Investigating the components of presence or sociability in transit welfare service complexes Case Studies: Transit Welfare Service Complexes (Homa-ye Saadat and Ronica Plus Delijan, Mehr-o-Mah Qom, Ronak Kashan)

Mousavi, Seyyed Ehsan; Abdollahzadeh, Mohammad Mahdi; Ghaffari, Ali Reza; Ehsani Tirgar, Hossein; Bodaghi, Mahdi

doi:10.48301/kssa.2025.537273.3268

Investigating the components of presence or sociability in transit welfare service complexes Case Studies: Transit Welfare Service Complexes (Homa-ye Saadat and Ronica Plus Delijan, Mehr-o-Mah Qom, Ronak Kashan)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Seyyed Ehsan Mousavi ¹

Mohammad Mahdi Abdollahzadeh ²

Ali Reza Ghaffari ³

Hossein Ehsani tirgar ³

Mahdi Bodaghi ³

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Yadegar-e-Imam Khomeini (RAH) Shahre Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran.

³ Bachelor's , Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran.

10.48301/kssa.2025.537273.3268

Abstract

The role of roadside service complexes and the way they provide services is not limited only to travelers on highways; rather, they should be examined from various dimensions. These complexes possess numerous potentials that can be utilized to achieve tourism development goals and to create recreational destinations in the region. Based on these definitions, the key question arises: how can the level of presence and sociability in these complexes be enhanced?

The purpose of this study is to measure the sociability components of roadside service complexes, to examine the factors that increase tourists’ presence in these facilities, and to contribute to the development of the road transportation industry.

The research strategy is descriptive–analytical, and the method is quantitative. First, the concept of sociability was explained and its components were extracted. Then, by employing a questionnaire, these components were distributed among users of four selected roadside complexes. The degree of presence was analyzed through descriptive statistics (frequency distribution) and inferential analyses (one-sample t-test and Friedman test).

The findings indicate that, from the visitors’ perspective, physical components such as ease of access, cleanliness and order, and good quality of construction are considered higher priorities for their presence than cultural, semantic, and functional components such as camping and ecotourism facilities. Therefore, in order to enhance presence in these complexes, each of these indicators should be improved according to their priority.

Keywords

Presence

sociability

roadside service complex

tourism

destination

Subjects