Environmental Quality Assessment of Low-Income Housing The Case of Mehr Housing Complex in Takestan City

The environmental quality of housing provided for the low-income population is a challenging problem since the increasing demand versus limited resource allocation leads to an emphasis on quantitative solutions with less emphasis on, or even neglect of, the qualitative aspects of housing as a multidimensional entity. In recent years, the Government has invested significantly in construction of residential complexes for low-income population under the title of Mehr Housing Scheme. This paper reports the results of an environmental quality assessment study conducted in two of these Mehr Housing complexes built on the suburbs of Takestan City. For the purpose of this study, a survey was undertaken in both of these complexes with a sample size of 360, covering both genders in different age groups and with diverse employment and education levels. The responses were then analyzed to develop a value tree at four levels. At the second level, the quality of residential environment was broken into: (i) the quality of building environment; (ii) the quality of complex environment; and (iii) the quality of the city. These categories were further broken at third and fourth levels to some 47 independent indicators. The results indicate that the residents are not generally satisfied with the quality of their housing environment. It was further noted that contrary to a common belief, social factors such as security, social interaction and place attachment are more important for the low income population than economic factors or the cost of housing.