Investigating the Evaluative Mental Image of Ahvaz Citizens Along Karun River (Case Study: The Enclosure Between White Bridge and Nature Bridge)

Urban space can be of great benefit to humans when it meets their expectations, making sense in the form of various environmental, social, physical, economic, and other dimensions. Evaluative images reflect the city’s effective public mental image and provide a useful picture of the perceived quality of the dominant elements of the city. The urban landscape is important because it can act as a source of satisfaction for the people or a remedy for the daily concerns of life. The reshaping of the city must be guided by a visual program, the development of which requires an awareness of how people value urban landscape and its meaning.

This study was conducted to examine Ahvaz citizens’ mental image of the elements along the banks of Karun River using evaluative criteria, such as a sense of relaxation, security, satisfaction, motivation, excitement, and popularity. This paper is an applied research project that has used quantitative and descriptive methods conducted by the recognition-evaluation method (evaluative images). The present study uses a random sampling method in which the female and male respondents are classified equally. The statistical population consists of Ahvaz citizens who were present in the area (residents and non-residents). Respondents were categorized by dividing the area into eight sections. The Cochran model was used to sample and estimate the sample size and to distribute the questionnaire. According to the results of this model, the statistical sample size is 186. The data were collected to evaluate the individuals’ mental image and the degree to which these images were desirable or not (degree of effectiveness) using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 20 Software. The questionnaire structure consists of two parts. People with the same conditions were not questioned. Therefore, the first part of the questionnaire included questions about age, gender, the number of visits to the park, the vicinity of the living space to the park, the purpose of going to the park (e.g., recreation, exercise, work, study and meeting with friends), and the time of going to the park. The second part of the questionnaire were prepared and formulated to evaluate Ahvaz citizens’ mental images of the elements along the banks of Karun River following the theoretical research foundations using the “evaluative mental images” method.

The research findings indicated that the general public agreed on the spaces’ visual attractiveness and unattractiveness. According to the evaluative attributes, Ahvaz citizens create strong positive evaluative mental images from the spaces with different functions and high environmental qualities. In contrast, low-quality spaces create poor evaluative mental images in people’s minds. A poor mental image can be created in the viewer’s mind due to low security levels, low-quality equipment, dark sidewalks, dirt and pollution, insufficient sitting spaces on the river banks to watch the river landscape, placement of the settings in solitude and existence of unknown places (i.e., inappropriate location), and finally insufficient green space in the surroundings. This leads to an unpleasant feeling of space for the citizens. However, among the elements and spaces along the banks of Karun River, the bridges, the beach restaurants, the special scenery (e.g., the botanical garden, the sculpture, and the elements), the children’s playground (due to its symbolic nature), the positive nostalgia in the viewer’s mind, the novelty of spaces and functions, and the contrast with the surrounding environment, have formed a positive mental image in the viewer’s mind.

According to studies, Ahvaz citizens’ mental image is lower than the theoretical average due to the low evaluative attributes of walking and sports paths, riverside, youth hangouts, and green spaces. In other words, these spaces have created a poor mental image in the viewer’s mind. Also, an unpleasant feeling has been created in the citizens due to low level of security and quality of facilities, lack of lighting in the walking paths, pollution, lack of sitting space in the riverside to watch the river landscape, placement of the settings in solitude and existence unknown places (inappropriate location) and finally lack of different green space structure in the surrounding. However, among the existing spaces and elements in Karun riverside, bridges, beach restaurants, spectacular landscapes (botanical gardens, statue, and element), and children playground have created a positive mental image in the viewer’s mind due to being a symbol and sign of positive memory in the viewer’s mind, and due to the novelty of the spaces and function and contradiction with the surrounding environment. According to the research findings, the attributes of each section have been lower than the average and have had poor environmental quality. Therefore, it can be said that the following measures can be useful in improving the citizens’ mental image in Karun Riverside. It can be improved by increasing the quality of the environment, enhancing the quality of sidewalks, creating navigation, increasing the social security in Karun Riverside using proper lighting. Provision of required facilities in various spaces along Karun Riverside, providing adequate sitting places, toilets, pavilions, buffet, and restaurants, and beautifying the area by eliminating the corners and blind spots is also helpful. Increasing the lighting in spaces and paths, improving the quality of green space, and applying green space in different parts and increasing the number of symbolic elements are other effective solutions.