Vandalism and sense of local belonging in rural areas of Birjand

The sense of local belonging is a factor that alters a space into a place of special sensory and behavioral characteristics for individuals. The sense of belonging represents public perception of an environment and more or less conscious feelings about a place; however, there are several factors that weaken the sense of belonging, one of which is the insecurity resulted from vandalism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between rural vandalism and weakening the sense of belonging among the peripheral rural areas of Birjand County. In this study, descriptive-analytical research method was used to investigate the problem. The population of the study consisted of 13 suburban villages of Birjand County. The sample was composed of 191 people determined based on Cochran’s formula with an error rate of 0.07%. The results showed there are three types of rural vandalism in suburban villages of Birjand County, included: violating cultural norms, rubbery and demolition, and infraction. The main reason contributing to vandalism was the weak law enforcement. Overall, deprivation of settlements in suburban Birjand, compared to the central areas, along with ethnic and cultural diversity have led to "spatial boredom" of the population and occasionally their confrontation with it. This issue, on the one hand, reflects the low quality of life and poor welfare of the residents and, on the other hand, it calls for the special attention of the planning system to achieve "local acceptability" among the residents.