Extended Abstract
Background and Objectives: As urban populations increase and cities tackle with environmental crises and instabilities, achieving sustainable urban development hinges on understanding and promoting a sustainable physical city layout. The concept of the compact city has drawn significant attention and support. However, in our country, traditional patterns embedded in comprehensive urban plans, along with influences from current urban management, have led to the horizontal expansion of cities, resulting in a scattered urban pattern. Addressing the numerous challenges cities face may necessitate transitioning towards denser urban environments. The “positioning” process plays a crucial role for companies, enabling them to select a strategic market position and enhance their brand’s success.
Methods: The current study adopts an applied approach in terms of its purpose and utilizes a descriptive-analytical method. Regarding the study’s nature, data was collected by means of survey method using a questionnaire. To ensure the questionnaire’s validity, it underwent scrutiny by professors and experts, due to the absence of prior research in this area. Additionally, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was employed to assess questionnaire reliability, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.723 for high-rise apartments and 0.782 for houses, indicating high reliability of the questionnaire. The study’s statistical population comprises residents of high-rise towers in Ardabil (District 2) who have previously resided in houses or apartments, as well as house residents who have previously lived in high-rise towers. Snowball sampling was employed to determine the sample size. The research questionnaires consist of two parts: the first part pertains to personal characteristics such as age, marital status, gender, income, occupation, and education, while the second part focuses on research variables, including brand image and loyalty, cultural and social factors, security, economic aspects, infrastructure facilities, open spaces, spatial identity, physical characteristics, lighting and ventilation, management and maintenance, landscape, and transportation access for high-rise buildings and houses. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software, employing one-sample t-statistical methods and a Pearson correlation coefficient. Perceptual mapping was employed to depict the brand positioning of high-rise complexes and low-rise apartments from residents’ perspectives, aiming to address the research question.
Findings: According to the findings, houses and low-rise apartments are positioned favorably in terms of image and housing brand compared to high-rise towers, as indicated by perceptual maps. However, satisfaction with high-rise towers is ideal in comparison to houses and low-rise apartments on perceptual maps. The one-sample t-test results indicate that the significance level for most variables is below 0.05, leading to the confirmation of the alternative hypothesis (H1) at a confidence level of 95%. This confirms a significant relationship between the average rank of residents’ perspectives and housing pattern dimensions. Consequently, an obvious difference exists between residents’ perceptions of brand positioning for houses and low-rise apartments against high-rise residential towers, with the former showing better image and brand loyalty. Additionally, Pearson correlation tests reveal a positive and significant correlation between image and brand loyalty variables, as well as housing satisfaction with individual characteristics such as marital status, income, occupation, age, and education. However, no significant negative correlation was found between image and loyalty with regards to gender. The results indicate a significant relationship between image variables, brand loyalty, and satisfaction with individual characteristics at a 95% confidence level, with significance levels of 000, 0.001, 000, 0.001, 0.003, and 0.001 for gender, marriage, income, job, age and education respectively, and with respective correlation coefficients of 0.46, 0.605, 0.337 0.250, 0.652 0.561.
Conclusion: Peripheral and horizontal urban development not only leads to the reduction of agricultural lands surrounding cities but also gives rise to various other significant issues. These include rising costs associated with urban infrastructure creation and maintenance, intensifying congestion and traffic, and increasing the length and frequency of commutes. In response to the negative effects of urban over-expansion, which have economic, social, and environmental consequences, new approaches to urban development planning have emerged since the 1990s. These methods, inspired by the principles of sustainable urban development introduced in the 1970s, advocate for mixed land use development, prioritization of public transportation-centered development, and intra-city sustainable development initiatives, saving widespread support. Recent census data from 1976 to 2006 indicates that Ardabil city has experienced horizontal expansion over the years, resulting in the loss of agricultural lands and inadequate services in suburban areas. This underscores issues of spatial injustice and suboptimal land use distribution in certain areas. The research suggests that by promoting the branding of high-rise residential towers and apartments, cities can curb horizontal expansion and promote vertical development. Interestingly, residents perceive houses more favorably than high-rise residential towers. Utilizing effective advertising campaigns can potentially alter citizens’ perceptions of tall buildings, facilitating urban development while minimizing the need for further horizontal expansion.