Toward social sustainability: evidence from the Chaharbagh Abbasi Pedestrian Street in a historical Middle Eastern city, Iran

Abstract

Pedestrianization is a prevalent strategy, especially in urban centers, aimed at creating safer and more vibrant environments. However, there remains a conspicuous absence of studies exploring the social consequences of pedestrianization in the Middle East (ME). This research aims to bridge this gap by assessing the social impacts of pedestrianization on Chaharbagh Abbasi Pedestrian Street (ChAPS), a historical social hub of Isfahan, a city in the heart of Iran, which was revitalized from a car-oriented to a car-free street between 2017 and 2020. We focused on five independent factors: social interaction (SI), sense of belongingness (SB), sense of responsibility (SR), security (SEC), and safety (SAF). Data from 984 in-person questionnaires and online surveys were analyzed via SPSS and ArcGIS, and pre- and post-project outcomes were compared. The findings indicate an improvement in SAF, SB, and SI, a negligible change in SEC, and an unexpected decrease in SR post-pedestrianization. Specifically, SI improved for 60% of visitors and 72% of urban residents reliant on public transportation. SAF increased by 97% and 80% for city inhabitants and visitors, respectively, while SEC witnessed minimal progress of under 10% for both groups. Despite SB achieving a remarkable improvement of 93%, SR surprisingly decreased by 21.5% for those living far from ChAPS. The study aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), indicating the pedestrianization project’s contribution to social sustainability to a large extent. However, further efforts are needed to fully meet SDG sub-indicators. This study provides practical guidelines for urban planners intending to enhance social sustainability through built environmental planning at the city level in the ME.