Browsing by Author "Kamani-Fard, Asal"

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    Perceived legibility in relation to path choice of commuters in central business district
    (2016) Paydar, Mohammad; Kamani-Fard, Asal
    Commuters are the major group of pedestrians who walk for daily transportation along the short pathways between the metro stations and their workplaces in the central business district (CBD) of Kuala Lumpur. Shorter walking times and shorter distances are significant criteria in commuter path choice; however, in the presence of multiple pathways of virtually the same length, the criteria of perceived time and perceived distance play the key role in path choice. In this regard, this study investigates perceived legibility (PL) as an alternative path choice criterion for commuters on the basis of its hypothesized correlation with perceived time. For commuters, a more legible pathway is a well-signed directional pathway, which generates a strong sense of direction toward the destinations along it. As Perceived legibility (PL) is assumed to be a positive factor for commuters' choice of path, the main question of this research is whether the highest PL is taken into account by commuters as an important path choice criterion in the case of available alternative pathways of almost the same length. In this regard, the importance of the highest PL for commuters' path choice was examined in comparison with other probable path choice criteria. In addition, the components of the highest PL were explored according to the perceptions of commuters. It was conducted in nine zones of the CBD of Kuala Lumpur. The zones were selected and finalized based on the design of the zone selection process. The collected data were processed using two consecutive survey questionnaires and an observational analysis. The highest PL showed moderate importance regarding commuter path choice. However, because of the significant correlation between PL and perceived time as well as sense of pleasance as two of the most important path choice criteria, highest PL or strongest sense of direction toward the destination is taken into account as one of the key factors for commuter path choice. Furthermore, factors such as the presence of buildings according to their height and facade, and commuters' greater ability to see their destination point while walking, were found to be components of PL. Such relationships indicate the importance of these physical and visual factors for improving the path choice and walking rates of commuters in the CBD.
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    Perceived security of women in relation to their path choice toward sustainable neighborhood in Santiago, Chile
    (2017) Paydar, Mohammad; Kamani-Fard, Asal; Etminani-Ghasrodashti, Roya
    The fear of crime and perceptions of insecurity are among the most important issues with regard to a sustainability framework, relative to crime itself, in cities with low crime rates. Santiago in Chile is a city with a moderate to low rate of crime as compared to the average amount of crime in the cities around the world, but the fear of crime and perceptions of insecurity greatly concern the residents of this city. Therefore, in general, studying Santiago residents' perceived insecurity seems to be more important than considering actual urban insecurity and its aspects in regard to achieving a more comprehensive sustainability framework for this city. Regardless of the influence of individual and social factors on perceived insecurity, the design of the built environment plays an important role in enhancing perceptions of security. In addition, women have been found to be more fearful of crime and their perceived insecurity is recognized as being a serious problem for their walking patterns in the residential neighborhoods of Santiago. On this basis, and due to the importance of the design of the built environment for generating the fear of crime and perceived insecurity, this study focuses on design elements that are related to the perceived security/insecurity of women. By studying the typology of neighborhoods based on their inclusive houses and a selection of neighborhoods with apartment blocks, the three residential neighborhoods of Villa Frei, Villa Olimpica, and Villa Portales were selected for this study. To consider the influence of environmental factors on perceived security/insecurity, the routes traversed daily by the residents were identified using 3D maps. A survey questionnaire was used to measure women's perceived sense of security/insecurity, and to learn how these attitudes influenced their daily walking patterns. The qualitative data was analyzed through context analysis, and the quantitative data was analyzed using an ordered logistic regression. Although respondents mostly declared that their neighborhood is somewhat secure, they agreed that their feeling of insecurity influences the path they choose in their daily walking activities. This finding shows the importance of women's perceived insecurity or low perceived security for their daily walking patterns. The results of the open-ended questions show that the "presence of others", in terms of stationary and dynamic surveillance, "proximity to shops, schools and parks", "open spaces", and "presence of familiar people", emerged as the most important factors for enhancing women's sense of security. Moreover, findings from ordered regression analysis indicate that among the different dimensions of built environmental factors, evidence of vitality through the arrangement of furniture, surveillance, signs of disorder and vegetation were the strongest determinant of women's perceived security. These findings indicate the need to address the perceived security/insecurity of women in residential' neighborhoods as the most important policy for improving the sustainability framework, and leading to the creation of sustainable neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.