Investigating the quality of life in urban areas (case study of five cities of Karaj)

Dissertation

To obtain Master's degree

Department of Geography and Urban Planning

Abstract:

The quality of urban life is one of the most important areas of urban studies in different countries. This is important because of the growing importance of quality of life studies in monitoring public policies and its role as an efficient tool in urban management and planning. Urban areas are the main centers of economic, social and political growth in any country and have proven themselves as the most attractive points for creating wealth, work, creativity and innovation. But at the same time, these areas also face important challenges in terms of physical and environmental destruction, social exclusion, insecurity, unemployment, lack of housing, traffic and marginalization, which greatly reduce the quality of urban life. The main purpose of the current research is to evaluate the quality of life in urban areas in five cities of Karaj. In this research, using a field survey study and a descriptive-analytical research method, it first collected field data from citizens using a questionnaire tool (N=383), and its reliability was confirmed with Cronbach's alpha of 0.80. Then for the analysis, appropriate statistical tests were used in the form of spss software, Pearson correlation tests, one-sample t-test, and Friedman's test were used to rank the indicators. The results show that the highest averages in the objective dimension are related to the index of the residential environment with an average of 2.70 and in the subjective dimension are related to the index of interaction and social solidarity with an average of 4.47. Also, the findings obtained from Friedman's test show that Friedman's ranking has an almost adequate status, such that the mentioned indicators of interactions and social solidarity with an average rating of 8.22, feeling of security or 6.61, leisure time with 5.78 have the highest rating averages, and the other two indicators of employment and income with 3.85 and education with 2.80 have scored lower. It was accepted that the most important factors affecting the quality of life in the region are five indicators related to the quality of interaction and social solidarity. In other words, in the discussion of the quality of urban life in the Panj region, a total of 9 indicators were investigated, and it was found that the indicators with a high average rank are often indicators related to the quality of interaction and social solidarity of life. Key words: quality of life, objective dimension, subjective dimension, urban areas, Panj Karaj region 1-1- Introduction (problem statement) For centuries, people have been naturally looking for a good life and in this In order to improve their living conditions, they tried to make maximum use of their talents and capabilities. Therefore, the main issue was always how to live a desirable and high-quality life. (Ong, 2014, 23). One of the most important phenomena today is urbanization and its transformation process, so that in the last three decades it has reached a level that has not been experienced in years. In other words, during the last thirty years, the urban population has more than doubled in the world. According to the predictions of the United Nations, in the next thirty years, this phenomenon will be repeated in urban areas and in developing countries, so that the urban population in these areas of the world will reach the threshold of 4 billion people in 2030, from 1.9 billion people in 2000. While in the rest of the world, i.e. advanced industrial countries, the figure of 900 million will reach one billion people in the same period of time (hardi, 2006:18). Urban areas are the main centers of economic, social and political growth in any country and have proven themselves to be the most attractive places for creating wealth, work, creativity and innovation. But at the same time, these areas also face important challenges in terms of physical and environmental destruction, social exclusion, insecurity, unemployment, lack of housing, traffic and marginalization, which greatly reduce the quality of urban life. Nevertheless, policymakers and planners at the international and national levels emphasize the ability of cities to improve the quality of human life (Donald, 2001:13). The study of the quality of life in urban areas has received wide attention in recent years. Researchers from various fields such as urban planning, geography, sociology, economics, psychology, political science, marketing and management have participated in this field. But these studies are different in many aspects such as the scale of the study, the territories used and the methods of measuring the quality of life.In this way, various methods have been used to study the quality of life in urban areas. However, until now, a comprehensive framework for studying the quality of life in an integrated and holistic manner and relying on physical, spatial and social indicators has not been provided (Kamp et al, 2003:5). Quality of life is often measured using objective indicators or subjective indicators and rarely using both types of indicators (Rizvani et al., 2017: 37). Subjective indicators are obtained from surveys of institutions, evaluations and residents' satisfaction with urban life, while objective indicators are related to observable facts and are often obtained from secondary data. According to the mentioned contents, the quality of urban life is one of the most important areas of urban studies in different countries. This is important because of the increasing importance of quality of life studies in monitoring public policies and its role as an efficient tool in urban management and planning. Karaj city is one of the most important cities in the country. Due to the new establishment of Alborz province, the cities of this province, especially Karaj city, have undergone many civil and urban development changes. The city of Karaj with a population of more than one million shows the capabilities of this city to settle and attract people. In the meantime, one of the most important topics for city officials to plan and provide better services to citizens is measuring the quality of life of citizens in their place of residence. Considering that the city of Karaj has twelve regions and the reason for choosing the fifth region is that this region is one of the most immigrant-friendly regions of Karaj city, where many Iranian ethnic groups are present, which shows the importance of this region compared to other regions. Therefore, it is very important and necessary to measure and examine the quality of life of the citizens of Panj region in two subjective and objective dimensions for the city officials and also to use these results to plan for the future of the Panj region. According to the said content, the following questions are raised for us: How is it?

3- What are the most important factors affecting the quality of life in the five regions?

1-2- The necessity and importance of research

Reviewing the research literature shows that there is a general agreement among researchers, policymakers and planners regarding the need to study the quality of life in urban areas. These studies often have key functions such as informing citizens, social groups, and policy makers about quality of life trends. The results of quality of life studies can help to evaluate policies, place rankings, develop management strategies and urban planning, and facilitate the understanding and prioritization of social issues for urban planners and managers in order to improve the quality of life of citizens. Also, the quality of life findings can be used to re-examine previous political strategies and design future planning policies (Lee, 2008:1207). In addition, quality of life studies can help identify problematic areas, causes of people's dissatisfaction, citizens' priorities in life, the impact of socio-demographic factors on quality of life, and monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and strategies in the field of quality of life. In this regard, Santos and Martins point out that the participation of the local community in quality of life studies can be an important support for determining policies and long-term goals (Rafiian and Askari: 1386, 1389).

Urbanization is growing rapidly in our country, and based on the results of the population census in 1385, more than 68% of it is urban (Iranian Statistics Center, 1385: 1). This is despite the fact that about a century ago, only 10% of the country's population lived in cities. However, the opportunities, resources and facilities required for the development and provision of human needs are not properly provided in the cities and with problems such as high density, poverty, lack of health, unemployment and fake jobs, disorder, instability, lack of identity and so on. They live in very unfavorable conditions. In addition, not many studies have been conducted on the quality of urban life in Iran, which is one of the important motives for conducting this study. This research can provide useful information in the field of improving the methodology of studying the quality of life in the urban areas of Iran in order to improve the quality of life of the citizens.