Explaining the role of the spatial configuration of Zanjan’s historical bazaar in shaping users' social interactions and activities

The historical bazaar of Zanjan, as a multifunctional space, has hosted a wide range of activities, creating opportunities for the emergence and formation of various types of social and cultural interactions and feedback. This bazaar has undergone fundamental structural changes in parallel with the extensive urban transformations resulting from the introduction of automobiles and modern road constructions, in order to ensure its survival and efficiency. The vulnerability of the integrated physical-spatial structure of the bazaar has affected the social function of this heritage complex, leading to a decrease in the level of interactions and collective activities of its users. Given the spatial changes of the historical bazaar in Zanjan, how can we assess the role of different spaces within this complex in shaping the interactions and social actions of its users? And what strategies can be developed in the context of spatial management of the historical bazaar complex in Zanjan to provide a more suitable environment for the interactions and social activities of its users? In fact, the study of the spatial evolution of the historical bazaar complex in Zanjan and the elucidation of the role of its spatial configuration in the level and quality of social relationships and interactions among users are the main objectives of this writing. In the way of answering the defined questions and goals, in addition to targeted library reviews about key topics and concepts including "historical bazaars", "spatial configuration", and "sociability" and the analysis of scientific documents in relation to the evolution of the architecture of the historical bazaar of Zanjan over time, the space syntax technique and depth map software were also used in order to measure the spatial configuration of Zanjan's historical bazaar in creating social relationships and actions of users. The results of computer simulation and VGA analysis show that spaces such as Dokhan Caravanserai, Raste Mesgarha, spaces overlooking the newly built Saadi, Imam and Ferdowsi streets, commercial units of the outer wall of the bazaar, & etc. are not at a favorable level in terms of syntactic indicators of connection, integration and depth, and there is no proper spatial relationship between these spaces and the integrated whole of the bazaar. Meanwhile, in other areas of the bazaar, a relatively favorable amount of the mentioned parameters can be seen, which indicates the existence of proper spatial communication and the positive presence of people in these environments. In general, the investigation of the spatial system of Zanjan historical bazaar shows that the physical-spatial discontinuity of this heritage complex has had negative effects on the level of interactivity and social actions of the users, and with the change of conditions, it is not able to respond to their social needs as in the past, However, by adopting correct and applicable strategies to organize the affected parts of the bazaar, the platform for reviving the identity and lost social values of the bazaar can be provided once again.