The role of physical and functional characteristics of nineveh street, mosul city centre, Iraq, as the sense of place

Abstract

The street is the most important element which determines the urban pattern of cities by creating its ‘sense of place’. It plays a multi-dimensional function in the city. Its essential role can be seen not only through its function as a channel of movement, commercial, social and cultural place, but also through its physical characteristics such as location, appearance, and views in making the street legible and accessible, and in providing a safe, comfortable and orientated environment. In the face of rapid urbanisation, many of these roles of streets have changed, which affect the users’ feelings and perception of the street, thus disrupting the sense of place of cities. The aim of this study was to establish the role of Nineveh Street in relation to the sense of place. The objectives of the research are to identify the role of two different characteristics of Nineveh Street; firstly physical and secondly functional characteristics in giving the sense of place. Nineveh Street was selected as a case study based on its physical and functional importance as well as its location in the core of Mosul City Centre in Iraq. A mixed methods approach was adopted in this research. The quantitative method was applied by using 330 questionnaire surveys, while the qualitative method was applied by using 30 semi-structured interviews, and direct observation. The data was quantitatively analysed using SPSS version 21 and qualitatively analysed using descriptive and self-interpretation analysis. The results showed that physically the location, appearance, and quality of views of Nineveh Street plays a significant role in making the street accessible, recognizable, visible and oriented respectively. Meanwhile, functionally the street plays an important role as a commercial space, a channel of movement, and some roles as a cultural and social space. The study concludes that these roles represent qualities that distinguish Nineveh Street and make it unique in terms of sense of place of Mosul City Centre. The major implication of the research is that in order to secure the sense of place of Mosul City Centre, the role of physical and functional characteristics of its streets should be considered in the design and redevelopment policy.