Effective criteria in improving the environmental quality of dysfunctional urban fabrics based on residents' preferences (Case study: Bisim neighborhood of Zanjan)

In recent decades, dysfunctional and inefficient textures have always been raised as a significant issue for urban planners and managers. The emergence of dysfunctional fabrics and their problems is a phenomenon that all cities have encountered in their growth and development, and each city and community, according to its characteristics, has adopted different methods and approaches to intervene and revitalize these areas. Examining the intervention methods, effects, and results of these interventions can create a better understanding of the nature of dysfunctional textures and lead to the adoption of appropriate strategies for the viability of these areas. Meanwhile, the residence of more than a quarter of the urban population in dysfunctional urban textures indicates the importance of planning for these areas. Therefore, the authors of the present study are trying to identify the factors affecting the quality of the neighborhood from the residents' perspective and provide solutions to organize the current situation of the Bisim neighborhood of Zanjan, according to the experiences and results of previous research.

The current research is applied and has been done using quantitative and qualitative models. The required data were collected using a questionnaire in two ways: library and field. In this research, a survey method has been used to collect residents' points of view. The statistical population of this study is the Bisim neighborhoods of Zanjan city, with 5921 households and 18406 population selected from the central neighborhoods of this city for the study. The statistical sample size, which has been determined using Cochran's formula and simple random sampling method, from the statistical population of the research is 376 people. After identifying the environmental quality criteria in the neighborhoods from among the criteria proposed by urban design thinkers, a survey of residents was conducted according to the questionnaire in the survey section. In the present research process, the first five factors, "physical," "social," "functional," " economical," and "managerial," have been determined as the main factors of research for testing, and then the status of each of these factors in the study neighborhood by a survey of residents and performing a single-sample t-test were evaluated. In the next stage, to achieve the research objectives, the key factors influencing the quality improvement of the neighborhoods from the residents' perspective have been prioritized using the factor analysis test.

Field findings in the Bisim range confirm the inefficiency of these textures. Accordingly, fineness, low property area, and high population density are the characteristics of a Bisim neighborhood. Improper and unprincipled constructions, visual disturbances, narrow and busy passages, uneven sidewalks, and the lack of green space and sports space per capita are other problems in this neighborhood. In addition, the unfair distribution of amenities and urban equipment has made this neighborhood socially, financially, and culturally incomparable to its neighbors. Analytical findings show that the "economic factor" with a factor loading of 0.621 as the essential main factor is in the first place of residents' preferences. Factors "Functional" and "managerial," with a factor loading of 0.592, are both in the second rank; factor "physical," with a factor loading of 0.583, is in the fourth rank, and factor "social" with a factor loading of 0.507 is in the last rank. The ranking of sub-factors also shows that the variable "employment of residents and household income" from the subset of economic factors with a factor loading of 0.913 is in the first rank of residents' preferences. The variables "Spatial access and communication" from the subset of functional factors with a factor loading of 0.889 and "Spatial organization and permeability" from the subset of physical factors with a factor loading of 0.885 are ranked second and third, respectively. Among social factors, the variable "presence" is emphasized in relation to other variables. Considering the desirable but hidden environmental-social capacities in this neighborhood, in a situation where the city administration wants to use the participation of the people in the form of social institutions, it will be able to reduce poverty and increase environmental quality in this neighborhood with the lowest cost and performance. In other words, the residents of this neighborhood believe that increasing social interactions, participation, solidarity, and social ties depends on the presence and universality of spaces, which can be the basis for improving the quality of the neighborhood from a social perspective. In the management field, the majority of residents emphasized the components of "maintenance" and "control and supervision," which have factor loadings of 0.875 and 0.855. In this regard, the neighborhood's residents believe that if the situation of vacant lands, semi-finished and abandoned buildings to create spaces for security, such as police station patrols, becomes the head of management, they will see a further improvement in environmental quality in this neighborhood.

In the current study, after raising the issue and the main concern of the research, first using the literature of the subject, the background of the research and their results, as well as summarizing the results of the questionnaire distribution among the statistical sample by SPSS software, 5 factors as the main factors along with 22 sub-factors were identified that affect the environmental quality of dysfunctional textures. The study of effective factors in environmental quality criteria in dysfunctional urban textures shows that improving the quality of the environment requires simultaneous attention to all factors involved in environmental quality. Considering the high factor load of "economic" criteria, it can be concluded that the variables of this factor have a high correlation with the environmental quality of the neighborhood; therefore, they need more attention.