Explanation of the Physical Factors Influencing the Formation of Place Attachment Among Newcomers: A Case Study of Elective Urban Spaces of Isfahan

Place attachment is the emotional connection that develops between a person and thephysical environment around them. After more than forty years of research in the field ofplace attachment, the cause and effect as well as the physical factors that affect it have notbeen determined. The features and specifications of a place in both physical and socialdimensions have an influence on the development of this process. Social characteristicsaffect the continuity and strengthening of the emotional connection between the inhabitantsand the place, whereas physical characteristics affect the initial absorption and emergenceof the process of interaction between newcomers and the place. This study reviewspublications in the fields of environmental psychology, human geography, sociology andplace while identifying predictive physical factors, using surveys and questionnaires, thatis three questionnaires, and identifying Isfahan’s urban public spaces with the largestnumber of newcomers, in order to examine the physical factors affecting the attractionand reappearance of the newcomer. The results of this survey show that newcomers areattracted to a place by physical factors with an architectural dimension. However, thephysical factors with an urban dimension lead to their reappearance over time and theformation of the initial levels of attachment based on the proposed model. Based on theresults of this study the model indicates three levels of emerging attachment, attachmentover time, and complete attachment that are introduced considering the factors of timeand newcomer’s reappearance. Newcomers are attracted to the urban spaces of Isfahandue to physical factors with an architectural dimension such as color, texture, buildingfacades, scale and night light, while they are encouraged to return to the place by itsphysical attributes with urban dimensions such as flooring, furnishings, available uses,space dimensions, cleanliness and accessibility. The presence of newcomers during time,will result in the third level formation which is the emotional connection between betweenpeople and the urban space.