Creating Open Spaces, Modification, and Improvement of Access Network: The Case of Central Area of the City of Rasht

Abstract

Open spaces and access neworks, as the most significant elements of urban space, play a critical role in every phase of earthquake diasters, from escape, refuge, relief, rescue, first aid, emegency, and temporary settlements. Urban space is defined here as the container of the average daily circuit which is composed of urban activity systems. The aggregate of the daily circuit of urban activity systems is the average of a person’s daily, weekly, or yearly routine of activities in the urban environment. In normal situations, these activities include such things as recreational activities, shopping, driving to work, going to church, walking to school, and visiting. Repetitive patterns of such activities are called urban activity patterns, examples of which are shopping patterns, home to work commuting patterns, recreational patterns, and so on. When a disaster strikes, these activities will be interrupted and urban spaces play quite different functions. Application of seismic risk mitigation strategies in dealing with urban spaces in the event of a disaster can have more tangible results in smaller scales. Areas of the cities with high risk or vulnerability such as city cores, historical sections, mountain slopes, or areas with land instability potentials are examples for sector scale application of seismic risk mitigation. One should, however, bear in mind that changing the existing fabric of a city, particularly in the dense and traditional core of the cities, to secure the safety and well-being of residents is a complicated and difficult task. Attempts should be made to make immediate and short-term modifications in such dense, built-up areas realistically and limited to the most crucial elements, i.e., those with significant positive consequences. This will ensure smooth implementation of recommendations at this level. From an urban design point of view, project scale is the lowest possible level one can deal with, with short-term and specific objectives and easy-to-implement proposals. It could be applied to the old section of the Central Business District of traditional cities where the interwoven fabric, deteriorated structures, overpopulated passages, high density of buildings, and substandard safety against earthquake and fire make them the most vulnerable sections of the cities.