Sustainable urban features and their relations with environmental satisfaction in commercial

public space: an example of the Greater Bazaar of Tabriz, Iran.

Mahmood Ouria
Architect & Urban Designer, Independent Researcher.
Journal: Internal Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 2019

Review:

A viable approach towards sustainable development and sustainability has become a movement towards
ecological feasibility in maintaining and redeeming the past mistakes of the injudicious advent of advancement
and augmentation of settlements.

Mahmood Ouria, in his article ‘Sustainable urban features and their relations with environmental satisfaction in
commercial public space: an example of the Greater Bazaar of Tabriz, Iran' confronts the idea on how already
built environment can be sustainable be maintained with the help of public support and policymaking that would
strengthen the framework of the sustainable development of civic buildings.

The nineteenth-century marked the beginning of environmental deterioration issues being dealt with the concept
of sustainable development due to the rapid conversion of the natural environment for urban grounds.
Subsequently, by the twentieth century, researchers had concluded the tragic destruction of the global environment
due to resource consumption and human development. Thus, the exigency of sustainability in urban planning and
design arose which can be sufficed when every sector is in harmony with its surrounding environment and
conciliate with its every individual user.

Cities are often compared to living organs, where the sustention and survival of one organ are interconnected with
the welfare of the others. Historically, cities have been the epicenter for artistic, cultures and social achievements.
Spaces have chronically shaped human psychology, thus political ideologies and a nation's journey in
understanding the public and itself are inspired by the cities. In addition to economical support cities also manifest
human cultural achievements and guide the nation's intellectually and subjectively perceives life. Traditionally,
bazaars have been a part of urban locale for most cities across the world to which they at times or can contribute
to a more sustainable urban environment and enhance a sense of belonging. With time bazaars have not only
embodied the cultured the cites but also empowered by strengthening them. Typically, bazaars are multipurpose
areas which comprise shops that are linked together by covered public passageways. However, they not only are
the zones where monetized public exchange occurs but the architecture behind it has encircled the climatic,
cultural and social factors in account. The urban sustainability of a city can easily be comprehended by the nature
of bazaars present in it since they portray the symbiotic relationship between the creation of structures for
communities to develop their activities and the need for adaption to the territorial physical characteristics. While
evaluating the sustainability of a place, the four aspects of sustainability are always objectified and the relation
that co-exists between them is deduced.

The four dimensions of sustainability that are interpreted in urban development and public stratification to
perceive the reasons of existing sustainability and planning for preserving the sustainable urban zones in future
are environment, economy, society, and culture. Thus, to understand the sustainability of an urban zone it is very
crucial to deduce the levels of public satisfaction since ‘development follows satisfaction while sustainable
developments follow multidimensional satisfaction regarding the society, economy, and environment
simultaneously'. satisfaction with the environmental factors, besides, happiness and satisfaction also depend upon
income levels and health conditions. The tangible factors which affect the satisfaction are categorized in
environmental sub-zone of satisfaction while the intangible factors are categorized to public satisfaction. In
addition to the environment role in contributing to public satisfaction, neighborhood satisfaction also plays a vital
role in public satisfaction.

The concept of sustainable development was coined in 1992 and was finally accepted internationally while United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro started to direct for regional attempt to
abridge the consequences of hazard urban augmentations. The most intriguing question that arises with sustainable
development is ‘what is to be sustained, for how long, and who bears the cost?' ‘Or was it only bought to satisfy
the environmentalists' cultural for sustainable development.

The culture in sustainable development can be asserted in the case of the Great Bazaar of Tabriz, which has not
only held an economical post but also provided cultural importance to the city. The exceptional aspect of the Great
Bazaar of Tabriz is the economic and cultural dimensions of sustainable development inter-depending upon each
other and helping the bazaar sustain without the interference of government. Society forms the origin of economics
and culture which is regulated by social relations. Archival pieces of evidence support the importance of bazaars
in Islamic cities while Agora and Forum were crucial in Greece and Roman cities respectively. The reference to
public space was done in both Agora and Forum, but the commercial purposes were the focal point of Agora while
the political function was for Forum.

However, in Bazaar of old cities both the commercial and political functions were critical, in addition to them so
were the religious and cultural aspect which is evident the architectural styles of bazaars. The architectural style
found in bazaars favors sustainable development since they are the central infrastructure for most cities around
the world and their linkage with urban sustainability is paramount. It can be noted that most cities across the world
that favored bazaars or any of various market form that acted as common public agglomeration zones were built
keeping the same political, cultural and social intentions. The forms of each public agglomeration zone varied
from one another in their architectural style.

The Islamic cities singled out ‘functional society' where the cities were concentred over the city's transcending
economic band. The bazaars have different behavioral aspects which as a public space impacts the formation of
city and society. Since most bazaars play a very extensive role as the backbone of the city, thus the satisfaction
from them would indicate a commendable implementation of sustainable factors in the bazaars. Thereafter the
sustainability of the Great Bazaar of Tabriz is the clear-cut indicator of the levels of satisfaction the common
public has from it. Hence the methodology used to decipher the state of satisfaction was put in the form of a survey
which asked ‘Whether the bazaar's environment satisfactory for you?' The public was asked to justify their answers
on bases of reasons and then the after results were computed into 12 generalized reasons which accounted for the
publics' level of satisfaction from the bazaar. The built structures and the open spaces provided an array kind of
functional zones for the public and the city. The functional ranges oscillate from trade-related to social,
educational and religious activities. The policymakers have challenged the free market flow of the Great Bazaar
of Tabriz but failed to do so. However, if the policies could have controlled endowments policies and tax
exemption, it would have not only empowered the centuries-old commercial power and also the socio-cultural
interchange.

From the architectural perspective, the spaces and the built structures of the bazaars are beautifully intergraded to
appraise the various forms of functions of the bazaar that co-exist with the commercial identity of it. While from
the planning aspect, the Azerbaijani style of Iranian Architecture is an archetype for urban planning, since most
bazaars are often formed at the core of the city in an organic or planned system. Contrary to this, the trend used
for layout is mostly linear/cluster in shape in which the public and socio-cultural spaces are arranged utilizing
these forms. The vernacular and climatic techniques assembled while constructing this bazaar makes it a
masterpiece while providing the adequate spaces and satisfactorily meeting the needs of the citizens' requirements
and expectations.

Thus, the Great Bazaar of Tabriz is an ideal archetype for analysis of suitability because it comprises a large region
of Tabriz and also acts as a vital commercial hub at the heart of the city Tabriz. The linkage between the exchange
of good and services not only suffices the wants and the needs of the agents but also establishes the ethical and
legal foundations which strengthen the social ties, improvises the cultural relationships, trading values, and
technology as well as goods on safe and secure pathways. The different dynastical control also shaped the
dispersion of the Great Bazaar of Tabriz, thus the higher bureaucratical imprints can be sensed till to do. The Great
Bazaar of Tabriz was structured while keeping the city's climatic conditions in mind. Hence the structures provide
them with thermal heating in winters while natural air circulation movement through domes during summers
keeping the space habitable throughout the year. The availability of plenty of open spaces increases environmental
possibilities. The materials used while the construction of the Great Bazaar of Tabriz support the climatic pattern
which also helps in keeping the air of the bazaar clean too which the cars and automobiles movement is not
permitted within the bazaar thus, encouraging the free movement of pedestrians while supporting sustainability.
The results of survey expressed that the majority of the interviewee was satisfied with the bazaar's environment
and out the main reason justified 12 were picked up which oscillated from economic satisfaction to increasing
number of customers variety of economic activities, sense of belonging with the environment, participation in
celebrations, security, friendly atmosphere accessibility, walkability healthy space mixed spaces and trade union
control.

In understanding, the closure of the article is that even with already built environment certain prioritization of
policies can further enhances the sustainable aspect of a site. Thus, the sweet combination of architectural
influence with policy framework can actually develop a habitation sustainably simultaneously stimulating the
satisfactory levels of user groups.

Summitted by: Mallika Sarabhai

2018BPLN010