Comparing residents satisfaction from state initiated and self-owned Mehr housing (A case study of Amol)

Satisfaction with the residential environment is an important factor for attaining life satisfaction. One of the most important measures of the Iranian state is the provision of housing for low and middle income classes in cities through the Mehr Housing Project. It seems that the policy behind this project paid particular attention to quantitative aspects of housing rather than its social and economic characteristics. The Mehr Housing Project is the biggest national housing plan which needs to be studied in terms of its outcomes due to its broad and new character in Iran. The present research aims to investigate and compare the satisfaction level of the residents of the state-initiated andself-owned Mehr houses in Amol.

 The research methodology was based on descriptive and analytical approaches and the required data was collected via field survey and secondary documents. The number of samples was determined using Cochran formula to be 253. Due to data abnormality, nonparametric tests were applied to analyze the residents’ satisfaction. Also, the binomial test was used to investigate and identify the satisfaction level with both state-initiated and self-owned Mehr houses. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to compare the satisfaction level between state-initiated and self-owned Mehr housing project. Finally, Friedman’s test was used to rank the satisfaction level of residents. Amol state Mehr housing, with 546 households, is located in Hezarsangar Avenue, Amol, Iran.These complexes were constructed by 4 different cooperative companies. In addition, there are 3 other self-owned Mehr housing complexes, includeing the Paniz complex with 64 units and Pahlevanzadeh complex with 64 units, both located on the Taaleb-e Amoli avenue, and Royal-Roz complex with 182 units located on the Mirzahashem-e Amoli boulevard. The socio-economic condition, landscape and access in the self-owned Mehr housing is better than that in the state Mehr hosing.Cochran’s method was used to determine the sample size. Eventually, 253 households(153 households from the state Mehr hosing and 100 households from self-owned Mehr housing)were interviewed. Due to data abnormality, nonparametric tests were used to analyze the residents’ satisfaction. The applied methods include the binomial, Mann-Whitney and Friedman tests.

In this article, we tried to evaluate the objective and subjective factors that affect residents’ satisfaction with the state and self-owned Mehr hosing. The results show that the satisfaction level is low in all the housing components, the minimum satisfaction level being associated with the facilities, visibility and landscape. In Mehrself-owned housing, a dissatisfaction is observed with the components of facilities, visibility and landscape. As for the other components, given that the significance level was 0.05, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction level with any of the components was not significant. However, the degree of satisfaction with Mehr self-owned housing is relatively higher than that of the state.According to the results, Mehr housing complexes do not meet the expectations of residents. It can thus be argued that certain quantitative aspects along with the apperance of the houses have been prioritized in planning the construction and implementation of the Mehr housing project. The results are consistent with previous research results for mostcomponents. As a result, neglecting the quality, needs and satisfaction of residents has led to dissatisfaction with Mehr housing project. Therefore, managers and planners need to review the objectives and receive feedback from residents.
 

 
In providing housing for low-income groups, quality improvement, particularly in the area of the quality of physical space, the provision of educational, health and commercial services, the provision of sports equipment, playgrounds and greenery, the reinforcement of public transport and landscaping are necessary and effective on the satisfaction of residents. It is thus suggested to develop some strategies to achieve the above objectives for the Mehr housing complexes in Amol.
The culture-led urban regeneration and cultural tourism are two sides of a coin in the renovation of valuable urban areas. The first is a comprehensive process for saving the deteriorated urban areas of the city from the destruction of physic and activity, and the latter is the most effective way of promoting people’s participation, culture and art and mobilizing social and cultural forces for old urban areas.  Culture-led urban regeneration is one of the most recent approaches to sustainable urban regeneration, which, after many years of experience, has proved its legitimacy not only as a theoretical approach, but also as a practical strategy for the modernization and improvement of the old neighborhoods. The contribution of the cultural and human heritage of valuable neighbors to the process of regeneration can be realized because the local economy and related businesses would be supported through tourism development and tourists’ interest in such neighborhoods. Therefore, the culture-led urban regeneration through tourism development can be considered as one of the most promising solutions for the sustainable regeneration of old towns.When tourism is considered as way of rehabilitation of the underlying culture, culture-based tourism is clearly intended. Cultural tourism is defined as a type of tourism whose main purpose is to spread the horizons of knowledge through the discovery of artistic heritage or architecture of a land. This article investigates the interaction of the two in the framework of strategic planning of cultural tourism development in the old fabric of Rasht, which covers the Zahedan and Sagharisazan neighborhoods. The research method is descriptive-analytic, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative tools, including a questionnaire, for data collection. The internal and external factors are evaluated through a panel of 30 local experts, including experts from the Municipality and Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department. The sampling method was snowball sampling due to the uncertainty of the population.The results show that, despite having its own cultural resources, the old fabric of Rasht has not been able to use local resources due to the weakness of the cultural tourism infrastructure and the lack of creativity in the use of art and culture in the process of culture-led urban regeneration.Prioritized strategies, executive policies and action plans were developed for mobilizing cultural and artistic sources in developing cultural tourism while actively protecting cultural heritage and identity simultaneously. Creating new and different tourist attractions through reviving ritual traditions, improving historic buildings by planning attractive activities for tourists and pedestrinization of Bazar-Khahar-e- Imam –Zarjub are among the most prioritized strategies designed for cultural-led urban regeneration through urban tourism in the old fabric of Rasht. Besides, the results of this article show that the plan for tourism development in the Iranian historical neighborhoods should be a long-term plan that prioritizes the provision of infrastructure and changes in short-term views towards urban management