Journal of Urban Studies on Space and Place

Abstract Extended Abstract
Introduction
The integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), and the Internet of Things (IoT) into entrepreneurship has transformed industries worldwide, particularly tourism. In Iran, the creative tourism sector—encompassing cultural, heritage, and experiential tourism—holds significant potential for economic growth and job creation. Despite Iran's rich cultural heritage and diverse tourism assets, the sector remains underdeveloped due to limited adoption of advanced technologies, inadequate technological infrastructure, restricted access to financial resources, and insufficient entrepreneurial skills among stakeholders. According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (2019), Iran ranks low in information and communication technology (ICT) readiness and innovation capacity. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the need for digital transformation, as Iran lagged in adopting virtual and hybrid tourism models, leading to significant economic losses (UNWTO, 2021). The creative tourism sector in Iran faces the challenge of preserving cultural authenticity while embracing innovation. Technologies like AI, AR/VR, and blockchain offer opportunities to enhance visitor experiences through immersive storytelling and personalized services, but risk commodifying cultural heritage if not managed carefully (Richards & Wilson, 2007). Key barriers include a weak digital infrastructure (Iran ranks 89/193 in ICT development, ITU, 2021), limited startup ecosystems, and insufficient stakeholder collaboration. Addressing these requires investment in digital infrastructure, fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems, and developing policies that balance innovation with cultural integrity. This study aims to develop a technology-driven model for cultural entrepreneurship in Iran's creative tourism sector to bridge theoretical and practical gaps, enhancing value creation and sustainability.
Methodology
The study employs an exploratory-applied design with a sequential mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative phases. The qualitative phase used inductive content analysis and grounded theory, involving semi-structured interviews with 18 cultural tourism experts (academics, entrepreneurs, and policy specialists) selected via purposive sampling until theoretical saturation. Participants had at least five years of experience and verifiable contributions in entrepreneurship, cultural studies, or policy development. Interviews followed a "broadening-converging" pattern: eight for exploration, five for category development, and five for confirmation. Data saturation was assessed through code saturation ( 0.62, Cronbach's α > 0.7), analyzed with SPSS 26 and AMOS 24 to test a structural equation model. The mixed-methods approach ensured qualitative insights informed the quantitative instrument, providing a robust framework for model development and validation.
Findings: Qualitative analysis identified 34 categories across four dimensions:
1.         Entrepreneurial Dynamics: Cultural entrepreneurs exhibit traits like creative perseverance, cultural intelligence, and risk acceptance, with performance driven by financial satisfaction and self-actualization. Cultural action involves empathy and adaptation to cultural needs.
2.         Cultural Entrepreneurship Requirements: These include cultural awareness, intercultural competence, networking, and proficiency in technologies like AI, AR/VR, blockchain, and IoT, emphasizing the need for cultural sensitivity and technological skills.
3.         Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenges: Barriers include economic issues (e.g., financial instability), political constraints (e.g., sanctions), technological limitations (e.g., digital divide), socio-cultural risks (e.g., cultural commodification), and technical obstacles (e.g., bureaucracy).
4.         Cultural Entrepreneurship Outcomes: Outcomes include internationalization (e.g., cultural exports), sustainable development, creative tourism (e.g., innovative products), creative entrepreneurship (e.g., business clusters), and social capital (e.g., community trust).
Quantitative analysis validated the model (CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.06), showing significant relationships between requirements (β = 0.18), challenges (β = 0.48), and outcomes (β = 0.86). Technology adoption was a key driver of success, with challenges significantly influencing the entrepreneurial process.
Discussion and Conclusion
The study provides a framework for advancing cultural entrepreneurship in Iran's creative tourism sector, aligning with global digital transformation trends (UNESCO, 2021). By integrating AI, AR/VR, blockchain, and IoT with cultural entrepreneurship principles, the model enhances value creation while addressing systemic barriers. Cultural entrepreneurs, characterized by creative perseverance and cultural intelligence (Hofstede, 2011), can leverage Iran's heritage for global competitiveness, transforming cultural assets into commercial value (Ratten, 2020) while tolerating ambiguity (Begley & Boyd, 1987). Digital platforms like AI-driven recommendation systems and social media are critical for navigating challenges (Gretzel et al., 2015), but cultural authenticity must be preserved to avoid commodification (Towse, 2010). Operational requirements (e.g., networking, intellectual property protection) align with global best practices (Porter, 1998), while cultural requirements like intercultural competence (Byram, 1997) support international engagement. Outcomes—internationalization, sustainable development, creative tourism, creative entrepreneurship, and social capital—offer economic and social benefits. Internationalization through cultural exports (Nye, 2004) creates opportunities, while sustainable development aligns with the triple bottom line (Elkington, 1997). Creative tourism fosters innovative products and creative cities (Richards & Raymond, 2000), and social capital strengthens community resilience (Putnam, 2000). Quantitative validation confirms the model's robustness (Hair et al., 2019), with technology adoption as a key predictor of success (Sigala, 2020). Practical implications include policy interventions for digital infrastructure and cultural-commercial training (Bridgstock, 2013). Limitations include the study's Iran-specific focus, limiting generalizability (Tsui, 2007), and the rapid evolution of technologies, requiring ongoing research (Buhalis, 2020). Future studies should explore blockchain for intellectual property protection (Kaminska & Borzemski, 2020), AR/VR's impact on cultural experiences (Guttentag, 2010), and platform economics (Srnicek, 2017). The framework bridges gaps in cultural entrepreneurship literature, justifying investments in technology-driven innovation for economic growth, cultural preservation, and social innovation in Iran's creative tourism sector.
 

Abstract Introduction
Since the final decades of the twentieth century, a growing critique of car-dominated transportation systems has led to an epistemological shift in the humanities and social sciences, widely referred to as the mobility turn. Also known as the new mobilities paradigm, this theoretical reorientation challenges the static, functionalist understandings that have traditionally shaped urban mobility research. Instead, it emphasizes the dynamic, relational, and meaning-laden dimensions of mobility. Urban mobility is understood not merely as the act of transporting people from one location to another, but as a socio-cultural, political, and affective meaningful practice deeply embedded in individuals' lived experiences.
Against this backdrop, the present study critically reviews the existing literature on urban cycling lived experiences from a phenomenological perspective. It aims to synthesize fragmented research, reveal conceptual gaps, and propose a unified research agenda for future inquiry. The central proposition is that urban cycling should not be examined solely through functionalist or positivist lenses—as is often the case in conventional transport studies—but as a complex, embodied, and socially situated phenomenon that can be better understood through phenomenological inquiry into lived experience.
Methodology
To establish a robust conceptual foundation, the paper introduces Van Manen’s lifeworld existentials—lived space, lived body, lived time, and lived human relations—as an integrated framework for understanding lived experiences of urban cycling. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review, the paper argues that current research lacks a coherent conceptual model capable of accounting for the multidimensional, situated nature of cycling practice as a lived experience. While various studies engage with aspects of cycling experiences, they tend to selectively draw on disparate sociological or anthropological theories without offering a unified framework that can be generalized across contexts.
Through this lifeworld-based conceptual lens, the study rearticulates key research questions that examine how cyclists experience and interpret space, navigate social interactions, embody mobility, and make sense of temporality as they move through urban landscapes. These questions are designed to uncover the nuanced interplay between urban form, bodily engagement, emotional responses, and socio-cultural norms that shape the experience of urban cycling. In doing so, the paper foregrounds a view of cyclists not merely as users of infrastructure but as active agents whose movements and perceptions are co-constituted by their embodied presence in place.
Methodologically, the paper emphasizes the importance of adopting qualitative, immersive research strategies that are attuned to the experiential, affective, and sensory dimensions of mobility. In particular, it advocates integrating methods such as ethnography, autoethnography, photo-elicitation, narrative inquiry, and mobile interviews, which enable researchers to explore how meaning is constructed through embodied practice. The paper also highlights the value of innovative and participatory approaches, such as video analysis, mapping exercises, and creative storytelling, in capturing the tacit, subjective, and multilayered realities of urban cycling.
Conclusion
The review is based on an analysis of studies selected from major academic databases, all of which focus on the lived experiences of urban cycling from a phenomenological standpoint. Each study analyzes the lifeworld dimensions, revealing patterns in how space, body, time, and social relations influence cyclists’ experiences. Findings suggest that different urban contexts and social backgrounds significantly shape how cyclists perceive and negotiate these dimensions.
In conclusion, this study underscores the need for a paradigm shift in urban mobility research. Rather than focusing on normative prescriptions or purely functional concerns, researchers must engage with the experiential realities of mobility and the situated meanings that arise through embodied practice. The lifeworld framework offers a promising pathway to explore the holistic, intersubjective, and embodied aspects of urban cycling. It allows for a richer, more empathetic understanding of how people move through and make sense of urban environments on two wheels.
The proposed research agenda outlines both theoretical and methodological imperatives for future studies in this field. This research calls for deeper engagement with interpretivist epistemologies, cross-contextual and comparative studies, and greater attention to the material, social, cultural, affective, and emotional intricacies of cycling practice as a way of urban life. By centering the lived experiences of cyclists, this approach has the potential to inform more responsive, inclusive, and human-centered policies and designs in urban planning and mobility policy, ultimately contributing to the creation of more sustainable and equitable urban mobility.

Abstract  
Introduction
Background and Problem Statement: The concepts of sense of place and attachment to place are two main pillars of research on the emotional connection of humans to the physical and social environment and are of fundamental importance in fields such as environmental psychology and urban planning. However, in the research literature, a conceptual ambiguity and extensive semantic overlap between these two key terms are observed, such that many empirical studies use these concepts synonymously and provide no precise explanation of the theoretical and methodological boundaries. This scientific confusion has not only prevented the development of accurate theoretical models but also challenged the methodological accuracy in the selection of measurement tools and the accumulation of knowledge.
Research Objective: The main objective of this research is to develop a clear analytical framework through a systematic review to identify the differences, similarities, and trends in these two key concepts and, by removing existing ambiguity, enhance the strength and accuracy of the theoretical foundations of future research.
Theoretical Framework
This research is situated within the theoretical frameworks of environmental psychology and humanistic geography, which emphasize the interaction and triadic nexus among the individual, mental processes (emotions and meaning), and the physical environment. Ontologically, “sense of place” is rooted in phenomenological and subjective perspectives that focus on individual and collective meaning-making of the environment. In contrast, “place attachment” is often shaped by affective-identity theories and emphasizes the behavioral, emotional, and more observable dimensions of this nexus. The theoretical framework of this study focuses on a comparative analysis of four key dimensions to explore in depth the distinctions: 1. nature and definition (subjective versus objective), 2. constitutive components (such as identity and affiliation), 3. measurability (direct and global measurement), and 4. temporal dimension of formation (short-term versus long-term).
Methodology
Research approach: This study adopted a domain review approach to comprehensively and structurally map existing knowledge and highlight key distinctions. This method ensures the validity and transparency of the review process by following the PRISMA standards.
Collection and analysis process: An initial search using Web Viewer and Publish or Parish software in Google Scholar led to the identification of approximately 500 relevant articles. After a screening phase based on title and abstract, and an assessment of article quality, 36 articles that directly compared and conceptually distinguished these two constructs were selected for in-depth qualitative content analysis. This process enabled an objective synthesis of knowledge and the mapping of research trends.
Discussion and Findings
A content analysis of the 36 selected articles revealed significant substantive differences in the four dimensions of the theoretical framework:
Differences in nature and definition:
Sense of place is an abstract, phenomenological, multidimensional, and subjective construct that, due to its qualitative nature, lacks a universal definition and a direct, unified measurement tool. Sense of place is often presented as a prerequisite or context for attachment.
Place attachment is more objective, tangible, and positive. This construct has relatively more consistent definitions and has specific, measurable dimensions (such as place identity and place attachment).
Measurability and research trends:
Due to its more precise definition and higher measurability through standardized instruments (such as attachment scales), place attachment has become more popular in empirical research. Research trends indicate that since 2016, scientific attention to place attachment has increasingly surpassed that of person attachment.
Temporal dimension:
“Sense of place” can be formed more quickly and immediately upon exposure, but “place attachment” is an emotional bond that often develops in a deeper and longer process and requires a history of interaction with the place.
Conclusion
Structured review and implications: The results of this systematic review emphasize the need for careful and distinct use of the terms “sense of place” and “place attachment” in future research. Their fundamental distinctions in terms of nature (subjective versus objective), measurability, and temporal dimension suggest that their interchangeability can undermine the validity of findings and the power of theorizing. By clarifying this conceptual gap and providing a coherent analytical framework, this study serves as a valuable methodological guide for researchers. This framework can help to avoid contradictory results and strengthen the theoretical foundations in all future studies related to the human-place connection.

Abstract Introduction
In contemporary times, urban spaces function not only as physical environments but also as interactive and informal learning settings that play a significant role in children's socialization. Among the most influential components of these spaces are murals, sculptures, visual symbols, and other urban elements, all of which carry substantial cultural, educational, and identity-based significance. These visual representations can convey both overt and implicit social messages that shape children's understanding of fundamental concepts such as gender roles, personal identity, and their place within society.
Theoretical framework
Given that preschool-aged children are in a critical developmental period for the formation of self-concept and social identity, the way gender is represented in public spaces can significantly affect their perceptions, emotions, and interpersonal relationships. While extensive scholarly attention has been devoted to the role of family, media, and educational institutions in the construction of gender identity, the influence of public spaces and urban visual elements—particularly murals and pictorial representations—has received considerably less empirical focus. This study, therefore, addresses the central question: How do children perceive and interpret gender representations in urban spaces? And further, how do these perceptions contribute to either reinforcing or disrupting the development of their gender identity?
Accordingly, the primary aim of this research is to explore the lived experiences and interpretations of children aged 4 to 6 regarding public urban environments, with a focus on murals and other visual elements, and to analyze how these representations shape the formation, reinforcement, or transformation of their gender identity. The study specifically seeks to identify supportive (developmentally beneficial) and harmful (psychosocially detrimental) themes embedded in the visual landscape of urban environments from the perspective of young children.
Methodology
This research employed a qualitative methodology grounded in descriptive phenomenology, a foundational approach in qualitative inquiry that aims to capture and interpret individuals' lived experiences of a specific phenomenon. In this study, the objective was to achieve a deep, multi-layered understanding of children’s experiences and interpretations of gender representations in urban visual culture. The study population consisted of preschool children (ages 4-6) residing in Mashhad, Iran. Participants were selected through purposeful sampling, with attention to diversity in gender, social background, and cultural context. A total of 21 children (10 girls and 11 boys) with adequate verbal and social interaction skills were included.
Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, carefully tailored to the children's developmental levels. Interviews were facilitated using visual prompts—real-world examples of murals, sculptures, and urban imagery—to stimulate discussion. The children were encouraged to describe and reflect on what they saw, how they felt about it, and what meanings they assigned to the images. The interview questions were simplified and developmentally appropriate to elicit genuine expressions of subjective experience. The data were analysed using Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method, which allows for the extraction of significant statements, formulation of meanings, and clustering of themes. Emphasis was placed on accuracy, coherence, and faithful representation of participants’ lived experiences.
Result and discussion
The analysis revealed that urban murals and visual elements significantly influence children’s perceptions of gender roles. The findings fell into two overarching categories: supportive themes and harmful themes.
1. Supportive and Enabling Themes:
Non-stereotypical representations: Children exposed to diverse, non-traditional portrayals of gender (e.g., girls engaged in technical activities or boys caring for others) demonstrated a more flexible and creative understanding of gender roles.
Enhanced self-esteem and gendered self-efficacy: Children who encountered empowering images of characters from their own gender reported greater feelings of self-worth, competence, and social inclusion.
Social development and acceptance of difference: The presence of diverse gender representations contributed to more inclusive attitudes, enabling children to become more accepting of non-conforming or unconventional gender expressions.
2. Harmful and Inhibiting Themes:
Reinforcement of gender stereotypes: In environments dominated by highly traditional representations (e.g., girls as nurses, boys as heroes), children showed a strong tendency to reproduce gender stereotypes and restrict their own aspirations accordingly.
Devaluation of gender diversity: Some children reacted to non-traditional images with dismissiveness, ridicule, or aversion, indicating the early internalization of discriminatory or exclusionary attitudes.
Premature sexualisation: In some instances, visual elements focused on body image or beauty ideals led to surface-level gender identification and increased anxiety about physical appearance.
Cognitive dissonance and identity conflict: When children's personal experiences clashed with the gender messages in public visuals, they experienced confusion, anxiety, and internal conflict regarding their gender identity.
Conclusion
The findings of this study suggest that urban murals and visual elements function as a double-edged sword in the formation of children's gender identity. When thoughtfully designed with developmental sensitivity and cultural inclusivity, these elements can serve as powerful cultural and educational tools, promoting a healthy gender identity, boosting self-esteem, and expanding children’s understanding of gender roles. Conversely, inconsistent, stereotypical, or insensitive representations in public visual culture can reproduce harmful gender norms, devalue diversity, and undermine individual identity development. This highlights the urgent need for a critical reassessment of how gender is represented in public urban spaces.
Accordingly, urban planners, environmental graphic designers, and cultural and educational institutions must adopt a more intentional, gender-sensitive approach to designing public spaces. The use of visual symbols that reflect gender diversity, equality, and mutual respect not only improves the quality of the urban environment but also plays a crucial role in cultivating a generation of children with a healthier, fairer, and more humanistic understanding of gender. It is recommended that future research further investigate the roles of other environmental factors, such as playgrounds, urban advertisements, and architectural design, in either reinforcing or disrupting gender identity development, to inform more integrated, child-centered urban policy strategies.

Abstract  
Extended Abstract
Introduction
The trend of apartment living, as one of the consequences of contemporary urban development, while responding to the quantitative demand for housing, has led to challenges in the spatial, social, environmental, and spiritual dimensions of residential life in Iranian cities. Trends are patterns of change in things important to the observer that occur over time. In today's macro society, trends such as urbanization, cyberspace and the Internet, economic vulnerability, war, generational gaps, changing beliefs and convictions, environmental issues, etc., have affected the development of contemporary cities and are pushing the city towards an uncertain future. A trend is a phenomenon that repeats itself over a short period of time with a tendency and logic; in other words, it is a change or development towards something new and different. In other words, a trend shows that a social issue or a specific concept tends toward a position, and this tendency has persisted at a given point in time. This issue has become so worrying that it requires examination, foresight, and preparation to address.
Methodology
This article examines the dimensions and consequences of apartment living in contemporary Iranian cities through the lens of "Islamic Realism." The research's conceptual framework is based on four dimensions of rights—divine rights, rights of the self, rights of other human beings, and rights of environmental creation—derived from Islamic teachings on humanity, dignity, and habitation. The research methodology is founded on a descriptive, analytical, and comparative approach. Data were collected through document analysis, a review of Islamic texts and academic sources, and a comparative evaluation between traditional houses and contemporary apartment units.
Research Findings
In this study, alongside a review of theoretical literature and clarification of the features of the Islamic-Iranian housing model, the apartment-living trend in Iran has been analyzed. Using assessment tables, the differences and deficiencies of apartment buildings compared to traditional houses and Islamic values have been examined. The findings indicate that contemporary apartment living in Iran generally lacks compatibility with Islamic principles of living and suffers from significant weaknesses in privacy, neighborhood interactions, spatial justice, and the physical–spiritual integrity of the dwelling.
The trend of apartment living in Iran, especially in recent decades, although it has been a response to population needs and land limitations in cities, from the perspective of Islamic realism, it faces serious challenges in the field of observing the four rights (divine right, right of self, right of other human beings, and right to create the environment). An examination of the physical, functional, socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions of this phenomenon shows that many of the values ​​and principles inherent in the Islamic-Iranian residential model have been ignored during the construction and development of apartments. From the perspective of divine rights, the elimination of worship spaces, the deprivation of presence in spiritual spaces, and the inability to observe some religious rituals in many apartment complexes are evidence of the distance of today's residential model from Islamic values. On the other hand, examining the rights of the self and other human beings indicates that the closed, inefficient, and inflexible structure of apartment spaces is a serious obstacle to the protection of privacy, psychological security, comfort, and healthy human interactions.
Conclusion
Furthermore, from an environmental perspective, the trend of apartment living in Iran has challenged many aspects of the rights of creation by creating disproportionate densities, reducing green space per capita, excessive energy consumption, and threatening natural resources. A comparison between the characteristics of traditional houses and current apartments shows that traditional houses have been more successful in providing these rights, despite technological limitations. Finally, a review of urban policy and planning approaches focusing on the principles of Islamic realism seems necessary. Reviving indigenous patterns of residence, attending to the diversity of human needs, strengthening social bonds, and redesigning residential spaces grounded in spatial justice and human dignity can pave the way for sustainable urban development rooted in Islamic-Iranian values. In conclusion, recommendations are presented to reform the path of residential development in Iranian cities, based on revisions to design regulations, strengthening local institutions, and promoting the Islamic-Iranian culture of habitation. This approach can lay the groundwork for a human-centered, justice-oriented, and environmentally balanced urban model within the framework of Islamic Realism.

Abstract Introduction
The global population aging, particularly in developing countries, has emerged as a significant urban and social challenge, described as a "global urgency." Projections indicate that by 2050, over 2.1 billion people, representing 10% of the world's population, will be aged 60 years or older. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced the "Age-Friendly City" framework, providing a model to enhance the quality of life for older adults in urban settings. However, the mere existence of age-friendly city indicators does not guarantee justice for all elderly residents. The key concept in this regard is "spatial justice," which emphasizes the equitable distribution of resources, facilities, and urban services across all geographical areas of a city and for all social groups. This study aims to conduct a comparative assessment of spatial justice in Mashhad, Iran, as an age-friendly city, by analyzing the gap between the subjective perceptions of the elderly and the objective realities of urban service provision.
Theoretical Framework
This research is grounded in the integration of two key concepts: the "Age-Friendly City" and "Spatial Justice." The theoretical framework is built on the WHO's age-friendly cities model, which includes nine key domains: housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, community support and health services, outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, and financial security. Spatial justice theory, rooted in social justice principles, focuses on the fair distribution of resources and services across urban spaces. The study posits that a truly age-friendly city must not only possess these indicators but also ensure their equitable distribution. The assessment of this justice requires integrating both objective indicators, measured through tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and subjective indicators, captured through standardized questionnaires that reflect the lived experiences and perceptions of the elderly.
Methodology
This applied research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining survey techniques and spatial analysis. The statistical population comprises all elderly residents (60 years and older) in Mashhad's 17 municipal districts, totaling 252,975 individuals, according to 2015 census data. Using Cochran's formula and proportional stratified sampling, a sample of 405 individuals was selected. The main instrument for collecting subjective data was a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the WHO's age-friendly cities framework, comprising 48 items across the nine domains. The questionnaire's validity was confirmed through content validity (expert opinions) and construct validity (KMO=0.84, Bartlett's test, p=0.001). Its reliability was verified using Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.79 for the entire questionnaire and 0.70 or higher for all domains. Objective data were collected from municipal databases and analyzed in ArcGIS using fuzzy overlay analysis of 11 urban land uses related to age-friendly indicators. Data analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA) in SPSS, alongside spatial analysis in GIS. The core of the methodology was the systematic integration of objective and subjective data through a comparative matrix.
Results and Discussion
The findings reveal a complex, multi-layered picture of spatial justice in Mashhad. Spatial analysis clearly shows an unfair distribution of services along a core-periphery model, with a high concentration in central and northwestern districts (Districts 1, 8, 9, 11) and increasing deprivation in peripheral areas, especially in the east and southeast (Districts 14-17). Objective analysis (Fuzzy Overlay in GIS) classified only 3 districts as "highly endowed" and 5 districts as "very low endowed," indicating a deep structural spatial gap. Subjectively, the highest satisfaction was with "open and green spaces" (mean=3.84), while the lowest was with "respect and social inclusion" (mean=2.41). One-Way ANOVA results confirmed a statistically significant difference in satisfaction levels between districts for six key domains (p<0.05). The integration of objective and subjective data identified four distinct spatial patterns: 1. Harmonious Endowed (Districts 8 & 12): High objective services and high subjective satisfaction. 2. Harmonious Deprived (Districts 5, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17): Low objective services and low subjective satisfaction. 3. Negative Gap (Districts 1, 2, 9, 11): High objective services but low subjective satisfaction, indicating a paradox where physical availability does not guarantee perceived quality (e.g., low satisfaction with transportation and health services despite good physical access). 4. Positive Gap (Districts 3, 4, 6, 7, 13): Low objective services but relatively high subjective satisfaction, potentially explained by strong social capital, community ties, and adjusted expectations, demonstrating social resilience. A notable finding was the lack of a statistically significant difference between districts in indicators such as financial situation and civic participation/employment, suggesting uniformity in the perception of these issues among the elderly across the city, likely due to shared generational experiences and intra-group comparisons.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that assessing an age-friendly city without integrating objective and subjective data simultaneously provides an incomplete and potentially misleading picture. Spatial justice is realized only when, alongside the fair distribution of services, their quality, suitability, and end-user perspectives are considered. Mashhad faces fundamental challenges in achieving spatial justice for its elderly population. The deep gap between central and peripheral areas, along with the identified paradoxes (negative/positive gaps), reveals a multidimensional injustice. The four-fold typology of districts provides an operational roadmap for policymakers and urban planners, advocating for targeted, area-specific strategies rather than one-size-fits-all policies. Ultimately, realizing a truly age-friendly and just Mashhad requires a fundamental shift in urban planning perspective—from a quantitative focus to a qualitative, human-centered approach that simultaneously addresses distributive justice, service quality, and social participation for the elderly.