The Relationship between the Enclosed Space and the Sense of Territory in Residential Neighborhoods (Case Study: Comparison between Haft-Hoz and Shahrake-Gharb)

Organization of living environment is possible through a clear definition of private and public arenas and determinationof a spatial hierarchy. Such defined arenas increase the sense of belonging to the environment which personalizesresidential environments. Enclosure is among the quantities that play a significant role in defining the spaces. In fact,enclosure is the factor that defines a space as a ground for occurrence of other events. Enclosure is an individualsubjective ground to define the space and the primary factor in conversion of space into place. One of the basicfunctions of a house is to determine a territory. This paper considers the concept of territory as an effective factor on thequality of the relationship between the human and his residential environment and investigates the effect of enclosureon this territory. Two residential areas including a part of Haft-Hoz neighborhood and Shahrak-e Gharb (West Town)were selected as the sample of the test. The effects of enclosure factor on the concept of territory were analyzed incommon residential complexes. A qualitative research method was applied and questionnaire was used as the scientificmethod. According to the belief that the relationship between human and the environment depends on many differentfactors, this paper investigates and analyzes the concept of territory and spatial enclosure as one of the effective factorson the quality of the relationship between human and residential environment in the mentioned neighborhoods.