Applying of the cognitive effect of the role of memory index on promoting the sense of belonging of residents in new and old neighborhoods in Shiraz City

A sense of belonging to a place, i.e. place attachment, means to have a perception of the environment and more or less conscious emotions on the surroundings, which brings one into an internal relationship with the surrounding environment. Thus, a person’s perception and emotions are bound by and integrated with the semantic context of the environment. A sense of place gives people comfort in an environment, and also leads individuals towards possession of an identity. Moreover, it can be stated that the sense of belonging to a space is a complex concept of human emotion and attachment to an environment, which is developed as a result of adaptation to the space and man’s application thereof.

Theoretical Framework

A review of the related literature can lead one to the roles of different factors in the formation of this sense, including the physical aspects of the environment, social characteristics of the residents, relationships between individuals and the environment, duration of residence, and, in general, memorability factors. The memorability factors influencing residents’ place attachment to the environment in their neighborhoods are divided into the two broad categories of physical memories and social memories. The measures affecting the probability of development of collective memory in cities include the residents’ familiarity with the neighborhood, neighborhood relations, etc., and the measures concerning the development of physical and spatial memory include the neighborhood center features, signs, introversion, etc.

The process of conducting the research is described as involving seven steps. The first step includes an extraction of the memorable factors which are influential on residents’ sense of attachment. For this purpose, the memory indicators are extracted via the documentary-analytical method. The results from the section on the theoretical framework reveal that the physical and social indicators are the most influential factors on the promotion of the sense of attachment in residents of neighborhoods in the city of Shiraz, Iran. The second step involved the development of the main research questionnaire. The features of physical and social memory are considered as the independent variables, and residents’ sense of attachment is considered as the dependent variable. In the third step, the ANOVA test is used for assessment of the level of homogeneity of the population from the old fabric and that from the new fabric. In the fourth step, the Spearman correlation coefficient is calculated for investigation of the effects of the memory factor on the promotion of the sense of attachment in the old and new fabrics. The fifth step involves the application of Tukey’s integrated test for comparison of the effects of physical and social memory on residents’ levels of  sense of attachment in different neighborhoods. In the sixth step, the paired-samples T test is employed to analyze the effects of physical and social memory on the improvement of residents’ sense of attachment to their neighborhoods and the significance of the differences. Consequently, the Pearson coefficient is used for investigation of the correlation between the different elements comprising the physical and social memory component, which influences residents’ sense of attachment to their neighborhoods. The neighborhoods selected for the case study include three situated in the old fabric, namely Sang Siyah, Eshagh Beig, and Bazare Morgh, examined along with three neighborhoods located in the new fabric, namely Abyari, Eslahe Nezhad, and Havabord. The districts to be examined for the case study are selected separately from the old and new fabrics given the similarities of the cultural components and the shared physical and social features measured in the present study.

It can be stated based on the above that the effect of physical and social memory on the promotion of residents’ sense of attachment in the selected neighborhoods of the same fabric is insignificant, and the selection for the case study has been appropriate in terms of feature similarity and homogeneity at the end of the assessment. The results obtained from the Spearman correlation coefficient reveal that a significant relationship exists between the sense of place attachment and memory in all the neighborhoods from the old and new fabrics. However, it can be stated in general that the Eshagh Beig neighborhood exhibits the greatest effect of physical memory in the old fabric on the improvement of the sense of attachment, and Bazare Morgh shows the least effect. In the new fabric, the Abyari neighborhood exhibits the greatest effect, and Havabord shows the least. 

In terms of the effects of social memory on the promotion of the sense of attachment, the Sang Siyah neighborhood exhibits the greatest effect, and Bazare Morgh shows the least effect in the old fabric, while the Abyari neighborhood exhibits the greatest effect, and Havabord shows the least in the new fabric. Based on this assessment, the mean effect of physical memory on the promotion of the sense of attachment is less than that of social memory in the old fabric. In the new fabric, however, the mean effect of physical memory on the promotion of the sense of attachment is significantly greater than that of social memory, and it can be stated in general that residents’ sense of attachment to neighborhoods in the new fabric is significantly lower than that in the old fabric. Given the results for the old fabric, memory-making elements in the neighborhood, from the physical memory indicator, and individuals’ familiarity, from social memory, exhibit the greatest effects, while the historical monuments factor, from physical memory, and NGOs, from social memory, have the least effects on residents’ sense of attachment to the living spaces. In the new fabric, memory-making elements in the neighborhood, from physical memory, and neighbors’ relations, from social memory, exhibit the greatest effects, and historical monuments, from physical memory, and social class, from social memory, have the lowest effects on the improvement of residents’ sense of attachment to the living spaces.