Public spaces play a vital role on shaping the social fabric of a city and fostering interactions among its diverse residents. Studies have shown that streets and public spaces designed with strong social infrastructure can help reduce everyday tensions and promote social understanding. These spaces act as public meeting points where people from different backgrounds coexist, exchange ideas, and engage in social interactions; this leads to the vitality of urban spaces.
This study addresses the complex relationships between individuals’ mental states, social behavior dynamics, and environmental factors influencing behavior. To achieve this goal, the role of social infrastructure in shaping relationships with urban strangers is examined and offers valuable insights into promoting social care, respect, and peaceful coexistence in urban environments. By distinguishing between two ways of behaving with urban strangers, the impact of various factors on street wisdom and street manners has been elucidated.
Sanandaj, as a city that has experienced rapid population growth and demographic diversity, offers a unique environment for studying urban coexistence. Residents, due to migration from different regions inside and outside the Kurdistan province to this city, bring with them diverse economic, social, and cultural backgrounds. This diversity not only enriches the social landscape of the city but also provides opportunities for cultural interactions and exchanges.
The present article was conducted within the framework of studying public life on the streets of Sanandaj and with the aim of clarifying the behavioral patterns of citizens among urban strangers. While addressing the state of coexistence, it also examined the factors affecting street interactions and was able to gain an understanding of the challenges of urban social dynamics and the mechanisms of interactions in the world of strangers.
Using methods such as Pearson correlation coefficients and path analysis, attempts have been made to uncover the hidden factors that influence the behavior of urban strangers and their interactions with the public environment of the city. This theoretical framework allows researchers to analyze the interaction between individual action, social norms, and spatial arrangements in shaping the urban experience.