Women's preferences and urban space: Relationship between built environment and women's presence in urban public spaces in Iran

Abstract

The role of women's preferences in creating urban spaces appears to have received less attention in research on women's studies and urban public spaces. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the significant relationship between the number of times women are present in urban spaces and their individual characteristics as well as the physical characteristics of the built environment. The methods of this research are descriptive-analytical and survey. The population was all women from Shiraz, Iran, within the age group of 15–55 years who use urban public spaces for performing optional or social activities. The results showed that in the individual dimension, there is a significant correlation between the number of times women are present in urban spaces and their marital status and age. There is also a relationship between the physical characteristics of the built environment and women's presence in urban public spaces. Among the components, women's presence in urban public spaces was most significantly related to land use and activity. Also, women's presence in urban spaces has the highest correlation with the importance of access to public parking and the choice of sitting or walking in the shade or in the sun.