Comparing the Effective Factors on the Sense of Place in Old and New neighborhoods in Ardabil

Objectives:

 The sense of place is directly related to people’s levels of satisfaction with and continued presence in a neighborhood Insufficient understanding of the factors effective on the sense and differences and similarities between the effective factors reduces the residents’ unity, social participation, and motivation to continue residence in different urban areas The purpose of this paper was to compare the factors effective on the residents’ sense of place in the new and old neighborhoods of the city of Ardabil, Iran.

Methodology:

 For the above purpose, the descriptive-analytical research method was used First, a researcher-made questionnaire with 57 items was made based on a review of the literature and field studies and interviews with neighborhood residents and analyses of their statements The research population consisted of 200 people, selected by the cluster sampling method using the Cochran formula from among inhabitants in the residential areas of Ardabil 100 questionnaires were distributed and filled out in the old neighborhoods, and 100 in the new ones In the next step, a statistical analysis was made of the obtained results using SPSS 21, including the t-test and Pearson’s correlation test.

Findings :

In the old neighborhoods, the residents have usually lived there their whole lives or for a long time Therefore, they are deeply acquainted and connected with each other As a result of these historical and family links, they have greater senses of belonging and ownership with respect to their neighborhoods and greater incentives to influence them, participate in different activities including public ones, increase compatibility with the place and provide social control and monitoring Other factors that increase the sense of place in the old neighborhoods include the activity of the neighborhood center as a turning point, the cultural and religious commonalities, and the centrality of the mosque, enabling individuals to communicate with each other, which are less serious in the new neighborhoods On the other hand a lack of certain elements and factors was felt in the old neighborhoods, or a need for new places to meet today’s requirements, such as urban green spaces and parks and places for activity and interaction of different age groups In the new neighborhoods, desirable levels of resident satisfaction were observed as compared to those in the old neighborhoods due to the great effectiveness of certain physical factors such as presence of natural elements, open spaces, and recreational facilities

Conclusions:

 Based on the results, the sense of belonging to place is stronger in the old neighborhoods than in the new ones, while the factors effective on the sense are of different natures in the two types of neighborhood In other words, certain factors are more important in the old neighborhoods, causing the residents’ satisfaction, whereas other factors matter more in the new neighborhoods People’s different residential motivations lead to their choice of old or new neighborhoods As a result, people in old and new neighborhoods gain advantage in certain factors effective on the sense of place, and lose advantage in others It was concluded from this research that the first step for inclusion of the different factors effective on the sense of place in a neighborhood is ideally to identify and compare them