Mehdi Saidi

Urban park planning based on the needs and preferences of women, as a key aspect of public space development, plays an important role in enhancing the quality of urban life. Women, as half of the urban population, have specific needs and demands in the use of public spaces that are often overlooked in many urban planning processes. The main objective of this study is to optimize urban park planning with an emphasis on women's needs and preferences and the application of a gender-inclusive participatory approach in the planning process. Given multiple barriers and challenges such as insecurity, poor quality of urban furniture, and lack of adequate facilities, which hinder women's widespread presence in public spaces—particularly parks—this study conducts a case analysis of Shohada Park in the city of Sanandaj. A mixed-methods approach (quantitative-qualitative) was employed to collect and analyze data using structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, spatial analysis through GIS software, statistical analysis with SPSS, and qualitative analysis with MAXQDA. The statistical population consisted of women over 20 years old residing in Sanandaj, with quantitative sampling performed through simple random sampling and qualitative sampling conducted purposively. The findings indicate that multiple factors, including security, quality of urban furniture, adequate accessibility, presence of attractive surrounding land uses, and environmental responsiveness, significantly affect women's attendance and retention in parks. Furthermore, the conducted SWOT analysis provided a basis for formulating operational strategies with a participatory approach, including measures such as creating illuminated pathways for safe movement of women during nighttime, increasing welfare and cultural facilities, and improving green spaces. The results of this study emphasize that active participation of women in the urban planning process not only enhances their safety and comfort but also promotes social interaction, space efficiency, and overall improvement of urban life quality.

Many studies and initiatives aimed at revitalizing historic areas, particularly in Iran, have primarily focused on physical and symbolic aspects, paying less attention to content, culture, and cultural values. This approach has led to the loss of cultural-historical values, wealth, and identity, the destruction of meaning and sense of place, the migration of many old residents, their replacement by the lower class, and ultimately the inefficiency of valuable areas and poor living quality. Revitalizing historic areas using a culture-based regeneration approach emphasizes preserving the continuity of historical values and making better use of cultural-identity heritage, enabling contemporary adaptation of these areas by connecting old and new physical and functional elements. Qatarchiyan neighborhood, one of the historic and identity-rich areas of Sanandaj, due to its structural features and central location, presents a suitable opportunity to become a cultural-tourist neighborhood based on a contextual urban design approach. The main aim of this research is to revitalize the valuable historical elements of Qatarchiyan neighborhood using a culture-based regeneration approach grounded in contextual urban design to preserve the authenticity and culture in the reuse of buildings and spaces. This research is of an applied and developmental nature, with data collection methods based on the study of upper-level documents, field observations, and semi-structured interviews. For the research, 22 interviews were conducted with the residents of Qatarchiyan neighborhood, adhering to the principles of inclusivity and gender equality. To ensure the accuracy of the obtained data, triangulation was used, supported by information from interviews, observations, and upper-level documents. Additionally, the research was supervised by three urban planning professors from Kurdistan University from start to finish. For data analysis, qualitative content analysis based on three-stage coding was employed. After the analyses, final sketches for the neighborhood's revitalization were presented. The findings indicated that attention to the valuable elements of the historic Qatarchiyan neighborhood and their revitalization can improve the quality of life in the area by leveraging its potentials while preserving and maintaining its identity and culture. This can, in turn, increase tourism investments, economic prosperity, and sustainable development from within. The results showed that in culture-based regeneration grounded in contextual urban design of Qatarchiyan neighborhood, factors such as cultural identity, urban regeneration, physical and environmental aspects, socio-cultural relationships, employment opportunities, environmental quality, sense of belonging, and residents' experiences were influential. Among these factors, cultural identity had the highest impact, and employment opportunities had the least impact from the perspective of Qatarchiyan residents.