Traditional bazaars have historically played an indispensable role in shaping the social, cultural, and economic foundations of Iranian urban life. Beyond serving as commercial corridors, they function as complex spatial, symbolic, and sociocultural systems in which everyday interactions, collective rituals, and communal identities unfold. These environments, characterized by their dense pedestrian activity and layered spatial morphology, offer a unique combination of architectural heritage and living urban dynamics. As contemporary urban challenges increasingly influence patterns of public behavior, understanding how users perceive safety within such environments has become essential. This study investigates the impact of architectural and spatial configuration on perceived security in two major Iranian bazaars—the 15 Khordad Bazaar in Tehran and the Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz—while comparing how differences in spatial structure lead to distinct user experiences.
The theoretical foundation of the study is rooted in Space Syntax, an analytical framework developed to explore how the configuration of space influences movement, visibility, and patterns of occupation. Concepts such as connectivity, integration, and choice are used to describe how individual spaces relate to the larger network and how these relationships affect user behavior. Space Syntax posits that spatial configuration is not merely a backdrop but a determinant of social encounter, pedestrian flow, and natural surveillance—all of which contribute to perceived safety. Complementing this spatial perspective, the study incorporates ideas from environmental psychology, urban morphology, and perceptual security research. These perspectives highlight that security is a multilayered phenomenon shaped by environmental cues, cognitive mapping, social presence, and lived experience. Traditional bazaars, with their strong architectural identity and continuous occupation, present an ideal context for studying this intersection of spatial form and human perception.
The research adopts a quantitative, comparative methodology with two integrated layers of analysis. The first layer involves a comprehensive spatial analysis using DepthMap, which provides computational measurements of the bazaars’ spatial networks. Indicators such as global and local integration, connectivity, and choice values are extracted to evaluate how each bazaar supports orientation, accessibility, and visibility. The second layer consists of a large-scale survey conducted among 200 participants, including both bazaar visitors and shopkeepers. The respondents evaluated perceived security across four validated dimensions—physical environment, social environment, personal experiences, and cultural factors. The survey’s high internal consistency (α = 0.93) confirms the reliability of the instrument. Statistical analyses, including Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney, ANOVA, MANOVA, Levene’s test, and Spearman correlations, were conducted to examine relationships between spatial metrics and user perceptions.
The spatial analysis revealed clear and meaningful differences between the two case studies. Tehran’s 15 Khordad Bazaar exhibited higher values in connectivity, choice, and especially global integration. These indicators reflect a spatial network that is more interconnected, more easily navigable, and more supportive of pedestrian flow. High integration typically corresponds to stronger natural surveillance, continuous movement, and more predictable spatial behavior, all of which contribute to a heightened sense of security. In contrast, the Vakil Bazaar—despite its strong historical presence and architectural coherence—displayed structural fragmentation in its spatial network. Certain segments of the bazaar seemed more isolated, with abrupt transitions and lower connectivity values. Such spatial fragmentation can reduce visibility and weaken users’ cognitive maps, potentially lowering perceived safety even in architecturally impressive environments. The comparisons demonstrated that the spatial logic of a historical environment played a decisive role in shaping contemporary user experience.
Survey results further reinforced the findings of the spatial analysis. Participants consistently evaluated the 15 Khordad bazaar as safer than the Vakil Bazaar across all four dimensions of perceived security. The overall perceived security scores in Tehran and Shiraz averaged 2.96 and 2.81, respectively. In the physical environment dimension, users rated the 15 Khordad Bazaar higher due to better lighting conditions, clearer sightlines, stronger visibility of shopfronts, and more consistent maintenance. These environmental cues help reduce uncertainty and create a more predictable and reassuring spatial experience. In the social dimension, respondents emphasized the role of user diversity, continuous pedestrian presence, and active social interactions in shaping their sense of safety. In the Tehran bazaar, more varied user profiles and higher activity levels contributed positively to perceptions of security by enhancing natural surveillance. The personal and cultural dimensions revealed that users’ prior experiences and sociocultural expectations significantly influenced their sense of comfort and psychological security. Respondents in Tehran generally described higher confidence in navigating the space, whereas users in Shiraz reported a greater sensitivity to isolated segments.
Statistical analyses underscored the importance of spatial configuration in shaping user perceptions. Integration emerged as one of the strongest predictors of perceived security, highlighting the importance of coherent and legible spatial networks. Lighting quality and social diversity also displayed strong predictive relationships, suggesting that security emerges from the interplay of environmental clarity, visibility, and social presence. These findings are in agreement with contemporary theories that describe safety as a sociospatial construct, in which physical conditions, behavioral patterns, and cultural expectations interact in complex ways. The combined influence of spatial and social factors indicates that interventions aimed at improving security in bazaars should address both structural and experiential dimensions.
Behavioral mapping provided further insight into how users occupy and interact with the spatial environment. Highly integrated areas of the 15 Khordad Bazaar exhibited significantly higher pedestrian density—approximately 28% more than comparable segments in the Vakil Bazaar. These spaces also supported longer dwell times, indicating that users felt comfortable staying, resting, or engaging in social interactions. Such areas also displayed more balanced gender ratios, suggesting that women perceive these environments as more secure. This is a notable finding, as gender-related differences in perceived safety often stem from variations in visibility, predictability, and crowd composition. In less integrated areas, however, a stronger male presence was observed, particularly in spatial segments of the Vakil Bazaar characterized by lower visibility and abrupt transitions. These behavioral findings illustrate how spatial structure influences not only movement patterns but also demographic occupation and social dynamics.
The study makes several contributions to architectural and urban design practice. First, it offers empirical evidence linking Space Syntax metrics to perceived security in traditional Iranian bazaars. This connection highlights the importance of spatial configuration as a determinant of user comfort and psychological safety. Second, the mixed-methods approach—integrating computational analysis with perceptual surveys—presents a valuable framework for assessing historic environments where direct physical interventions may be limited due to heritage preservation concerns. Third, the research identifies specific design recommendations that can improve perceived security without compromising architectural authenticity. These recommendations include maintaining visual continuity through aligned shopfronts, strategically placing landmarks such as mosques and public rest areas to enhance wayfinding and spatial orientation, improving lighting transitions between covered and open spaces, and activating key spatial nodes through cultural and commercial programming to sustain natural surveillance.
The practical implications of the study extend to urban planners, heritage managers, and policymakers responsible for maintaining and revitalizing traditional commercial environments. The findings suggest that smallscale organizational and spatial interventions—such as improved lighting, clearer signage, or the purposeful activation of underused spaces—can generate significant improvements in perceived security without requiring extensive structural modifications. Such interventions are particularly relevant for historic bazaars, where architectural conservation constraints often limit the possibility of physical restructuring. The study also emphasizes the importance of gender-sensitive planning, given the heightened sensitivity of women to spatial integration and visibility. Designing environments that enhance spatial clarity and social diversity can promote greater inclusivity and ensure that bazaars continue to serve as accessible public spaces for all user groups.
In conclusion, this study demonstrates that perceived security in traditional Iranian bazaars emerges from a complex interplay between spatial configuration, environmental quality, and social dynamics. The comparative analysis of Tehran’s 15 Khordad Bazaar and Shiraz’s Vakil Bazaar reveals that spatial integration, connectivity, and visibility are strong determinants of how safe users feel. While the Vakil Bazaar possesses substantial historical and architectural value, its spatial segmentation creates perceptual challenges that affect user comfort. In contrast, the more integrated spatial network of the 15 Khordad Bazaar fosters stronger natural surveillance, higher pedestrian activity, and more balanced social occupation—all of which contribute to a stronger sense of safety. By integrating spatial analysis with perceptual surveys, this study offers a comprehensive and replicable model for assessing security in historic commercial environments. Ultimately, enhancing the sociospatial qualities of these urban spaces can support their continued vitality, cultural relevance, and long-term sustainability in contemporary Iranian cities.