A Study of the Effects of the Formation of Second Homes on Spatial Separation in New Towns (Case Study: Sadra New Town)

Today, the phenomenon of second homes has become one of the most important reasons for changing the landscape of urban suburbs and urban and rural areas around metropolitan cities. These homes are usually bought for spending one’s spare time and weekends, or for retirement, and sometimes for investment. One of the most important consequences of this phenomenon is the clustering and separation of the city in terms of spatial and social spheres. In Iran, with the development of urbanization, citizens have turned their attention to the construction of villas around the cities to relax and spend their leisure time. Sadra New Town is a prominent example of the formation of second homes in the form of a pre-designed garden-house model. Therefore, it seems necessary to examine the causes and consequences of this pattern of habitation and its social-spatial separation from different dimensions. In this study, analytical and descriptive method was utilized. To gather the data, documentary-library method, along with the statistics and the data collected through the Questionnaire of Garden-Cities of Sadra, was employed. Goeller Matrix Method was used to investigate the separation and the interconnection level of the garden-cities area with other urban areas. Based on the findings, more than half of the participants stated that their primary motivation was to make a garden-house for their leisure time during the weekends and holidays. The results of the survey of the interconnection level of garden-cities with other city areas indicated that in terms of natural and environmental indicators (77.5%) and economic indicator (28.13%), Sadra garden-cities have the highest and lowest degree of integration with other city areas of Sadra, respectively. Finally, the overall interconnection level of Sadra garden-cities was found to be 43.05% compared to other urban areas. Based on the findings, garden-cities have led to an unbalanced structure in the city. In addition, the tendency to polarization and spatial separation and structural anomalies are growing in this city. Therefore, it should be noted that the positive effects of tourism of second homes would not come on its own. In fact, in order for these effects to be realized, they must be properly planned and managed.