Use of public parks in an Islamic country in transition: A case of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Middle East, including Iran, has undergone significant social changes in the past two decades. There are tensions in society between the cultural structure and the increasingly younger, educated and secular population. 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. This study investigated 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) compared with two modern parks designed in the 1970s following Western principles (Jamshidieh and Mellat in Tehran). The study used a combination of a close-ended questionnaire and site observations. Information on the respondents’ age, gender, marital status, employment, and educational level and the frequency and timing of visits were collected and analysed. The content validity of the questionnaire was checked using the Delphi method. The results showed that compared to the west, parks are used rather differently. The traditional gardens tended to be used rarely, mostly on holidays and weekends, for a couple of hours in the mornings or evenings. The more modern parks were used daily or weekly in the early mornings and – most significantly – at
night. The users also tend to be much younger, bet - ter educated and a mix of males and females. This pattern of use can be attributed to the value placed by young couples to be able to meet and date.