Hooman Sobouti - Department of Architecture, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran Young Researchers and Elite Club, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran (Corresponding author)
Pari Alavi - Department of Architecture, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

Modernism, as one of the main achievements of man, has been the source of various changes in the spatial structure and function of cities. Among the changes, city square –asa space supplying part of social life covers a wide range of urban functions -as the most significant structural representative of the city, is one of the changes originating from modernism. A desirable urban square designed by a proper understanding and preciseplanning is an open urban space for commuting, pausing, stopping, resting and spending free times. The question of why modern squares have lost their original functions and turned into a circle is the topic of the current study. Therefore, the present study with the adoption of a descriptive-analytical approach to the literature of this subject, aims to investigation the squares of the city and their performance with emphasizing the changing nature of public spaces and the tension between modern and traditional spaces, trying to offer solutions to reinforce social interactions of citizens with these urban spaces. Studies show; new developments within the traditional settings in the city centers havetransformed the identity of constructed places leading to a gap between the characters of urban space and its users. The reason lies in the fact that the core of every urban space in traditional historic city was based on many years of history and human environment interaction. On contrary, modern patterns of city scapes show little awareness or any indication of awareness about their historical or cultural past. In other words, newarchitectural and urban designs and constructions, and even historic preservationprograms and projects are not only integrated with the existing texture, but also create a sense of disconnection and strangeness.

City, Social interactions, Square, Urban Spaces