Evaluating the Correlation between the Sense of Place and Social Capital in Urban Spaces of Tehran; Case Study: Saadatabad, Naziabad, and Narmak Neighborhoods

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Islamic Azad University, West Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author).

Abstract

The studies on social capital have identified the neighborhoods as importan urban physical spaces in which the informal social networks create important processes for welfare. The theoreticians believe that although social capital implicitly  has no clear spatial aspect, there is a strong tendency to the sense of place, especially the local sense of place. Understanding the relationship between social capital and the sense of place assuming  that social interaction takes place at the local level, is a basis for social cohesion. Therefore, the emotional attachment of the residents to the neighborhood stimulates civic participation and facilitates the awareness of the strengths and weaknesses. The sense of place has a non-physical dimension and can create a sense and perception in the individual that affects his/her social presence and social capital. The current study aimed to identify the correlation between the sense of place and social capital components among the Tehrani citizens. In a descriptive-correlational design, 300 residents in Saadatabad, Naziabad, and Narmak neighborhoods were selected by a simple random sampling method and answered the researcher-made questionnaire. The data were analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The results indicated that generally, there is a positive and significant correlation between the sense of place and social capital components. However, by neighborhood, there was no significant correlation between the sense of place and social capital in the Saadatabad neighborhood, however, a positive and significant correlation was observed in Naziabad and Narmak neighborhoods. Among the components of social capital, informal charitable participation was the most correlated with the sense of place. The information flow component was the least correlated with the sense of place. Assessing these relationships can help urban planners to provide solutions for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of urban public spaces as well as interventions to increase social capital.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 03 December 2019
  • Revise Date: 20 September 2021
  • Accept Date: 29 September 2021

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