مجلة الاربعين المحكمة
The research aims to shed light on the reality of the functional efficiency of the urban spaces in Karbala city center, due to the fact that these spaces play a very important role in the movement of millions of visitors during the large pilgrims, such as Zeyart AL-Arbaeen and Al-Sha’baniyah visit, and others. As a general concept in the planning field, spaces are considered as part of the urban fabric of any city, whether large or small; therefore, they constitute the natural outlet for the city as well as they are considered as the most important physical components in the city that has visual (environmental) and aesthetic effects. Therefore, this research investigates some international models in this field, through which a set of functional requirements that can contribute to reaching a conclusion of functional values for the urban spaces within the city are identified. They are demonstrated by indicators that are examined and tested on the study area, and these indicators are (social interaction, accessibility, spatial organization, and spatial compatibility). One of the most important conclusions of this research is that the creation of four new spaces in the study area (Baghdad Square, Sha’baniyah Square, Martyrs Square, and Al-Alqami Square) was due to the actual need for places for visitors to gather, especially after the increase in the large number of visitors during the last years. Moreover, these Squares represent a meeting point for visitors with local residents for cross-cultural contact and knowledge exchange.