Indefensible urban spaces and violence (Study on indefensible urban spaces of Tehran city)

Abstract

Many factors have effect in the process of forming and happening violent behaviors. Most important of them are indefensible and violence-oriented spaces (sites and spheres). Indefensible spaces have many characteristics that differentiated in two categories: physical and social. From point of view of urban designers and architects, physical characteristics and from view of sociology and psychology scientists, social characteristics play role in disposing spaces in happening violence. Present article is prepared based on findings of a qualitative research conducted through an observation technique using 12 indefensible spaces selected within 108 indefensible spaces in the city of Tehran as units of observation. Observation conducted in 9 month period of time. This 12 general urban spaces concluded: thievery (hejrat boulevard, atabak street, valiasr park), affraying (asadabadi street, bahar street beside, valiasr cross), contention (moghaddam square, abouzar square, 22th bahman park), bag robbery (seyyed khandan bridge, shariati park, khaje abdollah ansari street). Results indicate that existing of proper light and lack of building density are characteristics that separate spaces with robbery from other spaces. Lack of relation bond between visible spaces, bouffant and sunken point in city, having obvious bound and confine and low building are characteristics that separate spaces with contention from other spaces. Sequence and tension separate affray spaces from other spaces.

Keywords

• space
• indefensible space
• urban space
• indefensible urban space
• violence.