Evaluating the effects of government policies during the fourth and fifth plans of economic, social and cultural development on the architecture of houses in rural areas (case study: Astara township)

Housing is considered as one of the most important elements of human settlements, especially in rural areas. However, providing suitable housing is one of the major challenges in rural areas due to the low financial power of villagers and the vulnerability of housing to natural disasters. For this purpose, the policy makers in the form of development programs specify credits for the retrofitting of houses to be provided to the residents of the villages through executive bodies. In Iran, the highest documents in the field of development policies of different regions and especially villages are related to 5-year economic, social and cultural development plans. In this regard, evaluating the extent and manner of the impact of these development plans in rural areas can determine the role of government policy in the development of villages. For this purpose, the current research was written with the aim of evaluating the impact of government policies on the architecture of the houses in the villages of Astara county, with an emphasis on the fourth and fifth development plans. The research method in the present research is qualitative with a descriptive-analytical nature, in order to collect and analyze information, was used the qualitative method of "ethnography" (observation, interview, photography and note-taking). The statistical population of the research is the houses of the villages of Astara county, and the sample size is estimated to be 384 houses based on the Cochran method. Also, the sample size includes 192 new and newly built houses (houses that have received facilities) and 192 old houses. It is worth mentioning that the maximum balance has been tried to be observed in the spatial distribution of housing samples in the villages of Astara county. The findings of the research show that the housing credits are available to most of the villagers and have made the houses in the villages of Astara county more stable and durable. However, among the other effects of these credits, we can mention the reduction of the level of biological activities in the residential unit, the reduction of the number of rooms and the level of the infrastructure of the houses, the change in the type of plan and also the reduction of the use of local technologies in the construction of houses. On the other hand, the results indicate the urbanization of villages and the reduction of identity in their bodies, as well as the reduction of cultural values and conformity with the old and traditional pattern of the field and the studied area in the new designs of residential units. On the other hand, the cultural changes in some villages have caused that in the cyclical course of time alternative cultural values have threatened the identity of the houses and reduced the sense of belonging to a place in the villages from a physical-spatial point of view. Therefore, it is necessary to pay basic attention to the prevailing cultural background in the new construction designs in the studied villages, and the new designs pay attention to the qualitative elements (culture, values, community, etc.) in addition to the quantitative indicators, and not be only imitate the urban dwellings.