Viewpoints of experts about the mentality of Iranian society towards recreational spaces: Applying the theoretical model of Oldenburg's third place

Abstract

The present study aims to review the opinions of experts on the Iranian society's mentality towards recreational spaces. This is a qualitative research based on contextual theorizing, for which, 17 professors and experts in the field pf social sciences (cooperative trends and social welfare, social planning and cultural policymaking) from Tehran, Allameh Tabatabai and Kharazmi universities were interviewed and the data were analyzed using MAXQDA software. The findings indicated the existence of two central propositions about the government's welfare schemes in recreational spaces: 1) Entertainment spaces are not neutral, level, accessible and simple. 2) Iranian society wants entertainment spaces that either uncontrollable or less controllable by the government. Also, the results showed that recreational spaces can change from the environmental to entertainment purpose and shape good liesure times to the subjects that require important criticisms of values and norms from civil disobedience and misbehavior. Therefore, it is suggested to adopt strategies such as creating purposeful entertainment in public spaces, investing and taking care of spaces related to people and increasing its quality, reproducing meaning in the official media as the most accessible entertainment spaces, increasing festivals and religious carnivals, making them accessible to everyone, such as with connecting streets, and creating a platform for the needy sections of the society. With these, it is possible to strengthen the recreational spaces in the Iranian society and prevent them from becoming models of disobedience or civil disobedience.

Keywords

• welfare measures
• leisure time
• recreational spaces
• public opinion
• third place