Geography and Urban Research

The Role of Environmental Psychology in Enhancing the Livability of Deteriorated Urban Fabrics Case Study: The Deteriorated Fabric of Rafsanjan City

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Fatemeh Bagheri

a. Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art, Architecture, and Urban Planning, University of Islamic Azad, Kerman, Kerman, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22130/gur.2025.2052450.1013
Abstract
Environmental psychology, as a branch of psychology and a subset of the behavioral sciences, studies human behaviors in relation to deteriorated urban settlements or the physical environment, as well as the environmental capacities and needs and the mutual relationship between humans and the environment. Since deteriorated fabrics face economic, physical, environmental, and other problems, paying attention to the issue of livability and its standards is effective in reducing the mentioned problems and improving the quality of life and the efficiency of urban management.The present study has been conducted with the aim of examining the role of environmental psychology in enhancing the livability of urban spaces in the city of Rafsanjan. This research, in terms of method, is descriptive–analytical, and in terms of purpose, is applied. The questionnaire was distributed among 80 people using simple random sampling, and four factors influencing the livability of Rafsanjan were examined. The DEMATEL method was used for data analysis.
The results showed that the factors that have a better condition within the deteriorated fabric of Rafsanjan are those that have greater importance. Accordingly, based on the research results, in this study, the indicators of residents’ willingness to live in the deteriorated fabric, the level of social corruption in deteriorated areas, the sense of place attachment, residents’ satisfaction with the facilities and amenities of the deteriorated fabric, the economic value and cost-effectiveness of the fabric, accessibility to public services and urban infrastructure, income-generating opportunities through tourism attractions, private sector willingness to invest in the fabric, air quality, households with access to standard sewage systems, quality of surface water collection, tranquility and absence of noise pollution, building compactness and small-scale structure in the fabric, population density in deteriorated areas, and permeability have the greatest influence on improving the livability of the deteriorated fabric.

Keywords

Environmental Psychology
Livability
Livability Indicators
Deteriorated Fabric
Rafsanjan city
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Geography and Urban Research
Volume 2, Issue 2
Summer 2025
Pages 73-85

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