An Analysis of the Villager's Satisfaction of Rural Settlements (Case Study: Ravansar County)

Rural development originates from a variety factors and one of which is desirable housing. Rural areas are highly dependent on housing due to their nature. In these areas, houses, in addition to being a settlement, have other functions such as being a place for raising cattle and the related products and other economic activities (i.e. agricultural products). Given the importance of rural settlements, investigating the factors influencing habitants’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction can be helpful in analyzing current status of settlement, future decisions to enhance the quality of living areas and avoid a repeat of those defects in other places. Therefore, considering the importance of the research, the aim of the present study which is descriptive-analytical, is to examine the villagers’ satisfaction in Ravansar and investigate the factors that affect their settlement satisfaction. Statistical population consisted of 5998 householders in 143 villages of Ravansar County. Using the Cochran formula and through the multistage sampling method, 180 people were selected as the sample size. In this study, 18 villages as the target ones were selected from six Rural Districts located in Ravansar County and the questionnaires were distributed among the householders (n = 180). The instrument used was a questionnaire which its validity was confirmed superficially by the opinion of experts and university professors. A pilot test was conducted to assess the reliability coefficient of the questionnaires which its Cronbach's alpha coefficient was more than 0.86 percent. The collected field data were analyzed using SPSS. Data analysis indicated that %40.6 of rural residents of Ravansar County were of low level, %37.8 of moderate level, and %21.7 of high level of satisfaction. In general, onesample t-test results at 0.95 percent showed that satisfaction level was lower than moderate in the area. The findings also indicated that 6 variables such as the economic, welfare, facilities, physical, health, and structural explains %80.88 of the total variance of variables (factors influencing their satisfaction with rural housing). Duncan test results showed that Ghori Ghale and Zalo Ab Rural Districts were the highest and lowest in terms of satisfaction level of rural housing or housing units in which they live among the Rural Districts of Ravansar County.