Investigating the Good Urban Governance Within the Framework of the Urban Management System (A Case Study of Sanandaj, Iran)

Urban governance refers to a system of decision-making and management of urban affairs that is formed through the interaction of organizations and official city administration institutions on one hand and non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations on the other. The system of good governance encompasses the principles of participation, accountability, citizenship, transparency, responsibility, efficiency, conformity to the laws, and the like, which seeks to investigate the role of people in the process of managing urban affairs, as well as the degree of interaction between officials, citizens, and the private sector. In this study, four indicators of good urban governance were examined to assess the performance of urban management in Sanandaj, Iran. This descriptive-analytical study was an applied research. In this study, a questionnaire was used for assessment and the Likert Scale was used to design components for each index. The statistical population consisted of the clients of the municipality and ordinary citizens of Mobarakabad Neighborhood, District 3 Municipality of Sanandaj. Cochran's formula was used to select the sample consisting of 110 individuals who were selected through random sampling. The obtained data were analyzed using T-Test in the SPSS software. The Likert Scale was used to evaluate the variables. The test results revealed that the participation indicators with an average difference of -0.527, accountability in the second hypothesis with an average difference of -1.027, efficiency in the third hypothesis regarding the ineffectiveness of the municipality and the city council with an average difference of -0.509, and lack of municipality transparency in the fourth hypothesis with an average difference of -0.509, and the lack of municipality transparency in the fourth hypothesis were confirmed with an average difference of -0.600. As a result, the claim that Sanandaj's urban management was underperforming was confirmed.