A Comparative Study on the Landscape Memorability of two Urban Public Spaces emphasizing tourism Naghsh-e-Jahan and Shahrdari Squares

Urban public spaces have a very important role in our cities. Especially, considering the presence of tourists in that spaces, they also have a revenue-generating role in addition to the role of identity for a community so the need to pay attention to them, is clear. Each urban space has a different and unique effect on people according to its elements and characteristics, which is mainly a mental matter. In fact, it can be said that the memorable components of urban space vary in different examples. In this study, the main purpose is to investigate the memorable urban public space components on the minds of the tourists. In this regard, urban public space components were studied in three categories: physical, non-physical and activity indicators. Regarding the issue of memorability, the research method is mixed in nature and in terms of purpose, it is a combination of survey and field studies. Two case studies of Naghsh-e-Jahan Square in Isfahan and Shahrdari square in Rasht are analyzed and compared. The findings indicate that in general, the Shahrdari square, with a small difference, is more memorable than the Naghsh-e-Jahan square. Pearson correlation test results showed that a significant relationship is between the memorability of the totality of landscape components and total tourist attraction. Prioritization of the public space landscape components in terms of their memorability in the two squares is different, however, based on the aggregation of findings and their commons in both squares, it can be noted that buildings and retail activities are the most memorable in the tourists’ minds. Other factors, such as sensory stimuli including scents, sounds, and the presence of water, as well as social interactions, are next in terms of memorability. positive and significant relationship was not observed between the richness of the landscape and its memorability.