نوع مقاله : علمی - پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار جغرافیا و برنامهریزی شهری، دانشگاه شهید چمران اهواز، اهواز، ایران
2 دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد جغرافیا و برنامهریزی شهری، دانشگاه شهید چمران اهواز، اهواز، ایران
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Abstract
Improving and renovating worn urban textures is always one of the issues and challenges of today's cities. Making decisions to choose the right design in cities has become one of the main challenges of urban management. In recent years, incentive policies have been adopted by the government and urban management to improve this type of texture, which can reduce the problems of urban burnout by identifying worn neighborhoods and their problems and informing and involving residents. For this purpose, the present study has been conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of urban management incentive policies on the renovation of worn textures of Ahvaz city. The present theoretical study is conducted with applied purposes using the descriptive-analytical method. Statistical techniques of mean, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and simple linear regression were used in SPSS software to analyze the data and test the research hypothesis. The results of t-test and linear regression showed that incentive policies have increased the desire of residents and investment in the renovation of the worn-out urban fabric and these policies are effective in the desire of residents to renovate worn-out fabric. The results of measuring urban management incentive policies and its role in strengthening neighborhood cohesion show that these two variables have a direct and significant relationship based on Pearson correlation coefficient and the results of the t-test indicate that urban management incentive policies will strengthen neighborhood cohesion. Finally, based on the Pearson correlation coefficient, there is a direct relationship between urban management incentive policies and the value of worn-out structures, and these policies affect the real estate value of these types of structures.
Keywords: Incentive Policies, Urban Management, Renovation of Worn-Out Urban Textures, Ahvaz City.
Extended abstract
Introduction
The organization and management of worn-out urban fabrics in Iranian cities face several fundamental shortcomings. The first and most critical issue is the absence of adequate incentive policies, a clearly defined responsible authority, and stable, earmarked financial resources necessary for precise, systematic planning to control and rehabilitate these distressed areas. Although municipalities are the primary bodies responsible for implementing urban development plans and overseeing construction activities, public funds and government assistance are allocated and spent under state-controlled management. The plans and policies implemented under the paradigm of worn-out-fabric revitalization in the era of globalization have predominantly emphasized physical reconstruction and economic growth aligned with capital accumulation, while largely neglecting the social dimension and the existing social networks within these neighborhoods. This oversight has contributed to the failure of many improvement and renewal projects, resulting in substantial challenges and prolonged project interruptions.
All over the world, worn-out urban and rural areas constitute a fixed component of urban development programs and hold the highest priority in revitalization and regeneration agendas. Urban renewal projects in Iranian cities, however, have largely failed to achieve their intended goals, underscoring the need to evaluate the impacts of these interventions nationwide. A significant share of the population in Iranian cities lives in worn-out urban fabric. According to the latest statistics, there are 76,354 hectares of worn-out fabric across 49 cities in Iran. Iran’s Fifth Development Plan mandates the annual renewal and rehabilitation of 10 percent of these areas. Nevertheless, this objective has not been realized, and only 13% of such areas were renewed during the Fourth and Fifth Development Plans.
Additionally, 55,000 hectares of land are occupied by informal settlements, bringing the total extent of substandard urban fabric in Iran to 131,000 hectares, where approximately 21 million urban residents live. Statistics provided by the Iran Urban Regeneration and Improvement Company indicate that during the Fourth Development Plan, only about 7% of worn-out urban fabric nationwide was renewed, with approximately 65% financed by residents and only 5% by the government and municipalities. This stands in contrast to the legal target of completing 53% of the renewal during the same period. Therefore, given the current trajectory and prevailing managerial approaches, particularly the emphasis on direct interventions and existing incentive policies, there is little optimism about the successful renewal or resolution of the problems facing worn-out urban fabrics.
Method
This applied study used a descriptive–analytical method. Library sources and field methods were employed to collect the required data. The statistical population consists of residents living in the worn-out urban fabrics of Ahvaz as well as subject-matter experts. According to the 2021 Ahvaz Municipality Statistical Yearbook, approximately 400,000 people reside in these worn-out areas. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample size of 380 residents was determined. For the expert population, due to its limited size, a sample of 20 individuals was selected.
The sampling technique used to obtain the research sample was proportional stratified sampling, in which samples are selected from each stratum in proportion to its relative size. In this approach, strata with larger populations contribute a proportionally larger number of samples. The choice of stratification variables typically depends on the variables available to the researcher. For data analysis, statistical tests, including the t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient, were performed in SPSS version 26.
Results
As the residents of the worn-out textures of Ahvaz and the urban experts commented, the incentive policies are effective in influencing residents’ willingness to invest in renovating the urban worn-out textures of Ahvaz, with means of 4.15 and 3.97, and a total of 4.06, respectively. Moreover, compared to other incentive policies, economic and financial policies, with mean scores of 4.11 and 4.25, respectively, play the most significant role in increasing residents’ willingness to renovate urban worn-out areas.
The regression model of the effectiveness of incentive policies on residents’ willingness to renovate worn-out textures depicts that incentive policies have a 0.44% effect on increasing residents’ willingness. Moreover, the obtained beta value indicates that economic and financial policies, with a value of 0.616, significantly increase residents’ willingness. The relationship between urban management incentive policies and neighborhood cohesion, based on Pearson correlation, has a coefficient of 0.118 and a significance level of 0.03. Therefore, the results indicate a direct and significant relationship between these two variables. The simple t-test also shows that the city management’s incentive policies will strengthen neighborhood cohesion, with an average score of 4.51 out of 5 and a statistically significant result.
Discussion and Conclusion
The results showed that incentive policies had played a role in increasing residents’ willingness to invest in renovating the worn-out areas of Ahvaz city. So, these policies are effective in the residents’ willingness to renovate the worn-out textures. The results of measuring the incentive policies of urban management and their role in strengthening neighborhood cohesion reveal that these two variables are directly and significantly correlated (Pearson’s r = 0.55, p < 0.01) and that incentive policies of urban management can strengthen neighborhood cohesion. Finally, there is a direct correlation between urban management incentive policies and the real estate value of worn-out textures, such that these policies affect their real estate value.
کلیدواژهها English
