Explanation and evaluation of environmental quality components in the architecture of the historical market of Urmia based on user perception and expert judgment

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Architecture, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran

2 Assistant professor, Department of Architecture, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.

10.48311/udd.2026.118327.82816
Abstract
Historical markets in Iran are among the most important urban-architectural spaces that play a role beyond economic function in the formation of social interactions and cultural identity. The historical market of Urmia, as one of the oldest markets in northwest Iran and the core of the city's historical fabric, has physical and spatial values. Contemporary urban developments, physical deterioration, heterogeneous interventions, and a decline in environmental security have reduced the quality of the environment and weakened the user experience; therefore, it is necessary to identify the components of environmental quality and prioritize interventions. The present study was conducted with a mixed approach with the aim of empirically evaluating the quality of the environment of the historical market of Urmia and prioritizing the components of its improvement. Data were collected from users through a questionnaire containing thirty items in six main components and examined with exploratory factor analysis. At the same time, expert judgment and the analysis method (AHP) were used to determine the relative importance of the components. The results show that the quality of the market environment from the users' perspective is at the "average to desirable" level (mean 3.02). The highest score belongs to "overall satisfaction" (3.10) and "social-perceptual" (3.05) and the lowest to "security-safety" (2.94). The AHP results also confirm the high importance of overall satisfaction (0.301), social-perceptual (0.251) and physical-architecture (0.184). Overall, the findings emphasize the need to improve physical-architecture, enhance spatial performance, and enhance security and users' perceptual experience as priority strategies.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 February 2026

  • Receive Date 15 December 2025
  • Accept Date 22 February 2026
  • First Publish Date 22 February 2026
  • Publish Date 22 February 2026