Document Type : Scientific-Research
Authors
1
PhD candidate in Urban Planning, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
2
Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran,
3
Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Nowadays, the importance of studying the quality of the residential environment has increased due to the recognition of its objective and subjective effects in the lives of citizens. In this regard, the study of the quality of urban life is based on the interaction of the person's relationship with the environment, and this importance has taken a more serious form in relation to informal settlements. The purpose of the current research is to assess the quality of the physical and functional environment of Sayan informal neighborhood in Zanjan city with the approach of experimental research of the residents. The research method is descriptive and analytical and the results are practical in terms of application. Collection of required data and information has been done through library studies and field methods. The statistical sample studied to assess effect-oriented indicators included 134 residential houses that were systematically questioned by referring to the door of the houses. The statistical sample to evaluate the indicators of expert observation also included 15 urban affairs specialists. Structural equation modeling and Smart PLS software were used to analyze the data of effect-oriented indicators, and the best-worst analysis method and Excell software were used to analyze the expert observation data. The results show that the quality of the physical and functional environment of Sayan neighborhood in Zanjan city is lower than the average level and the most important effective factors for the physical environment include legibility and passage components and for the functional environment include accessibility components and land use.
Keywords: Empirical research approach, Informal settlements, Zanjan city, Environmental quality.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Today, the importance of studying the quality of the residential environment has increased, and the dominant thinking in the study of urban quality of life is based on the interaction between the individual and the environment. This issue has taken on a more serious form concerning informal settlements. The aim of the present study is to assess the physical and functional environmental quality of the informal settlement of Sayan neighborhood in Zanjan city using the residents' empirical research approach.
Method
The research method is descriptive and analytical, and in terms of the application of results, it is applied. Data and required information were collected through library studies and field methods. The statistical sample for assessing effect-oriented indicators consisted of 134 residential units, which were systematically surveyed by visiting door-to-door. The statistical sample for assessing expert observation indicators consisted of 15 urban affairs specialists. For the analysis of effect-oriented indicator data, structural equation modeling was used employing Smart PLS software, and for the analysis of expert observation data, the Best-Worst Method and Excel software were employed.
Results
Data analysis using factor analysis to examine the extent of shared common variance of a variable with other variables showed that, except for the indicator "status of access to various neighborhood uses by walking" with a factor loading of 0.676 and the indicator "level of recognition of neighborhood territories and public spaces" with a factor loading of 0.620, all other indicators had factor loadings above 0.7. In the one-by-one examination of the indicators of each component, it was determined that, respectively: the indicator "status of acoustic health of the neighborhood" with a factor loading of 0.845; the indicator "level of recognition of natural or man-made signs in the neighborhood" with a factor loading of 0.779; the indicator "level of use of neighborhood educational spaces" with a factor loading of 0.784; the indicator "status of visiting hours for neighborhood public spaces" with a factor loading of 0.892; the indicator "status of access to daily and weekly shopping centers in the neighborhood" with a factor loading of 0.858; and the indicator "status of social security in neighborhood public spaces (absence of thugs and harassment of people)" with a factor loading of 0.869, have the highest factor loadings within each component. Furthermore, all functional environmental quality components, by assigning values above 0.19, provide an acceptable explanation of functional environmental quality. In this regard, the components of self-sufficiency and vitality, with values of 0.223 and 0.253 respectively, provide a weak explanation. The safety and security component, with a value of 0.367, provides a moderate explanation, and the accessibility component, with a value of 0.732, shows a strong explanation of functional environmental quality.
Discussion and Conclusion
According to the dominant thinking in environmental quality studies, which is the legacy of empiricists such as Lynch and Appleyard, establishing balance and examining the interaction between the individual and the environment using the residents' empirical research approach, in the form of effect-oriented (subjective) indicators and expert observation (objective) indicators, can lead to more realistic results. In fact, without simultaneous attention to these indicators, desirable results in urban planning and design cannot be achieved. This is even more imperative in the case of informal settlements. Because these settlements, due to their nature of typically experiencing uncontrolled and spontaneous growth, create more complex and different conditions compared to other urban settlements. On the other hand, given the need to organize informal settlements, estimating and providing an acceptable level of environmental needs for the residents of these settlements is essential. The present study indicates that the physical and functional environmental quality of the informal Sayan neighborhood is not adequate, and this condition, subjectively, is closely related to the objective condition of the environmental quality. In this regard, the subjective and objective quality of the physical environment are noteworthy in the form of the legibility and thoroughfares components, respectively. The legibility component, compared to the thoroughfare's component, refers to qualities in the physical environment that are more human-oriented and should be considered and intervened upon to improve environmental desirability. This can be interpreted as reflecting the relatively chaotic spatial-physical structure of the informal Sayan neighborhood. On the other hand, the subjective and objective quality of the functional environment of the Sayan neighborhood highlights the high importance of accessibility and land use components for the neighborhood residents. Improving these components will have the greatest impact on enhancing the desirability of the functional environment. Considering the poor condition of the accessibility component, this indicates a severe lack of access to basic and fundamental needs at the neighborhood level. A large part of the accessibility poverty in the Sayan neighborhood is related to the special location of this neighborhood, which itself is partly an inherent characteristic of informal settlements regarding their unplanned siting.
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