A Comparative Study of Human Dignity Criteria in the New and Old Neighborhoods of Hakimieh and Iran Street of Tehran

The concept of human dignity means honoring the essence and existence of man as God's highest creation. This concept can also be spatially interpreted in urban planners' programs and interventions. For example, it would seem to be possible to distinguish between neighborhoods who provide higher levels of human dignity for their residents than those who do not meet this criterion. Old and traditional neighborhoods of Iranian cities, may have weaknesses in meeting the new expectations of residents because of infrastructure degradation and changes in urban needs. However, they are more attractive than new neighborhoods yet because of their respect to some qualities. This study aims to answer the question that what are the criteria of human dignity and have the newly built neighborhoods (case of Hakimieh in the west of Tehran, Iran) succeeded in preserving human dignity at least as much as the old ones (the case of Iran Street neighborhood in the central historic context of Tehran)? Accordingly, this paper is developmental comparative research. The definition of the criteria of human dignity is based on the opinions of Muslim scholars, as well as the works of non-Muslim scholars. Data collection has also been done through the archival and field survey methods. In this framework, some questions have been formulated to form a semi-structured questionnaire to measure each criteria of human dignity (derived from the provided theoretical framework). In each of the two neighborhoods, 100 questionnaires (a total of 200 questionnaires) were completed. The sample size was estimated using Cochran formula and random sampling. It should be noted that the two neighborhoods had similar conditions in terms of land prices and income levels, but they were differed in time of constructions. The results of the survey show that the criteria of human dignity as a characteristic of the desirable Islamic city in the traditional and old neighborhood of Iran Street have been realized more than the new and modern neighborhood of Hakimieh. Findings show that the Hakimieh neighborhood is not far from the traditional Iran Street neighborhood, in terms of physical facilities and services (measures of intrinsic dignity such as "facilities for education" and "level of well-being and infrastructures"). However, according to spiritual values of dignity (such as "unity" and "participation in charities"), Hakimieh is significantly weaker than Iran Street neighborhood. As a result, it may be possible to claim that purely physical approaches to urban planning (such as providing services per capita) have failed to generate sufficient human dignity in the newly formed neighborhoods. Future studies can first replicate this assay in different neighborhoods of Tehran and other cities of Iran. Secondly, they can evaluate the programs and human dignity in them: programs such as comprehensive plans, renovation plans, and other interventions in the residential contexts.