Personal Networks and Neighborhood Attachment in Tehran city:with emphasis on the role of modern communication mediums

Attachment to the neighborhood represents a positive mental feeling toward the residential place that links associated with residential location and causing the residents’ commitment to habitat and their desire to maintain a relationship with it over the time and at different stages of life. Present research examines neighborhood attachment and the effect of personal networks and modern communication mediums on attachment.Both local and nonlocal ties are considered.
Population of the survey consists of people aged over 15 years old residingin different districts of Tehran.The sample size is 391 respondents who were randomly chosen through cluster sampling method from districts 3, 11 and 18 of the city. Four neighborhoods in each district were randomly selected.
Based on the results,the level of neighborhood attachment is medium. Most of the individuals’ties are nonlocal.While the localties have significant effect on attachment to the neighborhood, nonlocal ties are not related to it. The findings also show that among the new communication medium, the Internet does not have significant effect on attachment to the neighborhood .Among the demographic and neighborhood characteristics, age, family income, and length of residence are positively associated with the attachment to neighborhood.