Evaluation of Sustainable Neighborhood Development (case study: Sagharisazan neighborhood in Rasht City) with Using PESTEL analysis
Subject Areas :Ali Soltani 1 , Seyedeh pardis Tahayi moghadam 2
1 - Professor of Urban Panning & Design Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
2 - Urban planing, shahid beheshti university, tehran , iran
Keywords: Sustainable Development, Rasht, PESTEL, Neighbourhood, Sagharisazan,
Abstract :
In the new ideas of urban planning, attention has been paid to the role of residents in planning at small scale, and in line with the goals of sustainable urban development, the neighborhood development approach has been recommended. Sustainable urban development measures face local uncertainty and subjectivity and are affected by the definition of indicators of measurement and the degree of recognition of local circumstances. However, measuring sustainable development indicators is one of the first steps to logical planning and design. The main objective of this paper is to assess the status quo of sustainable urban development indicators in the Sagharisazan neighborhood of Rasht, north of Iran. This research is in the field of applied research which has been done by descriptive and analytical method. Data collecting method is field survey using questionnaire tool. The statistical population consisted of residents of Sagharisazan neighborhood. A number of 362 cases were selected as random samples. The PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) model is used to categorise indicators and scores based on the responses received from the sampled residents. Then, the proposed strategies are prioritised with the help of the QSPM technique. The results of the analysis show that the scores of the neighborhood of Sagharsizan in the four dimensions of physical (2/4), social (2/6), economic (1/9) and environmental (2/5) are low. The highest score is attributed to sustainability in both economic and physical dimensions. In this regard, the development of neighborhood tourism is proposed to strengthen the affluence of residents and workers and contribute to improving economic sustainability. It is also recommended to enhance physical stability, strengthen access to essential services, and improve the quality and quantity of these services. Extended Abstract Introduction: In the new ideas of urban planning, attention has been paid to the role of residents in planning at small scale and in line with the goals of sustainable urban development, the neighborhood development approach has been recommended. In the world in the category of urban planning has taken specially local sustainable development into serious account. Since the base and ultimate goal of sustainable development is health, equality and optimal quality of life of present and future generations, so the main context of defining sustainable form of city is consideration to different human and environmental requirements at the neighborhood scale. The concept of neighborhood in the first encounter evokes a complex geographical area within the city's spatial network, which is primarily a residential function. The residential and employment neighborhood is 1250-700 households with a pedestrian access range of 375-300 meters (4-5 minutes walk) defined by the elementary cultural and educational elements of the mosque. Neighborhood constituent elements include Neighborhood Indicator Element (mosque and primary school) and distributive elements (commercial uses, gardens, sports facilities and medical units). One of the most important factors which can named as a necessity to pay attention to the issue of sustainable urban neighborhoods, it can be said that in Iran the concept of sustainable development at the local scale is not clear and defined. However, urban neighborhoods, as the smallest unit of the city's spatial organization, are importance galore and their strength and weakness points are rapidly expanding throughout the city. At present, It can be seen that the downward trend of the quality of life in urban areas of Iran is due to social, managerial, physical, economic and other problems. Sustainable urban development measures face local uncertainty and subjectivity and are affected by the definition of indicators of measurement and the degree of recognition of local circumstances. However, measuring sustainable development indicators is one of the first steps to logical planning and design. The study area is the Sagharisazan neighborhood which is part of the larger Zahedan neighborhood and is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Rasht. Saghrysazan at the eastern end of the old city of Rasht, and from the north to the neighborhood of his sister, from the south to the neighborhood Vyshgahy (Farrokh path), the West and East Motahari Rvdbartan is limited to the neighborhood. The main objective of this paper is to assess the status quo of sustainable urban development indicators in the Sagharisazan neighborhood of Rasht, north of Iran. Methodology: According to various researches on sustainable local development, four dimensions have been considered for evaluation of Sagharisazan neighborhood sustainable development. To analyze the sustainability of Sagharisazan neighborhood in Rasht, four social, economic, environmental and physical dimensions have been used, each of which has been subdivided into several indicators and criteria. This research is in the field of applied research which has been done by descriptive and analytical method. Data collecting method is field survey using questionnaire tool. The statistical population consisted of residents of Sagharisazan neighborhood. A number of 362 cases were selected as random samples. The PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) model is used to categorise indicators and scores based on the responses received from the sampled residents. Then, the proposed strategies are prioritised with the help of the QSPM technique. Result and discussion: The results of the analysis show that the scores of the neighborhood of Sagharsizan in the four dimensions of physical (2.4), social (2.6), economic (1.9) and environmental (2.5) are low. The highest score is attributed to sustainability in both economic and physical dimensions. Among the physical sustainability indices, the index has the highest mean of neighborhood active centers with 3.81. The index of pedestrian network refers to pedestrian axes, neighborhood sidewalks, quality of trails, which is in poor condition compared to other indicators of physical stability. Among the indicators of social sustainability, the highest satisfaction ratings for access to educational services and satisfaction with shopping centers were 4.16 and 3.81, respectively. Satisfaction indices for amusement, park and green space and children's playgrounds scored the lowest average of 1.62, 1.69 and 1.69, respectively, among all social sustainability indicators, which is in poorer condition than other physical sustainability indicators. Among the indicators of economic sustainability, job diversity indexes with average of 1.72 have the lowest average among all indicators of economic sustainability. This index includes job opportunities for youth and women, which is in poorer position than other indicators of economic sustainability. The final score of internal factors for local sustainable development in Sagharisazan is 1.375, which is less than 2.5 indicating that Sagharisazan district faces many weaknesses in the current situation and is weak in terms of internal factors. Conclusion: One of the most important concerns of urban planners is the issue of sustainable development. The environmental, social, and economic problems in cities have given special attention to the sustainability of cities.In this regard, the development of neighborhood tourism is proposed to strengthen the affluence of residents and workers and contribute to improving economic sustainability. It is also recommended to enhance physical stability, strengthen access to essential services, and improve the quality and quantity of these services. By identifying internal and external factors in the form of a PESTEL table, feasible conservative strategies were selected that make it more important to improve the status of economic and physical sustainability dimensions. These strategies try to cover up their weaknesses and minimize their vulnerabilities to environmental threats or, if possible, keep them safe from harm and threats. The most important strategies for improving the economic and physical sustainability dimensions include improving access and passageways, improving neighborhood services, providing financial assistance to residents through the sale of bonds, and enhancing resident income through tourism revenue and neighborhood group businesses.
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