Examining the Condition and Vulnerability of Cultural- Recreational Centers and Places of Leisure (Case Study: Shahinshahr City)

Abstract

One of the important aspects of human life in urban areas is the problem of leisure time and how to spend it. Leisure spaces in cities are the most important functional areas where a person turns in his spare time in order to escape the tensions of urban life.Shahinshahr is one of the cities that its recreational and leisure spaces do not have proper conditions to meet the needs of citizens. The aim of this study is to examine the condition and vulnerability of cultural- recreational centers and the places of leisure that the municipality of Shahinshahr city created to meet the cultural and recreational needs of the citizens. The research method is descriptive – analytical and its purpose is practical. Data collection is based on survey (field study), and document. Target population includes Shahinshahr citizens. Sample size of study is 383 subjects according to Cochran formula and Cronbach's alpha values of the questionnaire for reliability is %86. Analyzing citizens’ questionnaires is done through SPSS software and the relationship between citizens’ satisfaction of cultural - recreational centers and their demographic characteristics were identified by Pearson and Spearman tests. Moreover, these centers were evaluated in terms of meeting to citizens' leisure time requirements. The results showed that cultural - recreational centers allocated to women, ranked 6th in Friedman test in terms of meeting the citizens’ leisure time needs, face more difficulties and shortages. The status of women’s cultural - recreational centers was lower than the expected by the society with the average of 2.890 (statistical value of -3.051, and significance level of 0.002).

Keywords

• leisure time
• cultural services
• shahinshahr city
• cultural space