Analyzing Social Resilience in Urban Contexts of Sanandaj and the Effect of Regeneration on it

Introduction :

The concept of social resilience in urban areas is a complex and multifaceted one, as highlighted by a range of studies. Boeri (2017) emphasizes the importance of reinforcing local identity and culture to enhance community resilience, while Eakin (2017) underscores the need to consider the influence of social and political forces in urban vulnerability dynamics. Lukas (2018) further explores the role of urban planning in promoting social cohesion and community resilience, particularly in multi-ethnic neighborhoods. Lastly, Östh (2018) provides an operational framework for understanding the mechanisms that drive spatial systems, with a focus on the role of social capital and transport accessibility in shaping the resilience of urban areas. These studies collectively underscore the need for a holistic approach to building social resilience in urban areas, one that considers the interplay of cultural, political, and economic factors. Nowadays, the vulnerability of urban tissues to natural and human hazards has become one of the main concerns of urban planners and managers. Empowering the community living in ineffective contexts improves their resilience against natural and human hazards. This capability can be in different aspects including economic, social, and physical. The purpose of the research is to analyze social resilience and the effect of regeneration in promoting resilience. Environmental hazards in cities affect social life. Environmental risks are very effective in certain urban areas, including worn-out fabric, and with rural cores in cities. The socio-economic conditions and inefficient structures of some neighborhoods of Sanandaj city have made them more vulnerable to human and natural hazards.

The current research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature. The collection of data and information was done by documentary and field methods (researcher-made questionnaire). Determining the sample size using Cochran’s formula in the citizen questionnaire (384 households) was done in a multi-stage cluster at the block level. A multi-stage cluster is such that the clusters were randomly selected at the level of regions, neighborhoods, and blocks. Statistical analysis, one-sample t-test, and linear regression were used to analyze the data. The reliability results with Cronbach’s alpha formula for all constructs were above 0.73. Therefore, it can be concluded that the measurement tool has good internal consistency.

The situation of social resilience in Sanandaj city is different. So in the four historical contexts, worn-out middle, marginal, and rural cores, the indicators of social resilience in general have unfavorable conditions. The average of all indicators except the social capital index is low in all cases. Among the four contexts studied in Sanandaj city, the average social resilience indices in the historical context are more favorable than other contexts, and on the other hand, in the marginal context, the average social resilience indices are at an unfavorable level. Among the indicators, social capital in historical contexts, worn-out middle, and rural cores are in a more favorable condition than other indicators, and in contrast to the social justice index with averages of 2.37 in historical context, 2.31 in middle worn-out context, 2.62 in the marginal tissue and, 2.42 in rural context is in unfavorable conditions. Also, the results of the surveys show that the most effective regeneration projects in promoting social resilience in historical (31/251) and worn-out (18/152) contexts were more effective than in marginal and rural contexts.

Social resilience is the ability of individuals and communities to adapt to social, economic, and environmental challenges and to improve them, which includes different types of resilience, such as physical, mental, emotional, and social. The operationalization of redevelopment measures to improve the resilience of low-income residents is strongly influenced by the dynamics of urban development and civil infrastructure in each neighborhood. Urban regeneration plans with a physical approach in urban contexts are not able to improve the social resilience of inefficient neighborhoods because the results of surveys show that inefficient neighborhoods in Sanandaj, in addition to physical instability and a lack of infrastructure services, have many social, psychological and economic issues and damages. is facing that the mountainous location of Sanandaj, the presence of surrounding faults, the steep slope of the city limits, the presence of a river in the city limits, along unprincipled constructions, have made the city of Sanandaj highly vulnerable. On the other hand, the immigrant population, low level of education, poverty, low level of income and employment also cause economic and social vulnerability in the range of inefficient tissues (worn out, marginal, rural, and historical core) in regions 1, 4 and 5 has increased the city of Sanandaj. Therefore, the mentioned cases have caused the level of participation, economic power, trust, and sense of identity in the society living in dysfunctional contexts to be low. Therefore, the state of regeneration dimensions of Sanandaj city is evaluated as weak. Among the four contexts studied in Sanandaj city, the average social resilience indicators in the historical context are more favorable than other contexts, and on the other hand, in the marginal context, the average social resilience indicators in The level are unfavorable. The world’s experiences in this regard have emphasized investing in education, civic participation, and strengthening the resilience infrastructure of communities and individuals in this field. Also, diversifying the economy and having a multi-dimensional economy instead of a single-dimensional economy in the cities of origin can be an effective measure to reduce risks. Along with this solution, education and awareness should also be effective in local communities and empower the residents. Therefore, in this context, it is necessary to strengthen the information system and to form people’s organizations and local institutions, so that in times of crisis, they can act together and cooperate to bring order in the cities. Also, increasing access to various services in the target communities of this program can be a suitable solution. In the national documents of empowering and organizing the settlements of Iran’s urban regeneration company, parallelism, and fragmentation in the field of policy making and management of the phenomenon of settlement management should be reduced and justified policies and rulings, including policies that support participation and empowerment.