Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

Looking at the structure of the cities, especially older parts of the city, it is seen that most of the urban public parts and elements are constructed not with any reliance on state resources and credits, but based on the consecration systems and public investments. Added to the sublime religious, social and economic values latent in the consecration culture, its impact in creating identity and sense of attachment to urban places is also notable. It seems that the effect of creating identities that the consecrated places create in the social-physical frame of the cities, can today be stressed upon as a proper response to the shortcomings of the citizens' social relations and lack of the sense of belonging to the city. The main aim of this study is to recognize the role of consecrated elements in the social-physical identification in urban neighborhoods on the one hand and to determine the effects of this valuable culture in reinforcing social interactions and improving the sense of belonging to the physical spaces of the cities, on the other hand. The research method of this study includes two stages: the first was implemented with a descriptive-analytic method and was based on library sources that provide the theoretical framework of the study and the second stage that was incorporated with the survey method, using questionnaires, which were distributed among the residents of district 12 neighborhoods of Tehran. The results indicate that the consecrated places, because of their unique characteristics in the city's social-physical frame, have effectively caused the firmness of identity and consistency in urban life in these neighborhoods.