|
Title
|
Social aspect of quality of urban life: how does social capital affect desire of residents to continue living in historical neighborhoods? Evidence from Tehran, Iran
|
|
Type
|
JournalPaper
|
|
Keywords
|
Structural equation modeling, Social capital, Desire to continue living, Historical district of Tehran, Quality of urban life
|
|
Abstract
|
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is on the social aspects of regeneration of historical neighborhoods in Iranian cities. For this purpose, the authors investigated the effect of the social capital of the residents of historical neighborhoods in Tehran on their subjective quality of life and on their willingness to continue living in these historical districts. This study was motivated by the fact that the primary issue in regeneration of Tehran’s historical districts is to stimulate the residents’ desire to continue living in their neighborhoods, thereby preventing the population from decreasing. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the theoretical literature revealed that the subjective quality of urban life could act as an intermediary construct that explains the link between social capital and willingness to continue living in a district. With this assumption, the authors administered a questionnaire to 389 residents of different historical neighborhoods who had been randomly selected by cluster sampling. The analysis of the data and the relationships among the constructswas conducted using structural equation modeling. Findings – The results suggest that increase in the participants’ social capital, including neighborhood bonds, civic participation, social networks and trust, could increase both their life satisfaction (i.e. subjective quality of urban life) and their willingness to live in the historical district. As indicated by the structural model of this study, the social capital both directly influences willingness to continue living and has an indirect effect on it through the intermediary construct of subjective quality of urban life. Practical implications – The findings of this study can help the policymakers of historical districts in Tehran to determine high-priority strategies for regenerating these districts. Some of the most practical policies that can be applied to the context of Tehran include provision of facilities for enhance
|
|
Researchers
|
hasan sajadzadeh (Second Researcher), (First Researcher)
|