Explain the role of physical changes on the livability of rural settlements (Case study: villages of Lahijan city)

Rural settlements, as one of the existing geographical spaces, have witnessed many changes in recent decades. The source of these changes can be found in various dimensions, among which the physical dimension is perceived by residents due to being more tangible than other dimensions. Currently, the evolution of human settlements is one of the topics of discussion in geography. This discussion has various and complex dimensions that directly and indirectly affect on the quality of life of residents, the level of welfare and sustainability in the rural environment, which is the desired results of livability. Therefore, the present study seeks to investigate the role of physical changes on the livability of rural settlements. The purpose of the research is applied and its method is descriptive-analytical and the study area is the rural settlements in Lahijan city (23 villages). The required information was collected through documentary methods (general census, Hadi plan and its review) and field methods (rural assistants and heads of households), which was combined and verified after the indexing process. To measure physical changes, 5 components of housing, transportation changes, public service changes, tourism changes, land use changes and 71 variables have been used, and to measure livability, 141 variables and route analysis techniques have been used. The results show that public service changes, land use changes, tourism changes, transportation changes and housing changes have been the most effective to the least effective factors on livability in the study area, respectively.