Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Director of the Research Laboratory for Environment and Sustainable Urban Development, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz. Iran.
2
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Planning and Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
3
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
4
Institute of Geography, Academician H.A.Aliyev, Baku, Azerbaijan
10.22034/gp.2026.71254.3507
Abstract
The uncontrolled proliferation of informal settlements has intensified governance deficits as a central concern in urban management. These settlements are typically characterized by informational opacity, weak participatory agency, and distributive inequalities in urban service provision, all of which directly impair residents' quality of life. Achieving good urban governance presupposes institutional efficacy, meaningful citizen engagement, and the implementation of spatial justice policies. However, in many Iranian metropolises—including Tabriz—these principles encounter multiple path-dependent institutional rigidities and structural impediments. This study aims to assess the status of good urban governance within the informal settlements of Tabriz Metropolis.A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed, integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques. In the quantitative phase, data were collected via 390 structured questionnaires and analyzed using one-sample t-tests, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and multivariate regression models. In the qualitative phase, thematic analysis of citizens' narratives was conducted to identify the underlying challenges of urban management and governance.
The findings indicate that all indicators of good urban governance in Tabriz's informal settlements fall significantly below the normative threshold. The equitable distribution of urban services exerts the strongest positive effect on citizen satisfaction (β = 0.572). Conversely, social participation and transparency of urban information demonstrate adverse effects, attributable to procedural deficiencies and implementation gaps. Thematic analysis further reveals that accountability voids among urban managers, tokenistic participatory mechanisms, and the spatial misallocation of urban services constitute the most critical governance challenges in these areas. Improving good urban governance in the informal settlements of Tabriz Metropolis necessitates institutional restructuring, enhanced transparency mechanisms, recalibration of participatory policies, equity-oriented reallocation of urban resources, integration of urban digital governance platforms, and the expansion of citizen-led monitoring systems. Such interventions can contribute to enhancing residents' quality of life and restoring public trust in urban management.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)