46 to 65 and the 66 year and over age group seem to prefer 6 to 8 a.m. for fresh air.
About the income level of the users can be said that lower-and middle-income groups do not have many alternatives for leisure and recreation.To be able to travel to the urban periphery by car or to go to a restaurant or cafe with friends requires a certain level of income.Therefore, for lower-and middle-income group users, the most convenient and economic way to make contact with nature and enjoy leisure is to use public neighbourhood open spaces.Nature-based recreation provides an opportunity for refreshment and relaxation, both physically and mentally.Findings on the significance of trees and plants confirm other studies that have demonstrated the attraction of natural elements in leisure settings (Godbey and Blazey, 1983;Neuvonen et al., 2007;Sugiyama and Ward Thompson, 2008).However, this factor also includes an item on the interaction with other people, suggesting that it carries not only an aesthetic dimension but also a social one.Attractiveness may be of importance because it means good opportunities for social interaction with friends and neighbours, which is an important aspect of people's daily lives (Bowling et al., 2003).
The main objectives of using open space are declared as to spend time in the open space, to relax and contemplate by water and green areas, to meet and talk with friends and to get rid of the stresses of urban life which is compared with that of Oguz (2000).The fact that users mostly visit open spaces with their friends may be the result of traditional lifestyle and an indication of the collective nature of open space use in the Iranian society.This seems to be especially true for the users of the open space, which is generally preferred by young people who seem to enjoy sports and tend to accomplish so in groups.The recreational behaviors in open spaces are both related to the situation and level of service provision and individual options.
Easily available and nearby recreational areas and other facilities, as well as an aesthetic and safe environment make frequent participation in outdoor recreation (Humpel et al., 2002;Neuvonen et al., 2007), the same result was observed in the current study.But warm air temperatures in 1 to 4 p.m. correlate with decreased use of open spaces in Tehran during day.The perception of bad weather is considered as a barrier to participate in neighbourhood recreation open space.Positive association was found between the perception of bad weather and sedentary behavior in few studies (Humpel et al., 2004;Salmon et al., 2003).

Conclusions
The study adds evidence to the growing body of knowledge regarding the associations between the time and the characteristics of neighbourhood open space users.Female users visit the open space in greater numbers than the male group.According to the results, the users have an average satisfaction of the open space in general.The Kalad open space has the user satisfaction due to its well-maintained and structured natural landscape.For all of the users, the main factor for recreation is the natural landscape.The present research shows that characteristics of neighbourhood open spaces, such as distance, vegetation, pleasantness and facilities are related to participation in outdoor activity.
Access to neighbourhood open spaces is also found to be associated with people using these spaces.Neighbourhood open spaces are intended to serve residential areas within walking distance of the open space site.Access is mostly pedestrian, and open space sites should be located so that persons living within the service area will not have to cross a major arterial street to get to the site.However, facilities for children, teenagers and adults should also be provided.The range of facilities provided will generally appeal to more diverse user groups.These spaces include shade trees, picnic facilities, child play spaces, cultural activity areas, bike and pedestrian trails.Pools and recreation centers may be located on these sites.This research shows that in order to meet people's needs, neighbourhood open space planning, design and management should consider not only the recreational facility aspect of open space, but also the natural aspect of open spaces in Tehran.Findings from such studies will contribute to advancing the body of knowledge further in this area.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Location of the study area and open space.
).A relationship exists between the neighbourhood open space usage and age groups of the users.People in the age group of 19 to 45 years (31.9%) and 46 to 65 years (24.0%)use the open space the most.The 19 to 45 and 46 to 65 year age groups mostly prefer 6 to 8 a.m.The 0 to 11 year age group mostly prefers 9 to 11 a.m.The 19 to 45 year age group mostly prefers 6 to 8 p.m. (Table

Table 1 .
Characteristics of Kalad open space.

Table 2 .
Distribution of neighbourhood open space users in selected district according to gender.

Table 3 .
Distribution of users for marital status.

Table 4 .
User characteristics by age.

Table 5 .
Neighbourhood open space use and education level.

Table 6 .
Neighbourhood open space use and family income groups (Monthly).

Table 7 .
Distance between the user's home and Kalad open space.