Investigating the Impact of Empowerment Programs in Suburbs on Increasing Social Capital(Case Study: Pakdasht County)

In recent years, urban development policy in dealing with informal settlements has shifted from a negative approach to community-based policies such as improvement, empowerment, and community-based reform. The empowerment strategy seeks to empower communities to solve their problems with their own ideas, resources, potential, and arm. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the impact of empowerment programs in suburban areas on increasing social capital. This is a descriptive-analytical study. It is an applied study and a survey method is used. The population of the study consisted of all residents of Pakdasht city (Ostad Shahriar neighborhood) with an estimated population of about 30,000 in the suburbs. Thus, the sample size is obtained using Cochran's table (sample size=379). The instrument used for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Then the questionnaires were distributed among the statistical population and then regression test and SPSS software were implemented. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between empowerment and social capital. Empowering suburbs and giving them some benefits can have a huge impact on people living in these neighborhoods, increasing their social capital. Generally speaking, social capital and empowerment are in a mutual relationship.