Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor, Department of geography and urban planning, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
Quality of life, as a concept, is an indicator of a person's level of satisfaction with life, in other words, a criterion for determining satisfaction and dissatisfaction of individuals and groups with different aspects of life. Quality of urban life is one of the most important areas of urban studies in different countries. In general, according to field research, and information obtained from the municipality, and relevant authorities, and comparison with the introduced standards, by credible sources, the quality of life in the neighborhoods of Shahrekord is low for various reasons. Comprehensive studies are needed in all specialties to serve urban managers and planners for urban development planning. Examining the quality of life in Shahrekord, causes the shortcomings and weaknesses of this city to be realized in this regard, and appropriate plans should be made based on them. Shahrekord, as one of the middle cities of the country, has witnessed a large migration of surrounding towns and villages in recent years and this has caused the quality of life to be somewhat in crisis due to marginalization and the presence and occurrence of people with different cultures. This makes it necessary to examine the quality of urban life in this city. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the quality of urban life in Shahrekord.
Data and Method
The method of this research is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of methodology, at the same time, with the exploratory approach (causal) and survey technique, it is based on descriptive-analytical nature. The statistical population of this study, including all citizens of Shahrekord, in 2016, is 190441 people. The sample size, according to the Morgan table, is 383 people. The questionnaire has two dimensions of urban quality of life, with three sub-categories (social, economic, and physical), with 32 questions, and the Citizens' Satisfaction Questionnaire with 13 questions, the validity of which is formal, which has been approved by experts. The construct validity, which was confirmed by factor analysis, and its reliability, based on Cronbach's alpha, was confirmed to be 0.83. To analyze the data, statistical methods of one-sample T-test were used with SPSS software, and structural equation analysis based on Smart PLS software was used.
Results and Discussion
The quality of the urban environment is a measure of the quality of the living environment, which is the least desirable for urban life, and one of the factors influencing it is the amount and manner of social services, hierarchy in major urban applications and services, social security in urban spaces, access to urban spaces, location of uses, and the main spaces of the city, urban environment, performance of different parts of the city, ongoing activities in the urban environment, attention to the identity and culture of natives, etc. An important reason for such attention to the (concept) of quality, considering urban planning and design, simultaneously and interactively, is one of the solutions that can achieve the improvement of functional quality in urban spaces. The quality of urban life is usually measured by the mental characteristics of the survey, and assessing the citizens' perceptions and satisfaction of urban life, or by the objective characteristics of secondary data, and rarely by both types of characteristics. Therefore, concern about the quality of modern life is a feature of contemporary society, which can be a function of the quality of the environment. Also, degradation in the quality of the urban environment can be the result of some economic activities.
Conclusion
The results of this study reveal that the results of T-test analyzes show that the citizens of this area, in economic dimensions, which include the indicators of job opportunities, educational facilities, recreational facilities, and health facilities, are in above-average conditions. And from these indicators, the quality of urban life is in an acceptable position. Also, social indicators that include a sense of personal security, satisfaction with life's successes, relationships with neighbors, and satisfaction with a sense of belonging, according to the results obtained, are below the average of quality of life, and physical characteristics, which include satisfaction with aggregation. And waste disposal, green space, and parks, water quality, street condition, public transportation, the traffic situation in city affairs are lower than the average. In general, development planning in Shahrekord should be targeted and tailored to local resources and people's objective and mental needs, to help improve the quality of life of the city's residents. Also, it is necessary to improve the quality of life, as the main goal of urban and regional development projects. The level of citizens' satisfaction with the quality of their living environment is not at the desired physical level. Also, the results obtained from structural equations indicate that research relationships of the social index on citizen satisfaction, with path coefficient 0.19 and T=2.25, economic index on citizen satisfaction, with path coefficient 0.27 and T=2.74, physical index on citizen satisfaction, with a path factor of 0.61 and a value of T=3.85, are validated.
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