Studying Citizens' Security Feeling in Urban Neighborhoods (Case study: District 3, Zone 4 of Tehran City)

Security feeling is one of the most prominent aspects of the growth of societies and the bedrock of growth, development and stability in that society. The unique situation of district 3, zone 4 of Tehran, has made the study of the security feeling in this district an important issue. In addition to studying security feeling in this zone, the present study aims at investigating the various dimensions of security feeling in the neighborhoods of District 3 and comparing them with each other.

A researcher-made questionnaire was used to conduct the survey. Given the sensitivity of the issue and the respondents at home not being interested in taking part in the survey, therefore, the respondents were selected in public spaces. The sample size is 500 respondents that were distributed in the studied neighborhoods. Based on the Cronbach's alpha value, the reliability of the spectra is in the range of 0.72 to 0.88.

There is a significant difference in the security feeling, as the central variable of the research, in the 6 neighborhoods studied in District 3. This situation is repeated in most aspects of the security feeling with slight discrepancies in different neighborhoods. Men also feel significantly more secure than women. The security feeling also differs significantly with respect to the level of education. The highest average rank of security feeling belongs to the illiterate people and those with elementary level education, and the lowest security feeling belongs to the respondents holding master’s degree and PhD. Also, the older the people, the higher their security feeling, and vice versa. Conclusion and Suggestions: In neighborhoods with a dense population space in District 3, wherein a large number of people not knowing each other, and strangers live side by side, provides a favorable environment for violating the rules and norms of the neighborhood and the city, enhancing crime rate and consequently creating a sense of insecurity. The under study zone has reduced the scope of social monitoring through collective conscience due to the rapid expansion of construction in the last decade, which has led to a dense zone accommodating immigrants and strangers. In order to promote security feeling in the neighborhoods of District 3, it is recommended to monitor the constructions and respect for privacy, and strengthen the monitoring method of "street eyes" and also to pay attention to the cultural commonalities of the immigrants and the host community in order to provide ground for their participation in strengthening the security feeling of the zone.