Investigating the degree of confinement in the neighborhood cohesion of the residents of Ekbatan and Ati Saz

Subject Areas : Life Space Journal

peyman akhondi ¹ , Mohammad Jalili ² , Gholamreza Talischi ³ , Farzaneh Sasan pour ⁴

1 - Islamic Azad University, Borujerd branch
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Borujard Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujard, Iran
3 - Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.
4 - Associate Professor, Department of Human Geography, Khwarazmi University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2023-04-30 Accepted : 2023-07-05 Published : 2024-05-02

Keywords: neighborhood, Cohesion, containment, Ekbatan, Ati-saz,

Abstract :

Enclosed communities, which are also known as gated residential development, gated residential apartment, and settlement, are expanding and have become very popular among home buyers. Enclosed communities have limited public access and privatized public space with the aim of creating security and peace for their residents, and this enclosure has led to the creation of disjointed spaces that are separated and isolated from their outer urban environment. In fact, enclosed neighborhoods are a reflection of an urban unit that is physically, socially, and economically different from its surroundings and lacks cohesion. Examining the negative effects of these communities enclosed within themselves and the surrounding urban areas is a very important issue that has not been addressed much, and land traders and developers have expanded them without paying attention to it and trying to make more profit. Therefore, in this research, it has been tried to identify these factors from the point of view of experts and space users, with the aim of investigating the degree of confinement in the neighborhood cohesion of the residents of Ekbatan and Ati Saz. The research method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative type. This research has a nest to nest combination. To answer the research question, qualitative-quantitative research method nest by nest is used. In the qualitative method, a semi-structured interview is used to verify the variables extracted from the bases and also to assign the base variables to a case sample, and the obtained results are entered into the ATLAS.TI software to facilitate the coding, and open coding is used to extract the variables with a live approach. , description and interpretation takes place. In a small part of the obtained variables, a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale (1: the lowest level of perception of the individual about the effect of confinement on neighborhood cohesion; 5: the highest level of perception of the individual about the effect of confinement on neighborhood cohesion) is compiled and distributed among 384 people of space users. In this section, by using the factor analysis method, due to the multiplicity of variables for classification and also the effect of each of them in the residential complex of Ati Saz and Ekbatan, factor analysis with the Varimax method is used, and finally, the correlation of the determined coefficients in both Ekbatan and Ati Saz neighborhoods with Each other is taken and a fitting curve is drawn. The results of the research show that Ekbatan and Atisaz neighborhoods are considered as one of the prosperous and active communities in Tehran. Also, because of their convenient location, they have been favored by the residents of Tehran. According to the investigations carried out in this research, in both neighborhoods, the factor of social cohesion is considered the most effective factor in the cohesion of the residents of both neighborhoods. The reason for this is that the enclosure and separation of Akbatan and Atysaz neighborhoods from the surrounding neighborhoods, both physically and socially, has caused problems such as social-cultural discontinuity in this area, which has consequences such as the fragmentation of the social fabric. The isolation and insularity of these two neighborhoods has caused the administration of this area to face problems and social participation in urban governance is decreasing. One of the most important problems caused by the lack of communication and connection between Ekbatan and Ati-saz neighborhoods with the surrounding neighborhoods is social disunity and segregation in this area, which, if appropriate decisions are not taken and the need for social cohesion of the area is not taken into account, can cause many problems in the future. The lack of communication and physical connection has also caused a gap in the body tissue and its lack of harmony with the surrounding environment. In addition to the mentioned issues, these neighborhoods also struggle with the issue of access and inefficient public transportation, and this has caused major changes in the process of citizens living in these neighborhoods. Also, the most important factor affecting the cohesion of these two enclosed neighborhoods is social cohesion. After that, the following factors can be mentioned in order: Coherence in social communication, cohesion in the sense of belonging, cohesion in creating security, cohesion in governing organizations and cohesion in authority.