Social, Cultural and Economic Factors Affecting Water Consumption Patterns in Shiraz,Iran

This article mainly aims at measuring the impact of social, cultural and economic variables on the amount of drinkable-water consumption in Shiraz based on "Bourdieu" theory. This theory has been used due to its emphasis on the three-fold variables and their relations to consumption and taste. In this survey study, family income, architectural characteristics of the residence, household equipment, employment status of the respondent, family size, place of residence, place of birth, work position of the respondent, work position ofthe head of the family, age of the respondent, educational status of the head of the family, time spent out of home, respondent's awareness and special habits were used as independent variables. As a part of the study, for gathering the data by completing the questionnaire,900 household's wives were selected based on the "Lin" sampling formula. The data were analyzed by using the analysis of variance,bi and multi-variate regressions. The results showed that family income, type and architectural characteristics of the residence, hydroactive equipment, employment status of the respondent, family size,respondent's job position, the time s/he spends out of home, their awareness and special habits were the variables that have a significant relation with the annual water consumption of the families.ln the final analysis, using a multi-variate regression -with step-wise method- it was shown that five variables - amely,family size, residence area, special habits, family income, and the size of the house yard- were entered in the equation and could explain 30% of changes in the water consumption.