Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of physical education & sport sciences, SAV.C, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran.
2 Department of Physical education, Baneh branch, Islamic Azad University, Baneh, Iran
Abstract
This research was conducted with the aim of presenting a comprehensive model for the development of public sports in urban environments, in response to the growing health crisis and the lack of an integrated framework. This study was carried out using a qualitative approach and a grounded theory strategy based on the systematic method of Strauss and Corbin. The participants consisted of 17 experts in the fields of sports management, urban planning, and health from municipalities and the Federation of Public Sports, who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and their validity and reliability were confirmed by strategies such as member and peer review. Data analysis was performed in three stages: open, axial, and selective coding. The findings led to the presentation of a paradigmatic model with six main dimensions. Causal conditions (health-oriented urgency, physical-behavioral consequences of urbanization, emergence of social agency and demand), contextual conditions (structural-institutional rigidity, prohibitive environment, geographical context, and socio-cultural backgrounds), and intervening factors (policy levers, social mobilization capacity, economic requirements, technological drivers and barriers) were identified as the factors shaping the core phenomenon, namely "the transition from scattered actions to the systematic development of public sports." This model offers strategies such as governance reform, regeneration of spaces, cultural development, and innovation in resource financing to achieve outcomes like health improvement, strengthening social capital, and enhancing the urban environment.
Keywords