EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-DENSITY HOUSING ON USERS’ MENTAL JUDGMENTS

Today, high-density urban areas have emerged as a result of an economic approach to accommodate more people. The concept of density as a quantitative measure indicating the density of settlements and the population living in them has profound implications for social living conditions, safety in communal spaces, and perceptions of the environment. In such cases, residents evaluate environmental density based on their own impressions. This mental process of perception and assessment is based on physical features. Therefore, to address this issue thoroughly, the present study aims to consider the psychological effects and other dimensions of density. By identifying these factors, the study tries to propose any potential soluations for lessening the detrimental impacts of high residential density. To this end, it examines the effects of housing density on residents’ mental judgements in the city of Karaj, Iran, and focuses on the socio-economic structures of residents in order to improve understanding of housing units arrangement. In this context, literature review was conducted to investigate the notion of housing density, and the factors influencing mental judgments were extracted and given in the form of a conceptual model of study. Then, to test the relevant model, a survey and field studies were used. Findings showed that the location, the height, and the interior design of the residential units influence the users’ mental judgements. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the perception of density in residential environments is affected by structural features, preferences for housing type, and the presence of common open spaces in complexes.