A Model for Identifying and Enhancing the Sense of Place and Collective Memories (Case Study: Dez river)

The lack of sense of belonging to place in urban spaces is one of the problems widely stated. There are objective and subjective factors in space that create sense of place. The combined effect of these factors create meaning for place and endow the environment with identity. This research seeks to find the relationship between the objective and subjective factors of space and the levels of sense of place. Using a qualitative-analytical method, the theoretical framework is presented through diagrams. The result of this research is a model for identifying the factors influencing sense of place and collective memory. The model divides the factors that influence sense of place into two categories: objective and subjective. Objective factors are physical criteria that create behavior settings and subjective factors are individual and collective mental images that create memorable places. Through qualitative questionnaires and field observations, these factors and the efficiency of the proposed model were evaluated at the Dez riverside. The diagrams developed in the first section of this study can be used as a framework for evaluating the characteristics of any place. Analysis of the questionnaires shows that the mills, the old bridge, and the Dez River have deep meanings for people and also a high sense of place and memory. This level of sense of place was evident in all three categories of participants (residents of Dezful, residents of Tehran who were born in Dezful, and tourists). The case study also indicates that there is a significant correlation between the level of meaning of place and level of sense of place.