Statement of the ProblemUrban markets, faced with globalization, changing consumption patterns, and the penetration of digital technologies, have faced a structural tension between "functional efficiency" and "experience-based meaningfulness."
aim of the research is to comparative analyze the role of innovation in the sustainable development of traditional and contemporary markets and explain its place in interaction with sensory richness, social interactions,and spatial organization in the city of Tabriz
research methodology uses a mixed exploratory-explanatory (qualitative-quantitative)approach; in the qualitative stage,field observation and interviews were used to extract components and develop items, and in the quantitative stage, data were collected through a five-point Likert questionnaire and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS-SEM) structural equation modeling in SmartPLS software
findings show that all four constructs have a direct and significant effect on sustainable market development. Social interactions have the greatest effect (β=0.36, p<0.001), followed by sensory richness (β=0.31, p<0.001), novelty (β=0.29, p<0.001), and spatial organization (β=0.24, p<0.001). The model has high explanatory power (R²=0.68) and shows good overall fit (SRMR=0.061). It also reported strong predictive power (Q²=0.41). The mediation test of novelty has a partial mediating role and partially strengthens the effect of sensory richness (VAF=18%) and spatial organization (VAF=27%), while the direct paths remain significant.
Conclusion In the traditional market, sustainability is generated through the socio-sensory path (belonging, pause, multisensory experience),but in the contemporary market, sustainability relies more on the organizational-technological logic (readability, management, and services) and remains fragile if experience-oriented components are not strengthened. From a theoretical perspective, innovation in the urban market is not a replacement force,but a reinforcing and contextual mechanism; and from an applied perspective, design and policy strategies should focus on the intelligent integration of innovation with socio-perceptual components, appropriate to the context