A Comparative Study on the Influence of Traditional and Modern form of Iranian Neighbourhood on the Presence of Women- Case Study: Imamzadeh Yahya and Davoodiyeh Neighbourhoods, Tehran, Iran

Urban neighborhoods are the most important arena in which women are heard and seen and where they have their social interactions with residents. Undoubtedly their presence has in direct relation with the urban from and qualification of the neighborhood as the smallest unit in physical hierarchy of a city. Besides the sociocultural norms, the physical aspects of this unit can influence women’s presence. In other words, the hypothesis of this research argues that the network pattern, hierarchy of space, land use, as the elements of neighborhood’s form could effect on the presence and desirability of the space. It means there is correlation between modern and traditional form of neighborhood and women’s satisfaction or their behavior. For exploring this claim, two neighborhoods in Tehran has been selected and analyzed in an analytical and comparative approach. Imamzadeh Yahya as the samples of traditional community with organic form and Davoodiyeh as a modern community with the grid from have been chosen of this comparative research. The methodology of this research has been based on questionnaire technique for recording time and period of presence in neighborhood spaces and also their individual information among the women in these two neighborhoods. In addition, observation and notation system have been utilized for surveying their behavior. The results of this research have shown that the organic form cause fear for women but the hierarchy of spaces provides a unique and private arena for them. Moreover, in this texture, women prefer to choose the shorter and direct paths while in the modern form women lost these special territories.