Social Development & Welfare Planning

Investigating the relationship between social capital & environmental quality (Spatial Integeration and Legibility) in informal settlements (case study: AkhtarAbad, Sohrabieh and Hesar Bala neighborhoods in Karaj city)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Seyed Hossein Tabatabaei, 1
Mehrdad Ahmadi 2
Hassan sajadzadeh 3

1 Department of Urban Design, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Bu- AliSina, Hamadan, Iran

2 Ph.D Candidate, Department of Urban studies, School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.

3 Professor, Department of Urbanism ,Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan,Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/qjsd.2024.70717.2418
Abstract
The accurate, current and comprehensive information is essential for any effective intervention to improve informal settlements. One of the social issues that the informal settlements in Karaj city is social exclusion. These settlements are often marginalized, leading to social isolation within the neighborhoods and exclusion from the mainstream society. This can result in issues such as discrimination, lack of access to social services and limited social mobility. Despite the social issues raised, the actions taken to address these issues, although they were physical and while necessary, seem to have not significantly enhanced the opportunities for social interactions and encounters in these neighborhoods. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the social capital and environmental quality in these neighborhoods framing it within the literature related to “social capital”. Based on an appropriate sample of 385 residents from these areas, the social capital status was assessed statistically. The collected data about sotial capital were analysis using Analytic Hierarchy Process method; and spatial integeration and legibility were investigated as subsets of environmental quality in the target neighborhoods using the space syntax method. Ultimately, this article identified the relationship between social capital and environmental quality (spatial integeration and Legibility) in the target neighborhoods with the help of linear regression. Neighborhoods with higher the spatial integeration and also exhibited higher levels of social capital.

Keywords

Social Capital
Environmental Quality
Informal Settlements
Akhtarabad
Sohrabieh and Hesar Bala neighborhoods
Subjects
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