Appraisal of place identity through tangible elements of cultural features in Erbil city

Abstract

The rapid growth of the cities with transformation of traditional urban spaces has caused a gap between cultural characteristics of urban identities. The identity of a specific place emerges from a series of cultural and social features of the relevant society embodied in the physical forms and shapes of the urban area. The paper aims to attain an overall understanding of keeping urban identity alive throughout the time, by analyzing the cultural characteristics of urban space. The study tries to develop a conceptual model focusing on the tangible relationship between the place identity and the cultural manifestations of the city of Erbil. The study adopted the quantitative way to test whether tangible elements affect place identity. The results indicate that a combination between place identity and cultural places can fortify our experience of place, and understanding of the influence of identity on urban development.