Evaluation of the Quality of Life in Informal Settlements, Tehran Metropolitan (Case Study: Islamabad Salehabad)

The study of the quality of life in urban areas has been considered extensively in recent years. Among them, the informal settlements (marginalization)- as the major problems of modern metropolitan regions that are expected to have low level facilities, welfare, accessibility, and thus low standards of living- have attracted the attention of the authors. Therefore, two informal settlements, Islamabad in north of Tehran and Salehabad in south of Tehran have been selected as the research topic. In this regard, the research questions are as follow: “Are there any differences between the quality of life in Salehabad and Islamabad?” and “what is the main factor affecting the quality of life in these two informal settlements?” Research hypotheses are: First: It seems that satisfactory levels of quality of life in Islamabad and Salehabad are significantly different. Second, it seems that economic components are the most important factors affecting the quality of life in informal settlements. The term “quality of life” has no clear origin. Although quality of life is attractive and has a general sense, it doesn’t have a universally accepted definition. Whatever phrase used, the quality of life of a person is dependent on objective and external facts of his or her life and hissubjective perceptions of these factors and himself (Lotfi, 2009, 65). Fu (2000) defines “quality of life” as the person’s overall satisfaction with his life. Das (2008) defines “quality of life” as people’s social welfare and their living environment. Quality of urban life has two main approaches: Objective approach and Subjective approach (Lee 2008). In this paper we have dealt with the subjective approach to assess quality of life. The most important qualities of life in Islamabad interpreted by using factor analysis are these 6 factors: satisfaction with public facilities (factor 1), satisfaction with the quality of the physical environment (factor 2), the welfare status (factor 3), water and air quality andtraffic (factor 4), the security situation in the neighborhood (factor 5), and economic status (factor 6). Each factor contains cases of related variables that are referred to in relevant tables in the text. Multiple-Regression Analysis can be used to identify the contribution of each domain in quality of life and the creation of causal model which shows the interaction between domains and reagents. One of the aims of this study is to establish a causal model by identifying the dominant domains effective in the quality of life in Islamabad. The main question in creating this model is: “Which domains of life have the most causal effect on the quality of life in the area under the study?” The answer to this question can be effective in the perception of the causal influence of the domains and also in designing effective programs to improve the quality of urban life in the region. Causal relationship between the domains of life and the satisfaction with life in Islamabad can be stated as following: 1) QoL = 0.485 × F3 + 0.462 × F4 + 0.082 × F5 + 0.072 × F6 + 0.043 × F2 − 0.026 × F1 F1: satisfaction with public facilities; F2: satisfaction with the quality of the physical environment; F3: the welfare status; F4: water and air quality and traffic; F5: local security situation; and F6: economic status. The total variance of the quality of life explained by this model is 46%. The research shows that life domains identified in this study have a direct impact on the quality of life. It was determined that the domain with the strongest causal effect is the third factor that is the welfare status. The next domain is the fourth factor that is the quality of water, air and traffic. Satisfaction of public facilities and economic situation are the domains which have the weakest causal impacts on the quality of life. The most important dimensions of the quality of life in Salehabad interpreted by using factor analysis are these six factors: Satisfaction with leisure and environmental facilities (factor 1), satisfaction with economic and security (factor 2), satisfaction with public facilities and Welfare (factor 3), satisfaction with physical environment condition (factor 4), garbage collection and disposal and sewage (factor 5), traffic and health (factor 6). Causal relationship between the domains of life and satisfaction with the quality of life in Salehabad is: 2) QoL = 0.446 × F2 + 0.399 × F4 + 0.236 × F5 + 0.190 × F6 − 0.024 × F1 − 0.019 × F3 F1: Satisfaction with leisure and environmental facilities; F2: satisfaction with economic and security; F3: satisfaction with public facilities and Welfare; F4: satisfaction with physical environment condition; F5: garbage collection and disposal and sewage; and F6: traffic and health. The total variance of the quality of life explained by this model is 45%. The results show that the domain with the strongest causal effect on the quality of life in Salehabad, is the second factor that is the economic satisfaction and security. The domains of the first and third factor, the satisfaction of leisure and environmental facilities and welfare, have the weakest causal effect on the quality of life. Therefore, in the studies conducted in the two settlements of Islamabad and Salehabad it was found that there are differences between the two habitats regarding most indicators of thequality of life. Descriptive findings of the survey show that regarding most indicators, Islamabad has a more favorable condition than Salehabad. In the analysis and comparison of the mean of individual variables in the two settlements, it was found that in these 26 proposed indicators, the mean of the responses in Islamabad is higher than Salehabad. However, only in 6 indicators the average satisfaction in Salahabad is higher than Islamabad. Based on the output of the T-test, comparing the mean of the responses on individual items, and according to the descriptive findings, the first research hypothesis indicating that the quality of life satisfaction among the inhabitants of the two regions has a significant difference, will be demonstrated. The results of the factor analysis and regression analysis indicate that in each settlement the most important predictors of the quality of life are different. This suggests that the quality of life varies according to locations. Thus, according to the research findings the second hypothesis in Salehabad is also proven, but it is rejected in the urban area of Islamabad. Thus, we can say that informal settlements are problematic and need to be empowered. Because experience has shown that this is the best strategy. In order to empower the settlements, identifying and assessing their quality of life will be very effective.