An Analysis of Satisfaction of the Residential Environment and its Impact on Urban Shrinkage Case Study: Samen District of Mashhad City

Subject Areas :

Amirreza Rezayee Gorgani ¹ (MS of Urban Planning, Khavaran Institute of Higher Education, Mashhad, Iran.)
Mostafa Amirfakhrian ² (Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Planning, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.)

Received: 2019-06-02 Accepted : 2020-01-10 Published : 2022-02-20

Keywords: Mashhad, Population decline, Urban shrinkage, Satisfaction of residential environment, Samen district,

Abstract :

Abstract
The quality of housing and residential environment is one of the factors affecting the level of residence satisfaction. Dissatisfaction with the place of residence leads to the abandonment by residents and, if continued, cause the decrease of population. Urban Shrinkage is a long-term decline of the population in a neighborhood that commences to the decline of a city. This study specifically studies this issue in the Samen district of Mashhad. The district adjacent to the shrine of the eighth Imam, which has accompanied by a decline in population in recent years. The method is descriptive-analytic study and the main question of the research is assessing the quality and satisfaction of the residential environment and its effect on the liveliness and shrinkage of this district. For this purpose, collecting the required information has carried out using a questionnaire tool and completing it from the residents of the district. The sample size has 112 by using PASS software with 95% confidence level. Data collected using the conceptual model of the research and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results of this study showed that during the period of 1986-2016, 86.5% of the population of the region have exited that indicates the shrinkage of the district. The study of various factors in this field showed that the index of the characteristics of the neighborhood (including 9 variables) of 88% had the most effect on the region's exited. The Housing Property Index (including 4 variables) with 28%, and the attribute of the activity and economy (including 3 variables) with 17% in the following ranks.
 
Extended Abstract
 Introduction
Living has a broader meaning than housing and Housing is more than a physical shelter and Includes all public services and facilities needed to make human life better.  It overlaps with employment, health, education, crime and many other aspects of people's lives.  Satisfaction with housing is indicative of the sustainable development of a community. The most important factor affecting a person's satisfaction with living in a neighborhood is housing and environmental conditions. Humans have two types of relationships with their living environment, the quantitative relationship (dimensions of housing, people living in it) and the qualitative relation (mode of occupation, type of housing and income-housing relationship, welfare facilities) that human beings have with their physical or residential environment. This indicator identifies the qualitative aspects of the human relation to housing. Low levels of satisfaction with housing and living environment lead to increased intention to leave the place and thus shrinking the city. In this regard, it is important to identify factors that decrease or increase the intention of residents to leave the living environment. Because identifying them can control urban decline and shrinkage. The Samen district of Mashhad is an example, this area is part of Mashhad city center and is very important because the holy shrine of the 8th Imam is located in this area. This area is the basis of the formation of the first urban neighborhoods and the residence of the first inhabitants of Mashhad. Therefore, it is a symbol of the identity and history of Mashhad. However, the population of this area has been declining in recent years. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to analyze the satisfaction of residential environment and its impact on urban shrinkage in Samen district and also to identify the factors affecting the quality of residential environment on shrinking area.
Methodology
The method of the present study is mixed and descriptive-analytical. While developing the conceptual model of the research, 16 variables were identified in three sub-indices (housing specificity, neighborhood specificity, economic specificity). This classification was evaluated and confirmed based on confirmatory factor analysis. Variables the main focus of the questionnaire was to collect residents' opinions in the study area. Considering the multitude of research variables and their different impact on urban shrinkage (dependent variable), it was tried to use the "structural equation model" to formulate and test the conceptual model of research. After collecting data and entering it into database using Amos software, relationships between variables were designed and results were obtained. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha method. The population of this study is the inhabitants of Samen area with a population of 11100 according to 2016 statistics. PASS (Power and Sample Size) software was used to estimate sample size in decision-making studies. Finally, according to the research question, the sample size was determined by correlation method and at a significance level less than 0.05 equal to 112 persons. The sampling method was also randomly selected from household heads living in the area.
Results and discussion
The study of the demographic changes in the area over multiple censuses indicates a steady decline in population since 1986. Mashhad has experienced a high growth rate during this period. Overall, 56% of the residents have low and very low satisfaction with the living conditions of the neighborhood. Also, 52.7% of the residents are very or very willing to leave the neighborhood. It can be inferred that the level of satisfaction with the residential environment is low and the tendency to leave it is high. In neighborhood specificity, health and landscape variables had the most impact on this index. The public transport access variable has had the least impact in this regard. In the housing specificity section, the survey results showed that the most important factor is physical security and size of housing. On the other hand, the number of rooms per unit has the least effect. In terms of economic characteristics and job opportunities, the highest impact is related to the existence of job opportunities in the range and variable of land value. The results of the model show that neighborhood characteristics index with 0.88 had the most effect on range satisfaction. Housing quality index with 0.28 and economic property index with 0.17 are in the next ranks of influencing neighborhood satisfaction.
 Conclusion
The results of the study showed that the Samen district lost 86.5% of its population over a 30 years period. This decline is a clear sign of urban shrinkage. The results of studies conducted by various researchers in different places showed that living conditions are among the most important factors in urban shrinkage. Compare these results with findings ahead in Samen district imply endorsement this subject. Specifically, the results of the study showed that neighborhood characteristics, housing conditions, and activity and economics characteristics of the area were influential in shaping this issue. The role of the variables related to the neighborhood situation shows more influence. Neighborhood Characteristics includes variables that actually reflect the living conditions. Conditions that in general make the residents comfortable. Such a position is indicative of the fact that although the “housing specificity” index, such as its durability and robustness, does not show a good range, it does not have much effect compared to “neighborhood conditions”. What has shrinking this area is the prevailing conditions as a result of the lack of necessary services, the numerous physical interventions in the area and the disruption of the neighborhood and residential system. This study showed that macro-scale neighborhood conditions can play an important role in accelerating urban shrinkage and outflow from the perspective of providing living conditions for residents compared to physical dimensions of housing such as extent, strength and security. However, in the plans for rehabilitation and renovation of urban decay, attention to the physical dimensions of housing involves an important aspect of their terms and conditions. But the neighborhood system is less seen as a platform for social interaction and the enjoyment of citizenship. Therefore, the practical recommendation of this study is to pay attention to the neighborhood system in order to provide more in-house residents and face-to-face interactions as the most important requirement for rehabilitation and renovation improvement plans in this district. Something that has not been paid much attention so far.

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