URBAN STUDIES
Year:2012 | Volume:2 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Globalization has brought massive economic, social, and cultural changes to most parts of the world. In this regard, the urban areas have probably witnessed the most of these changes. In the past two decades a new concept of the city, that of the "global city" has been popularized in the literature of sociology and urban studies. Although there is no consensus yet on its exact meanings and characteristics, but it is accepted that new information technology, electronic communication, the ease of transporting people and goods, etc. have vastly increased the range of activities and therefore the influence of certain cities that is the global city. The present study which is a descriptive one, aims to introduce the concept of global city and elucidate some of its major definitions and characteristics, and explore the role that these cities can play in the more general process of globalization.

One of the most important issues in the field of social science and especially sociology is the issue of urban violence particularly in the slums. Social- psychological, biological, and environmental factors are all influential in this area. Relative deprivation is one of the social-psychological variables that is of prime importance. The aim of the present paper is to study the role that relative deprivation may play in the promotion of violence in the slums of Kermanshah city. The theoretical framework draws on the ideas presented the social interpretive approach, particularly the ideas of Gurr. The research method employed is survey and data collection tool was questionnaire. The research population consisted of the residents of four slums of Kermanshah (Jafarabad, Shaterabad, Dolatabad, and Anahita). 200 individuals were selected using a random cluster technique and on the basis of the Lin table. Validity was assessed using construct validity and Cronbach Alpha was calculated to assess reliability of the constructs. Pearson correlation and the comparison of means were used to test research hypotheses. Multiple regression and path analysis were used to test research model. The findings showed that relative deprivation was associated with urban violence in the dimension of anger (r=0.65), in the dimension of assault (r=0.46), in the dimension of vengeance (r=0.33). On the other hand, group deprivation was associated with urban violence in the dimension of anger (r=0.21), in the dimension of assault (r=0.54), and in the dimension of vengeance (r=0.28). The results also showed that to the extent that slum dweller feel that they are socially and economically behind as compared to others like themselves, the feelings of dissatisfaction among them increases and they resort to all means including violence to remedy that.

Social life has become very complicated and multifaceted nowadays and the meeting of bodily needs no longer suffices to bring about general satisfaction and well-being, therefore paying attention to nonmaterial and more latent aspects of life become essential to increase quality of life. The data required for this study were collected using a questionnaire on a cluster sample of 600 heads of household in the six districts of the city of Kermanshah. Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were used to test relationships among variables. The results showed that the average value for quality of life in Kermanshah was 172 which is lower than the expected value of 177, meaning that quality of life is relatively low. Regression analysis showed that social capital (R2=0.347), education (R2=0.012), age (R2=0.009), religion (R2=0.006), and district of residence (R2=0.005) were significantly related to quality of life.

Urban space is among those scientific concepts that have gain widespread currency in sociology, anthropology, architecture, and urban development and that has different definitions and application in these fields. In one classification of its dimensions, criteria and principles, urban space can have four dimensions of operational, formal, conceptual, and social. With reference to its nature and content, leisure time, too, is one the most important of social constructs that influences all aspects of social life. The effects of this social construct can be studied, not only on the micro level of the individual, but on the macro level of economic, social, political, and cultural dimensions of life. This paper aims to study the effects of urban social space on the leisure time activities of the youth in Shiraz, with an emphasis on social activities. For this purpose, 400 individuals aged 18-25 Shirazi youth were selected, using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. Research method was quantitative and the technique of data collection was survey (questionnaire and interview). The results showed that leisure time activities was positively associated with socio-economic status (R= 0.474), urban social space (R= 0.358), social participation (R= 0.231), value acceptance (R= 0.208), and education (R= 0.088) and that these relationships were statistically significant. The coefficient of determination of all five independent variables was 0.42.

Every urban developmental project surely has certain social ramifications for the residents of that city. This article aims to identify some of the social consequences of the construction of Kan-bridge Garbage Recycling Site in Tehran's District 9. In that regard, a "social Impact assessment" approach was utilized and 212 questionnaires were filled out by members of impacted populations and 30 in-depth interviews were also conducted with concerned individuals and authorities. Major findings are as follows: with the opening for business of the Kan-bridge garbage recycling site, the employees of the adjacent establishments- such as a drug rehabilitation site, the Garmkhaneh homeless shelter, SAIPA automotive plant, employees' recreational and cultural complex- not only suffered negative consequences, like health and environmental pollution, respiratory ailments, and unpleasant odors, but other social problems such as drug dealings and drug addictions also surfaced among the employees of these establishments. That is due mainly to fact that the majority of those who work the garbage recycling site had been involved in drug using and pushing, in theft and street fights and the like. The construction of the Kan-bridge garbage recycling site facilitated contact among these individuals with the employees of these establishments.

The main purpose of this study is to look at social, economic, and cultural factors that affect the inclinations of the residents of the city of Kerman towards public, recreational sports. The theoretical framework of the study draws on a combination of the ideas of Goffman, Giddens, Bourdieu, and Bloch who introduces a new concept of sports-centered lifestyle and also defines variables such as sports-centered social capital, sports-centered economic capital, and sports-centered cultural capital. Research method is quantitative-survey and the technique of data collection is questionnaire. Research population consisted of all Kermani residents aged 15 and above in the year of 1390 of which, using a combination of cluster and quota sampling technique, 400 individuals from the five districts of the city of Kerman were selected. Data analysis was done via Amoos 17 software in the form of a Path model. Research results showed that the variables personal conception of the body, mass media usage, and sports-centered cultural capital had direct influence on residents' inclinations towards public sports and that their effects were 0.13, 0.20, and 0.16, respectively. The variables sports-centered social capital and sports-centered economic capital had indirect effects through sports-centered cultural capital.

This paper aims to describe the lived experience of slum dwellers of Islam Abad neighborhood of the city of Tehran. Therefore, this is a qualitative study which was carried out during the Spring and Summer seasons of 1390 (2011). Of the 20 to 63 year-old residents of Islam Abad neighborhood, based on purposive sampling technique, after 20 individuals were interviewed, the researcher felt to have reached the point of information saturation. Data collection was done through in-depth interviewing and the analysis of the data was done using the Collaizzi method. It was found that the perception and experience of slum-dwellers of living in the slum is very different from what others (researchers, policy-makers, and ordinary people) believe. This, however, does not mean that slum-dwellers have a positive view of living there, because it is obvious that the experience of poverty, being labeled slum-dweller, being always worried and uncertain about one's place of residence, unawareness of authorities' policies about slums, etc. is not a pleasant one. Another find was the unpredictability of the future and therefore the development of a present –time orientation as a coping mechanism. It was also found that fatalism is another coping mechanism since the resident think they can't go back to their place of origins and do not know that their situation would be any better if they move out the slum. Denial is also coping mechanism when it comes to the ability of home ownership and better quality of life.

This paper aims to study the factors that affect citizenship culture among slum dwellers of the city of Isfahan. This is a quantitative- survey research which utilized questionnaires to collection the required data. The research population consisted of all the residents of shanty towns around the city of Isfahan, of which, using a quota sampling method, 400 individuals were selected as the sample. The theoretical perspectives of social citizenship and marginalization were used as the theoretical framework. Therefore, variables such as social participation, education/training, social responsibility/accountability, and social identity were treated as independent variables. Citizenship culture was the dependent variable. Also the effects of background or control variables like gender, marital status, employment, length of residence in the slum, the cause of migration to the slum on citizenship culture were assessed. The results showed that of the background or control variables, only the cause of migration to the slum and the type of employment were significantly related to citizenship culture. The results also indicated a positive and statistically significant relationship between all the independent variables and citizenship culture. The results structural equation modeling showed that of the independent variables, social participation with a determination coefficient of 0.99 had a most influence of citizenship culture.