Identify the effective factors in the feasibility of providing affordable housing with emphasis on the regional spatial approach (Case study: East Azerbaijan province)

Subject Areas : Regional Planning

Masoume Aftabi ¹ , Ali Panahi ² , reza valizadeh ³

1 - Phd. Student, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

Received: 2021-04-04 Accepted : 2021-10-29 Published : 2024-02-20

Keywords: Housing Planning, Affordable Housing, Regional spatial planning, East Azerbaijan province,

Abstract :

Abstract Nowadays, access to affordable housing one of the problems of most societies, especially in developing countries, whereby the poor are housed in substandard housing of poor quality. Therefore, paying attention to housing planning of low-income groups is one of the necessities of most governments, which requires comprehensive plans at the macro and regional levels and attention to various macro and micro structures with a spatial approach. In this regard, the present study has been written with the aim of identifying the effective factors in the feasibility of providing affordable housing with emphasis on the regional spatial approach in East Azerbaijan province. Therefore, the research method is applied in terms of purpose and analytical-exploratory in nature which have been used to collect and analyze data, Delphi technique (30 elites and housing specialists of East Azerbaijan province) and application of cross-impact analysis technique in MICMAC software. The research findings show that the greatest impact on the feasibility of providing affordable housing in East Azerbaijan province with emphasis on regional spatial approach related to the components of considering the conditions of low-income urban groups in all development programs; Coordination, management and promotion of support measures in the housing sector under the supervision of the Provincial Housing Council with the chairmanship of the governor and the membership of relevant bodies; Integration and coordination between housing programs, subsidies and support programs of the Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Martyr and Veterans Affairs Foundation and the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution and coordination between development projects in the province to stabilize population in small and medium cities and prevent migration to Tabriz metropolis.   Extended Abstract   Introduction Living in human settlements requires "housing" as a shelter as well as being responsive to daily activities. Housing is one of the most basic and sensitive parts in urban development planning. Housing also affects its residents psychologically and socially and is very important by affecting their economic activities and the country's economy at the macro level. Nowadays, access to affordable housing one of the problems of most societies, especially in developing countries, whereby the poor are housed in substandard housing of poor quality. Therefore, paying attention to housing planning of low-income groups is one of the necessities of most governments, which requires comprehensive plans at the macro and regional levels and attention to various macro and micro structures with a spatial approach. In this regard, the present study has been written with the aim of identifying the effective factors in the feasibility of providing affordable housing with emphasis on the regional spatial approach in East Azerbaijan province. East Azarbaijan province is the most populous province in the northwestern region of Iran. The area of this province is 45491 square kilometers and its population is 3909652 people who have settled in 21 cities in the center of Tabriz.   Methodology The research method is applied in terms of purpose and analytical-exploratory in terms of nature. For this purpose, first by using the documentary method and interviews with managers, officials and experts in the field of housing in East Azerbaijan province and professors and academic elites, the factors affecting the feasibility of housing programs are identified at least in the regional planning approach and then using Delphi technique (30 people from the elites and experts in the field of housing in East Azerbaijan Province) and the application of cross-impact analysis technique in MICMAC software, data analysis has been done with an exploratory approach. It is noteworthy that in the framework of the matrix of cross-effects of the requested statistical sample based on the impact and influence of components (factors) on each other to give a score from zero to three in which "0" as no effect, "1" as weak effect, "2" is considered as a medium effect and "3" is considered as a large effect in direct and indirect effect. Finally, the points given in the cross matrix are entered to examine the effectiveness of each of the components (factors) in MICMAC software.   Results and Discussion The research findings show that the failure of housing projects with the regional spatial approach in East Azerbaijan province are as follows: A) The stage of organizing studies - Lack of detailed description of project services for different stages, lack of equipped organizational organization and integrated design and functional divisions in different dimensions and lack of benefit from the results and data of comprehensive projects (including spatial, physical and partial). B) The stage of reviewing the current situation and feasibility - Lack of accurate knowledge and analysis of the current situation of the province and the country in various social, economic, physical and other macro and micro dimensions affecting housing, failure to determine the strengths and weaknesses of trends in various fields (Especially economic) and not examining the hierarchy of the housing crisis and using a linear method to determine the current situation. C) Futurism stage - Lack of proper forecasting of various demographic, social, economic, etc. dimensions in the plans, lack of separation of interventions in different cities and areas of the province and following a fixed and inflexible pattern, quantitative and physical evaluation and lack of proper planning and budgeting. The findings also indicate which the greatest impact on the feasibility of providing affordable housing in East Azerbaijan province with emphasis on regional spatial approach related to the components of considering the conditions of low-income urban groups in all development programs; Coordination, management and promotion of support measures in the housing sector under the supervision of the Provincial Housing Council with the chairmanship of the governor and the membership of relevant bodies; Integration and coordination between housing programs, subsidies and support programs of the Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Martyr and Veterans Affairs Foundation and the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution and coordination between development projects in the province to stabilize population in small and medium cities and prevent migration to Tabriz metropolis.   Conclusion The increasing growth of cities in all countries, especially developing countries, has led to a very rapid increase in urban population in these countries, without predicting the infrastructure needed for a sudden jump in this population. Such rapid growth has largely created a strong demand for housing, and since the level of this demand is far beyond the capacity of governments, significant numbers have inevitably sought solutions to their housing and employment problems, resulting this has been the formation of poor areas with substandard housing and lacking the necessary quality and far from the minimum. In this regard, affordable housing policies can be seen in the programs and basic priorities of most countries. Given the importance of housing planning for low-income groups and the need for a comprehensive and systematic approach to achieve this, the present study was written to identify the factors affecting the feasibility of affordable housing with emphasis on regional spatial planning approach in East Azerbaijan province. The results indicate that affordable housing planning in East Azerbaijan province has major shortcomings in macro, economic, development and urban policies, and the non-feasibility of planning programs due to the management and planning system in the province has also been an advantage. For this purpose, in order to provide affordable housing in East Azerbaijan province, with emphasis on the regional spatial planning approach, is felt the need for systematic and comprehensive policy-making and planning in various dimensions. It can also be said that considering the current situation of affordable housing plans in the province and the weakness of the management system in addressing this issue, realization of the housing regional spatial plan is an inevitable necessity with integrated provincial management and coordination of public and private bodies in the housing sector with a single management, accurate hierarchical and simultaneous knowledge of the housing situation in the province, allocation of credit and sustainable budget to address affordable housing, study the various dimensions affecting the formation of slums and housing Poor quality and integration of various housing development plans with each other and other urban and regional development plans. To this end, there is a need to change the approach in housing planning from a centralized approach to a participatory one in the form of flexible and dynamic plans based on the spatial planning approach by defining an integrated decision-making and policy-making system.  

References:

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