Strategies to promote vitality in Mehr housing complexesBy analyzing the lived experience of residents and the opinions of experts

Problem statement:

Adopting a modernist view of dwelling and limiting this view to physical needs have reduced urban spaces to one-dimensional, inhuman, soulless, lifeless structures. Moreover, they have reduced the use of residential complexes to shelters. The growing population in urban communities has led to the construction of residential complexes, especially in metropolitan areas, where modernist and minimalist approaches have been employed to provide quick and cheap shelter for the poor. For almost a decade, the construction of these residential complexes in Iran has been done under the name of Mehr Housing. The main obstacles to improving the vitality of such complexes, which have also been raised by the authorities, are financial issues and limited budgets.

Research objective:

This study first seeks to identify vitality and its components, and then to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the three housing complexes of Mehr housing in Pardis city (Hesa, Parseh, and Samen) in terms of vitality. For this purpose, the behaviors of their residents were observed and recorded. In addition, in-depth interviews were carried out with the residents of the complexes, and then strategies were proposed to enhance the vitality of the complexes in the current conditions at a fraction of the cost.

Research Method:

The methods of this research are qualitative and survey. The data for this study was collected through open-ended interviews. For this purpose, documentary research was carried out. In the first phase of the study, valid written sources, including books and articles, were reviewed and related experiences, the relevant concepts associated with the dimensions and variables of vitality, were extracted. In the second phase, survey studies, in addition to observing and recording behaviors, in-depth interviews were conducted with the citizens of the three residential complexes of Hesa, Parseh, and Samen as a case study, and the data gathered was categorized and analyzed using the content analysis method.

With reference to the financial difficulties of Mehr housing projects in the current situation, a logical solution requires paying attention to the mental, immaterial, and non-capital components of vitality. Based on the views of experts and analysis of interviews with residents, the most important immaterial component is a sense of belonging to a place. Part of the problem is that residents lack a sense of belonging to their place of residence. Since they have settled there for a long time, they do not know each other and find themselves in a new and unfamiliar place. However, it is possible to increase a sense of belonging among the residents of these complexes by adopting some measure