The Correlation between Public Spaces Design and City Dwellers’ Behavioral Patterns

Abstract

The current debate on urban design highlights a multi-disciplinary approach integrating spatial, cognitive and experiential perspectives. This research aims to evaluate the impact of public spaces design on city dwellers’ actions and behavioral patterns of residents in urban spaces. The framework is implemented to explore the major public spaces in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. The spaces’ users and their activities are studied using observation and phenomenology. We employed behavioral mapping techniques to follow real users’ behavior in urban locations and capture spatial decision-making patterns in real time. The study revealed a direct association between design elements and human actions. The main conclusions of the paper justify the design of public spaces and built environments that favor interpersonal relations between residents and provide social and community participation environments. The results obtained provide valuable information for urban designers in order to select the right design features that can support the intended behavior.