A comparison of spatial qualities in megamalls from users’ point of view; case studies: “City center” and “Arg-e Jahan Nama” in Isfahan metropolis

Megamalls are widely spreading as a new phenomenon in the form of mega-projects in Iranian metropolises. The procedural aspect of these projects receives heavy criticism from urban planning literature, mainly emphasizing the origins of this kind of development, the effects caused by it, and the reasons for its success and failure in the procedural aspect. What is generally neglected among the recent studies is the less focus on the content aspect of the mega projects. Admitting the criticism towards the procedural aspect of megamalls while considering that many citizens cover their needs at various levels by using the services presented by this kind of projects, the necessity of evaluating the content aspect of megamalls becomes clear.

This paper aims to evaluate the spatial quality variables of the content aspect of megamalls in two case studies of “Arge-e Jahan Nama”and “City center” in Isfahan metropolis to determine the factors and variables leading to the success or failure of these projects in the aspect as mentioned above. In order to do so, 20 variables of public spaceschr('39') spatial quality were evaluated using questionnaires (five-level Likert spectrum) from 120 users in each megamall (240 people overall). The data derived from the questionnaire have been analyzed using the F’ANP model. Using the F’ANP model, the relational importance of the variables is calculated.

The model results show different relational importance coefficients for each variable in each case based on the context. In both cases, social interaction is the most important indicator. Then, the security and the activity variation are in second place for city center megamall and Arg-e-Jahan Nama, respectively. The findings of this paper show importance of different factors, respectively: “megamall user comfort”, “vitality of the megamall,” “legibility and accessibility of megamall spaces”, “environmental facilities”, and “social interactions”. The five variables gaining the highest satisfaction scores from the users of the successful megaproject (city center) are: “the possibility of social interaction in megamall’s space”, “security of megamall and its peripheral area”, “sense of belonging towards the megamall”, “diversity of activities in megamall” and “safety of the megamall ad its peripheral areas”. The low scores of the same variables in Arg-e Jahan Nama can be perceived as factors leading to its failure from users’ point of view.

Finally, the paper suggests some architectural and urban design interventions to transform “Arg-e-Jahan Nama” into a successful mega project. Focusing on those indicators that make the “city center” megamall a successful project and emphasizing the indicators that significantly impact the environmental quality of “Arg-e-Jahan Nama” underpin the interventions.