Analysis of the quality of rural settlements in the plains of the North of IranCase study: The Eastern and Western Bandpey District of Babol County

Rural housing is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure development of the country, which is not only a shelter but also a source of social and economic security for the society. In housing, basic human needs are met, and through this, it has affected the quality of human life. Nowadays, the demand for suitable housing is growing. Due to the many physical problems of rural housing from the past to the present and considering that the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution has seriously engaged in strengthening rural housing since 2005, however, most rural areas suffer from lack of adequate and high-quality housing. Reinforcement and renovation of residential areas, including rural areas, play an important role in preventing casualties and loss of life and property, especially in encountering earthquakes. An important part of rural housing problems is due to the lack of necessary asset and funds for this. The use of low-durability materials, especially non-compliance with technical regulations in the construction of housing, plays an important role in this case. According to the 2006 census, 54.1% of the dwellings in rural areas are still made of low-durable and semi-durable materials. Statistics show that most villagers live in old residential units that are not durable and their construction style is old. According to experts, the occurrence of successive earthquakes and locating parts of our country on dangerous faults and the fear and anxiety of the consequences of natural disasters have caused the people of cities and villages to try to strengthen or improve their homes. Since Isfahan province is located in the fault line, the issue of reinforcement of houses is of great importance and attention, especially in rural areas. According to housing experts and Construction Engineering, many villagers do not cooperate and try to apply their tastes without noticing and knowing the principles of building resilience. What are the proceedings of rural development agencies for the strengthening of rural housing? What is the level of public acceptance for receiving facilities to strengthen the resilience of rural housing.

The method of conducting studies in this research is descriptive-analytical and field study. The statistical population is the villages in Eastern and Western Bandpey District of Babol County. To measure the reliability of the research instrument (questionnaire), Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used, which was obtained as 0.76 for the studied variables. The studied statistical population was rural households living in the mentioned districts, among which the number of samples was determined based on Cochran formula, 220 households. Then, according to the population of each village, their shares were determined for the distribution of questionnaires which was distributed as simple random sampling, to measure and analyze data some descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and mean, and inferential statistics such as correlation coefficients (Chi-Square, Spearman, and Phi) in the SPSS software environment were used.

Considering that housing is the most important physical elements of villages, strengthening and rehabilitation are very important in preventing casualties and financial losses, especially against unpredictable disasters. Most of the villagers live in old and low-durable houses that are not durable enough, and even many new homes are unprincipled in construction and do not follow technical principles and rules. The results of correlation analysis show that lack of a valid guarantor, low income, high-interest rates on loans and administrative bureaucracy are the most important challenges in obtaining loans for home renovation. Furthermore, observance of technical principles, supervision of constructions and granting low-interest loans are related to the principled construction of rural housing up to 99% confidence level. The results of linear regression also show that there is a significant relationship between the quality of housing and low income of villagers and the inability to repay up to 99% confidence level.

In addition, the values allocated to each of the items examined in Friedman test indicate the importance of each of them. So that there is a significant difference between them. Also, the statistical results confirm the significant relationship between the role of officials and managers in construction to reduce housing poverty. Therefore, it is necessary and unavoidable to take measures to institutionalize the culture of housing resilience by officials and managers and to encourage and persuade villagers to pay more attention to this important issue.