Sustainable Development of Geographical Environment

Sustainable Development of Geographical Environment

Assessment of the Quality of Urban Pedestrian Streets with an Emphasis on Tourist Satisfaction (Case Study: Modares Street Pedestrian Zone in Kermanshah City)

Document Type : Original article

Authors
Negin Khazaei
Bijan Rahmani
Mohammad Taqi Razavian
Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.48308/sdge.2025.237672.1222
Abstract
Introduction: Walking and pedestrian movement are among the oldest and most fundamental forms of human mobility across different environments. What we see in cities today is the erasure of history and collective memory under the pretext of expanding pedestrian routes and focusing solely on pedestrians' needs — an issue that has reduced visual values and made pedestrian pathways feel lost, unsafe, and lacking in identity within urban spaces. Walking remains the most important way to observe places and activities, experience the vibrancy of life, and discover hidden attractions in the environment. This article aims to examine the impact of improving the Modarres Street pedestrian pathway in Kermanshah on urban tourism development, enhancing the quality of public spaces, and promoting urban economic sustainability by identifying key challenges ahead.
Materials and Methods: The research method is descriptive-analytical, and in terms of purpose, it is applied-practical. Data collection was conducted through documentary and field methods, utilizing library research and questionnaires to extract the desired indicators and formulate the theoretical foundations. Researcher-made questionnaires were employed to measure the research indicators within the study area.The statistical population of this study consists of tourists in the city of Kermanshah. Due to the lack of precise statistics on the number of Sanandaj tourists visiting the Modares pedestrian pathway, based on statements from Sanandaj city officials, an average of 3,500 people visit or use this pathway monthly. Accordingly, using Cochran's formula, the sample size for Modares Street was determined to be 245 individuals, with simple random sampling applied. For data analysis, a one-sample t-test was used to examine the mean dimensions of pedestrian pathway quality, and a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model was applied to rank the research components. The study area is Modares Street in Kermanshah, approximately 2.5 kilometers long, recognized as the main artery connecting the western and eastern parts of the city. Sidewalks with traditional Kurdish designs create a unique space, ranging in width from 4 to 6 meters
Results and Discussion: The overall results showed that pedestrianization is a new movement arising from new approaches to urban planning, which has been discussed in the tourism discussion in recent decades under the title of “tourist pedestrianization” and has a special place in the organization of cities. Given the location of Modares Street in the historical context of Kermanshah and the presence of important historical sites and shopping centers and its historical, cultural, social, and economic character, great attention should be paid to it and the necessary conditions should be provided for it so that it can play a more prominent role in urban tourism in Kermanshah. According to the findings, except for the accessibility and connectivity-penetration component of the Modares Street pedestrian walkway in Kermanshah (with an actual average of 3.08), the other components are in a very unfavorable situation. In other words, the average obtained in all the components in question is less than the assumed average of 3. The lowest average obtained was related to their climatic comfort component, which is equal to 2.1600. In the following, the MABAK multi-criteria decision-making model was used to rank the basic components of the quality of thesidewalk in Kermanshah.
Conclusion: The results obtained from this study indicate the inability and lack of suitable conditions for Modares Street in Kermanshah to become a successful pedestrian street. Therefore, factors for improving the quality of the sidewalk and examining the challenges on this street have been addressed in order to optimize the sidewalk. By using it and also taking help from the opinions of local people and using it in the implementation, it is hoped to achieve a successful sidewalk on Modares Street.
Keywords
Pedestrian city streets
Satisfaction
Tourism
Kermanshah
Subjects

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Sustainable Development of Geographical Environment
Volume 8, Issue 17 - Serial Number 17
Summer
Spring 2026
Pages 127-141