A Comparative Evaluation of Objective and Subjective Indicators of Life Quality in Informal Settlements in Varamin

One of the clearest indicators of fast growth in cities in developing countries like Iran is informal settlements. In this research, the situation of informal settlements in Varamin has been analyzed. The settlements include five neighborhoods including Lorabad, Amroabad, Gol Tappeh, Sakina Banoo, Deh Shrifa. This is a descriptive-analysis research. In this regard, the qualities of life in these neighborhoods have been examined in both objective and subjective aspects. Therefore, a random sampling was used where 381 people were selected in order to measure the subjective quality of the residents. Then the situation of economic, social, and physical indexes of these neighborhoods were assessed using questionnaire and field observations. The objective quality of these neighborhoods was assessed using statistics and official documents too. The GIS and SPSS software were used to evaluate the correlation between objective and subjective indicators. According to the research findings, the correlation between two objective and subjective indicators was 0.90 which was very high. However, the residents’ satisfaction level of the physical, economic, and social situations was very low. The average public satisfaction form neighborhood situation based on the Likert scale (1-5) was just 2.32. This shows unfavorable situation of the neighborhoods as far as municipal services, as well as economic and physical status are considered. In total, we can conclude that due to the lack of attention on the part of Varamin authorities and its municipality to use of existed barren lands efficiently, and the lack of attention to waste lands have all led to the growth of informal settlements and illegal constructions and if we do not focus on these matters on time, they will be expanded and become worse problems in future.