Factors Influencing Neighborhood Attachment A Study Among Residents of Kerman

Attachment to the place of residence indicates a feeling of belonging that individuals tend to have about their residential neighborhood. These affective bonds are especially related to the memories, experiences and significant events in a person’s life. The attachment to the place of residence is significant because it facilitates the collective action, increases the organizational participation, encourages the investment and creates proper opportunities for growth and social development of the residential neighborhoods. The present study, through utilization of a systemic model, a concept of neighborhood use-value, and social disorganization theory, examines attachment to the place of residence and its causes. This is a survey research through which 320 persons above 20 years of age residing in the residential areas of Kerman city have been interviewed through multistage cluster sampling method. The data extracted from 300 questionnaires was analyzed. The findings indicate that variables of local social bonds, accessibility to facilities and recreations, feeling security and social order exert significant effects on attachment to a neighborhood. The path analysis also indicates that the indirect effect of variable of length of residence exerted through the local social bonds is more than its direct effect. In sum, the results of multiple regression indicate that the main variables of research explain 59 percent of the variances of the dependent variable.