sepideh parsa

The main factor of residents’ identity of a place is the place itself. A place is not just a collection of things but individuals’ mind can be influenced by specified concept of pictures of places. Individuals’ perceptions of a place are influenced by their emotions and make concepts of pictures of places in mind. These concepts of pictures in mind and emotions make the individual's identity. Perceptions of belonging to a place make a strong connection between each individual and a place and this connection makes a profound interaction between the individual with the environment and the individuals define themselves at a place they live in and indeed they are one part of that place. When they do think so, it makes a harmonious relationship between the environment and their satisfaction and increases motivation to remain there. The present research investigates the relationship between the measure of residents’ participation in residential design and their perceptions of belonging to a place. This article is conducted to show whether the measure of perceptions of belonging to a place depends on the measure of satisfaction or sense of security at a place, physical characteristics, and the effects of that place on the conceptual formations and maintenance of these concepts. The data in this documentary and survey research is collected by the questionnaire as an instrument. Findings of this study shows a fact that the measure of perceptions of belonging to a place changes based on the changes of each variable and recognizing these effective factors is impossible unless by the individuals’ participation in residential design and consequently the more residents’ participation in designing, the more perceptions of belonging to designed places for them. Significant differences found between males and females perceptions of belonging to a place that refers to their gender differentiations. The security and short history of places with regard to social security is important for males and also for females, because both of them try to have a safe life. Females prefer surrounded environments and like to have neighbors to provide both their security and interaction with others. On the other hand, males prefer the open environments and believe that surrounded environments equals not having freedom. Separation from public and privacy environments is the priority for males but from female's point of view, the plainness of the environment is important. The other difference between males and females is in their preferences to have natural views or perspectives that are true for females but males prefer to have special parts for different affairs and a special part appropriate to their job. The social interaction is the last effective factor in the perception of belonging to a place that is important for females but is not applicable to males.