Assessment of the quality of life of the residents of MEHR housing, case study: Rasht city

Subject Areas :

aliakbar salaripour ¹ , saeed Ghiasvand Mohammadkhani ² , Sajjad Shabani Kolachahi ³

1 - Professor Assistant, Department of urban planning, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Postgraduate student, Department of urban planning, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
3 - Department of urban planning, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Received: 2020-01-16 Accepted : 2020-07-17 Published : 2022-04-21

Keywords: Quality of life, Urban Environment Quality, Rasht, Mehr Housing, Mehr Housing Policies,

Abstract :

Mehr Housing Program has been one of the most important housing policies for low-income groups. The implementation process and results of this project encountered many problems and criticisms, one of the most important of which is the lack of adequate facilities for residents and low quality of life in these residential complexes. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the quality of life of Mehr housing inhabitants and its most important determinant factors. After reviewing the research literature and extracting the quality of life factors in residential environments, a researcher-made questionnaire is applied to measure the variables from the perspective of residents. The statistical population of this study is the total inhabitants of Mehr housing in Rasht equal to 8000 households. According to Cochran's formula, the number of samples is 380 people that are selected using a simple random sampling method. The data collected from the questionnaire were first analyzed using descriptive statistical methods as well as Friedman test and then the answers to narrative questions were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis test in the PLS environment. The results of Friedman test show that among the quality of life indicators in Mehr housing, the highest score (very good) belongs to the variable of urban air quality (avg = 18.39) and then to public transportation (17.03). Job opportunities (9.98) and lack of access to facilities like banks (10.82) are the most important problems in this area. The results of factor analysis of narrative questions show that The most important factors of insecurity in the area are the appearance of addicts (0.84) and abandoned lands (0.75). Cleaning and lighting (0.88), the establishment of parks (0.84), and shopping malls (0.68) are the most important factors to increase vitality. The findings of this study show that the current approach in providing social housing needs a substantial review and the quality of the urban environment should be considered as an important criterion for affordable housing.
Introduction:
Housing as a shelter is a basic need of households. The lack of clear housing policies for the low-income groups in Iran became more apparent based on the studies of the comprehensive housing plan. The Mehr Housing Project was implemented as one of the main strategies of the ninth government to achieve goals such as decentralization of large cities, controlling housing prices, and supporting the vulnerable. Mehr housing as an urban residential environment should provide a good quality of life for residents, but observations show that it has not been very successful. After analyzing the pros and cons of Mehr housing and explaining the relevant practical and theoretical experiences, this article evaluates the quality of Mehr housing in Rasht, which is located near the urban fabric and assesses its most important factors based on residents' opinions. Therefore, evaluating the impact of Mehr housing policies on the quality of life of residents and measuring environmental quality in Mehr residential complex in Rasht are the most important objectives of the present study.
Methodology:
The present research is descriptive-survey in nature and falls into the category of applied research according to the type of purpose. Data collection is done using a field survey and questionnaire. The statistical population of this study is the total number of residents of Mehr housing in Rasht, which is about 8000 households. This study uses simple random sampling and its sample size is 380 people. The questionnaire consists of three parts, the first of which deals with the personal characteristics of the participants. The second part contains 27 Likert questions on the status of facilities and services, security, health, and social interactions. Finally, the third part includes narrative questions with the focus on the problems of the place, the security of the residents, resident's suggestion of vitality, and the sense of belonging to the neighborhood. Data analysis was performed using the Friedman test in SPSS software. Citizens' descriptive answers to the questions of the third section are done using factor analysis in the PLS environment. Convergent validity is used to assess the validity of the questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire is measured by calculating the values of the factor loading, Cronbach's alpha, and combined reliability. The value of the combined reliability index is more than 0.7, which confirms the reliability of the questionnaire items.
Results and discussion:
Using the Friedman test, items were ranked. Thus, the highest score (very good) goes to the variable of urban air cleanliness with an average of 18.39 and then to public transport (17.03). Also, the most significant weakness in the region is the lack of job opportunities with a very low score of 9.98. Variables such as the sense of belonging, health, cultural places, number of schools, and public transport stations are in the middle of the ranking. Residents were then asked by open questions so that they could share their views with the researchers outside the framework of closed questions. To analyze these descriptive answers, citizens' opinions are examined by factor analysis in PLS software. The results show that the most important problems of Mehr housing are the lack of facilities and shopping centers with a factor loading of 0.89 and 0.82. Regarding the security of the area for women, the period from morning to noon and noon to night with 0.94 and 0.81 have the highest factor loadings. Among the factors causing insecurity for residents, the presence of addicts and abandoned fields with 0.84 and 0.75% are the most important ones. The most crucial factors suggested by residents to improve vitality and livability are the variables of cleanliness and lighting, construction of parks, green spaces, and commercial centers with factor loads of 0.88, 0.84, and 0.68, respectively. Regarding the person's feeling about living in Mehr housing, the response of "feeling good" with a correlation of 0.75% has the highest factor loading. Concerning the desire to stay in this place, the option "Yes" has the highest significance with a factor loading of 0.81.
Conclusion:
Mehr housing in Rasht has a suitable location and is connected to the existing physical area of the city. This is a great advantage for this residential complex compared to other cities and has let many residents have a positive attitude towards their place of residence. Despite this, Mehr residential complex in Rasht, like other Mehr housing projects, has various bottlenecks and problems, especially in the field of construction quality, access to municipal services, and social problems, especially insecurity. The most prominent differences of this research with other ones can be summarized in the level of residents' satisfaction with neighborhood social relations in Mehr housing and their overall happiness with living in this place. However, like other residential complexes, Mehr housing in Rasht does not provide adequate public spaces to increase the level of social interaction among residents. For example, although the parks and playgrounds provided in this complex have many drawbacks in various features, including insufficient per capita and area, inadequate access for many residents, and poor design quality; the high presence of residents with children in parks and green spaces shows their desire to establish social relations and interact with neighbors. It is obvious that with thoughtful planning, allocation of sufficient resources to the development, equipping public spaces, and promoting public events, the residents of this residential complex will have a high-quality environment in the future. In general, the dominance of a quantitative view in providing shelter instead of emphasizing the qualitative dimensions of housing, caused the executive institutions to see these complexes only as large regional and urban development projects. As a result, in different stages of targeting, construction and operation, these complexes were treated as a civil project, not a human settlement; which should be able to increase the quality of life of residents and their attachment to their neighborhood. Ignoring the basic concepts in the realm of urban planning, housing planning, architecture, and urban design led to the historical mistake that is the result of taking a completely functional and economic approach toward housing. The product of this view is the production of residential environments throughout the country, which unfortunately are not a good platform for residents to identify with the local community, as well as the physical environment of their place of residence.

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