Comparative Evaluation of Participation in Urban Management (Case study of Etemadiyeh and Bisim Neighborhoods of Zanjan)

People's participation in the management of urban affairs guarantees the realization of good and worthy urban governance. In urban management, the principle of participation at all levels of decision-making is considered essential. Participation as the most basic element in achieving development goals, especially urban development, is of particular importance. In this study, a comparative evaluation of citizens' participation in urban management in the planned neighborhood of Etemadiyeh and the neighborhood of informal wireless housing in the City of Zanjan has been conducted. The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical (survey) and comparative in terms of method. The collected data were analyzed in two parts- descriptive statistics and inferential statistics- using SPSS software. The results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship among all the features and factors of citizen participation in urban management (citizen participation in urban affairs, cooperation with the municipality and other urban management institutions, citizen participation in civic activities, citizen participation in urban management, status of payment of economic and revenue expenses of the city, status of criticism and presence of urban management performance, status of cooperation and participation in preparing urban plans, participation in voluntary activities in the field of urban management, urban management in the field of citizen participation based on type of participation) on one hand and good and decent urban governance on the other hand. Also, the results of the study showed that there is a significant difference between citizens' participation in planned and prosperous neighborhoods in the city and informal and deprived neighborhoods, and these neighborhoods differed in their participation in urban management.