Investigating the Effect of Covid-19 on the Social Functions of Third Places The Case Study of Cafes in Tabriz

Document Type : Articles extracted from Thesis

Authors

1 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

2 Islamic Azad University, ,Tabriz,,,Iran

Abstract

A B S T R A C T
Third places, with the help of their characteristics, create stability and increase resilience in cities. They have a high support capability in times of crisis and are effective in the social stability of the society. When the emerging crisis disrupts the support role of the third place, the potential for public assistance and unity in the face of the crisis is reduced. The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus is an example of this crisis, which can weaken social stability due to the mandatory restrictions that come with it, in addition to the health problems imposed on society. Cafes are a concrete example of third places that, with the aim of the pathology of the covid-19 pandemic on social stability formed by them, in the present study, the effect of five components of weakening the economy, fear of disease, decreasing social interactions, decreasing the sense of place and decreasing accessibility on the weakening of stability was investigated. Social security was paid due to covid-19. The research method is descriptive-analytical and correlational. The questionnaire was designed in the Likert scale and AMOSE software and structural equation analysis method were used for data analysis. The number of usable samples according to Cochran's formula and Morgan's table is 392 samples. The results of the research showed that the fear of disease with 99% confidence with a standardized coefficient of 0.468% has the greatest effect on reducing social stability. Also, the two components of decreasing social interactions and decreasing accessibility with 95% confidence, respectively, with standard coefficients of 0.160 and 0.056%, after the component of fear of disease, have the greatest direct effect in weakening the social stability formed by cafes in Tabriz city. have. The effect of the components of the sense of place with a coefficient of -0.236 due to the effect on the fear of disease and the economy with an effective coefficient of 0.067 on the social stability formed in cafes is indirect.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Third places, with the help of their unique features, by recognizing the everyday life of citizens and creating a suitable platform for dialogue, increasing attachment, socializing and establishing new relationships, and finally repairing and creating social interactions, cause the sustainable formation and increase resilience in cities and achieve social goals of sustainable development such as social justice, popular participation, awareness for sustainability, social solidarity, security, sense of responsibility, valuing the city's indigenous traditions, and improving citizens’ quality of life. Social sustainability, through its components and direct effects on quality of life indicators, economic and environmental dimensions, also affects sustainable development. On the other hand, third places in times of crisis have a high level of support and cause the formation of voluntary and spontaneous assistance to resolve the problem and raise the level of resilience by creating a process of connecting a set of adaptive capacities to a positive functional path and adaptation after a disaster. When a crisis arises, that disrupts the functioning of third spaces, the potential for public assistance is diminished. The prevalence of infectious diseases such as Covid-19 is an example of this crisis, which due to the overcrowding factor in the spread of the disease, third places that contribute to unity and social stability are significantly limited and, in some cases, closed. In the first four months after the outbreak of Covid-19, with more than 2.8 million cases worldwide, an international health crisis and concern. Due to the contagious nature of the virus, it is recommended to limit social interactions. By affecting safety, health, financial security, and the sense of security, Covid-19 has potentially undermined social stability and the overall stability of economic systems. Considering the importance of social sustainability and the role of third places in urban life and interactions, this study aimed to study the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic effect on the performance of cafes as a tangible and famous example of third
 
places, social stability, and recognition of their damages, replacement, and elimination of damages in the pandemic, and possible future crises. The present study seeks to answer the question that, assuming the influence of third places on social sustainability, what is the effect of Covid-19 on the components of social sustainability related to cafes in Tabriz as an example of a third place?
 
Methodology
The present study investigated the effects of five components of weakening economy, fear of disease, decreased social interactions, decreased sense of place, and reduced accessibility on the weakening of social stability due to Covid-19. The study is part of correlational and descriptive-analytical researches and is based on library documents and questionnaires. Because the study has several latent variables, to investigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on social stability and its components, structural equation modeling based on covariance was used to confirm or reject the assumptions, the degree of the direct and indirect effect of each variable also be reviewed. The questionnaires are based on the Likert scale, and AMOS software is exerted to analyze the data. The statistical population includes all cafes in Tabriz. The number of samples is 392, and the participants in the study have both females and males, in the age range of 15-55 years.
 
Results and discussion
All components studied in this study have a direct and indirect impact on social sustainability. Fear of disease with 99% confidence with a standard coefficient of 0.468% has the most significant effect on reducing social sustainability. Also, the two components of reduced social interactions and accessibility with 95% confidence with standard coefficients of 0.160 and 0.056%, respectively, after the element of fear of disease, have the most significant direct impact on undermining social stability formed by cafes in the city of Tabriz. The effect of sense of place components with a coefficient of -0.236 is indirectly due to the impact on fear of disease and the economy with an impact factor of 0.067 with an effect on social interactions on social stability formed in cafes.
 
Conclusion
The pathology of the Covid-19 pandemic examined the social sustainability formed by cafes in five components: economy, accessibility, social interaction, fear of disease, and sense of place. The results show that all components have a direct and indirect impact on social sustainability. The three components of fear of illness, social interactions, and accessibility have the most direct impact, respectively. The component of economics indirectly affects social stability by directly affecting social interactions. The sense of place component is inversely related to the fear component of the disease and indirectly affects social stability. In a way that with increasing fear of disease, the sensation decreases. It seems that controlling the fear of disease can have a positive effect on other components. Also, fear of disease is one of the factors reducing the presence of cafes in the city of Tabriz. The severity of the fear factor can be reduced by improving the environment of the cafes, taking into account the health points, controlling the population of the people present in the cafe, creating individual distances or spatial separations (for example, glass partitions) until the control of Covid-19 as a fear factor. Considering the effect of social interactions on social stability and the decrease in interactions due to the decline in attendance in the Covid-19 period; creating an effective connection between cyberspace and cafes as an example of a third place, creating the potential to relive the memories created by being in cafes and providing a platform for the formation of virtual social interactions, can be effective in cover the limitations of attending cafes as an example of a third place, and prevent the reduction of social stability.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.

Keywords


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