The Impacts of Regeneration Programs in Valuable Rural Fabric on the Rural Settlements Development

In rural development programs, the protection of existing values and development represent two conflicting goals. On the one hand the authenticity and local values need to be protected and on the other, there is a need to ensure the economic prosperity of rural settlements. The regeneration of valuable fabric of rural settlements will lead to environmental, physical, economic and social consequences. Existing literature shows that the regeneration of valuable rural areas and their preservation without any intervention in rural landscape or spaces for tourist interests alongside preserving local identity and values can prepare the ground for physical-spatial development of rural settlements. This literature places emphasis on integrative regeneration approaches that protect the authenticity, local values and economic growth and considers a developmental approach to preservation as suitable. Although the identification and protection of valuable rural fabric with the aim of preserving rural cultural and historical heritage is important, the methods of preservation and maintenance of these rural areas seem to be more critical. The purpose of this paper is to examine social, economic, physical and environmental changes following the implementation of regeneration programs in valuable rural areas.
This applied research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, using survey as its main method of data collection. The statistical population of this study is consisted of residents of three villages of Naiband, khoor and the Forg in South Khorasan province, where the rural regeneration program has been implemented in their historically valuable rural fabric. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample of 310 subjects were determined. The questionnaire used ordinal and Likert-scale. To analyze the data, the Wilcoxon test (nonparametric variables) and T dependent samples (parametric variables) were used.
Social dimension: To assess the social implications of the program, the status of these variables before and after the implementation have been compared. Results indicate a significant social changes after the implementation of the program in three villages.
Physical dimension: Survey responses about the physical aspects of the program show a significant (significance level of less than 0.05) change (improvement) compared to the pre-implementation condition.
Environmental aspects: Storm water runoff management, waste disposal management as well as the cleanliness of the villages are indicative of environmental improvement after the implementation of the program in valuable rural fabric. In particular, this difference is significant in Khor village.
Economic dimension: Survey respondent's views on the economic changes resulted from the program indicate a significant improvement in all villages except for Naibad village.
This study shows that the regeneration program in valuable rural fabric has resulted in positive social, physical, environmental and economic changes, given that the program took into consideration the context of each village and avoid non-local methods and excessive physical intervention in these villages. However, factors such as unfavorable natural conditions such as natural hazards and poor location of villages have resulted in a lower quality planning in terms of economic and environmental aspects. In order to improve this program, the paper presents a number of suggestions under five categories of restoration of rural fabric, service providision, tourism, security and community development. All these five categories are interdependent and indispensable in order to achieve the desired development goals.