The Role of Faculties’ Public Open Spaces on Students’ Place Attachment; Case Study: Faculty of Fine Arts of University of Tehran

Every year, thousands of individuals leave their houses for studying in universities and experiencing a new environment. In the course of such relocation, one of the main challenges of individuals is the lack of adaptation to the new environment. The present study has been carried out with the objective of explaining the relationship between public open spaces in the faculties and the students’ place attachment. Based on the study’s theoretical model, place attachment is an emotional, cognitive and behavioral bond between the students and the faculty. On the other hand, the faculty’s public open spaces have been defined as the resultant of the physical factors. The study’s theoretical model was subjected to test in the fine arts faculty of Tehran University using the survey research method. To gather the data, use was made of a closed-ended questionnaire. Moreover, Structural Equation Modeling was the method of choice for analyzing the answers. In the current research paper, the measurement model of students’ place attachment and the faculty’s public open spaces were seminally tested; their fit indices were subsequently evaluated and the study’s structural model was eventually examined. The study findings indicated that the public open spaces have a significant effect on the students’ attachment to place. Corresponding to the study findings, the favorability of the meeting spaces is the most important factor forming and strengthening the attachment to place in the university students. Favorable meeting spaces set the ground for interaction establishment opportunities so they can enhance the social interactions between the students that can per se effectively influence the students’ attachment to place. Therefore, according to the study results that indicated the main role of social interactions in the formation of attachment to place in the students, the designing of the faculties’ public open spaces should be conducted in such a way that it can result in face-to-face interactions amongst the students to the maximum possible extent. Furthermore, the study results indicated that the favorability of the meeting spaces significantly associated with the existence of artistic or architectural elements and suitability of the green spaces. Artistic or architectural elements play their role by the formation of a distinct and meaningful environmental personality for the students and the green spaces by creating visual fascination.