Analyzing the Role of Development Stimulating Projects in the Realization of Regeneration Policies (Case Study: the Central Area of Sanandaj City)

Despite having potential and strengths, the old fabric of the cities has faced many changes over time and has gradually suffered from failure and disruption in various functional, economic, social, physical, communication, and environmental dimensions. Disturbance and chaos in the land use system, some environmental pollution, placement of parts of the fabric in the privacy of historical monuments and inadequate construction standards in it, the gradual withdrawal of capital and activity, and the replacement of residential function with very low-quality cause a decrease in the importance and value of the old fabric and it has become the identity maker of cities. Over time, this has led to the departure of groups with high financial power and belonging to the place and the replacement of low-income groups with no sense of belonging to the place and space. Since the old neighborhoods are a sign of the cultural and historical identity of the cities and their destruction is an ax on the roots of the identity of the residents, the necessity of taking care of these textures and organizing and revitalizing them is felt. Many policies and programs have recently been implemented to improve the quality and re-creation of disordered urban tissues. One of the new policies in urban development in general and in the regeneration of disordered urban contexts, in particular, is to use measures and projects to stimulate development to accelerate and facilitate the transformation process in these contexts. The drivers of development as a platform for social and economic functions increase the motivation to participate in the improvement and renovation process and also cause the desire of the private sector to invest in the desired context. In this approach, the effects on existing uses can be seen in the approach of stimulating development without the need for intervention. Significant investments in understanding the context and the appropriate stimulus element of hardware or software are adopted by the main goals and wishes of the local community. Development-stimulating processes create dynamism through the recycling of unused land or existing ruined places of the fabric to strengthen activities and social relations, such as space for leisure time and job creation. Also, without the need for massive investments, these processes create the ability to revive worn-out fabrics, which are historical and valuable in four physical, social, economic, and environmental dimensions, which also improve the quality of the elements and their surrounding environment in apositive  way.

Regarding the purpose and nature of the research, this article is in the category of applied research. In order to achieve the goals and answer the questions, the evaluation research method has been used for evaluation after implementing the development stimulus project. SPSS software was used for quantitative data analysis, and MAXQDA software was used for qualitative data analysis. This way, the results of document studies and then analysis of the interviews conducted by this software (MAXQDA) will be presented. According to documentary and library studies, field studies and interviews conducted in this field were identified using 5-dimension and 41-category MAXQDA software to identify the effectiveness of development-stimulating projects to realize sustainable urban regeneration.

In this research, the measured dimensions have been examined in five physical-spatial, cultural-emotional, economic, environmental, and managerial dimensions. According to the results of the t-test, it can be seen that each indicator of the development stimulating projects has different effects on the realization of the regeneration of the central area of ​​Sanandaj city. For example, in the physical dimension, the indicators of efficient urban furniture with numerical value (3.7), efficient sidewalk (3) and accessibility (2.8); In the economic dimension, respectively, the indicators of land and housing price changes with numerical value (4.4), showcasing local jobs and entrepreneurship (3.8) and the number of employees (3.4); In the social-cultural dimension, respectively, indicators of local empowerment with numerical value (4.9), giving local, native and urban identity (4.3) and social capacity building and increasing social and urban security (4); In the environmental dimension, according to the indicators of urban waste collection and disposal with a numerical value (4.9), increase of urban and local green spaces (3) and segregation of waste in the environment (2.7) and in the management dimension according to the indicators of providing facilities And urban services with numerical value (4), use of new technology (2.2) and access to efficient public transportation (2) have the greatest impact on the realization of urban regeneration policies.

One-sample t-test was used to measure the effectiveness of development-stimulating projects in the five physical-spatial, cultural-social, economic, environmental, and managerial dimensions of re-creating valuable heritage tissues implemented in the central area of ​​Sanandaj city and measuring the improvement of the quality of the environment from the residents' point of view. The results of the findings showed that in the physical-spatial dimension, the criteria of efficient urban furniture and efficient sidewalk were evaluated positively with coefficients (of 4.162 and 2.954), respectively, and the level of residents' satisfaction with the projects of this dimension with a weighted average of (2.518) the average is down. In the social-cultural dimension, 13 criteria were evaluated. Only four criteria, social and urban security, local empowerment, social capacity building, and promotion of local, native, and urban identity, have a significant relationship with the creation of stimulating projects and the level of satisfaction of the residents of the central area of ​​Sanandaj city The social effects of such projects are desirable. In the economic dimension, the only measure of the stability of land and housing prices is positive in relation to the development stimulating projects and has a significant relationship. The examination of economic categories showed that developing prosperity and investments in various businesses can gradually increase the demand for life and work in this area. This factor will automatically lead to the boom of construction and the renovation of the physical fabric of the neighborhoods. Still, the residents are not satisfied with the economic effects of the projects, and they agree on this issue. Moreover, in two environmental and management dimensions, the development of stimulating projects have brought positive impacts. However, the weighted average of these dimensions with (2 and 1) respectively indicates the residents’ dissatisfaction with this area. According to the findings, among the examined dimensions, the residents have more desires and satisfaction towards the criteria of the cultural-social and physical-spatial dimensions than other dimensions. This seems to be the homogeneity of the residents in terms of ethnicity, language, religion, and common culture. However, the management structures still need to meet the needs of the residents due to the lack of proper urban services, the lack of necessary facilities, and the factors that have been evaluated as weak.