URBAN STUDIES
Year:2014 | Volume:4 | Issue:10|Papers Count:7

Civil society which is regarded as the highest form of society is a system in which citizens’ duties are well-defined and social participation is considered as a fundamental aspect of this kind of society. But for various reasons, citizens tendency to participate in public affairs is not equal. One of the reasons for this matter could be the presence or absence of trust at the micro- meso- and macro levels of the society. Trust and participation as key elements of social capital, which are directly related to social, economic, and political variables, have attracted the attention of many researchers. In this study, the relationship between thesetwo variables is being investigated. This is a survey research and the research population consisted of all the residents 18years and older of the city of Ham, of which 384 individuals were selected as the sample via a multi -stage cluster sampling technique. The data gathering tool was a research-made questionnaire that had face validity and the Cronbach’s coefficients for reliability for all the major variables were above 0.70. The results showed that the higher the levels of trust is among citizens, the greater is thier social participation (R=0.37). Also, generalized trust (0.58) and interpersonal trust (54.9) were relatively high among citizens, but trust in institutions (49.7) was relatively weak. Age and marital status were significantly related to social participation.

Nowadays, citizenship is defined as one of the basic concepts in the domain of urban problems; so much so that the examination of factors affecting the implementation of and barriers to the accomplishment of this concept has been the focus of attention for researchers in this field in national and local levels. Urban societies require, for their existence, the presence of citizens who have a high sense of citizenship- that is one of the main factors in the practice of citizenship. Since social capital is considered as a key factor in establishing civil’ society, this study aims to investigate. the effects of structural (social networks) and cognitive (trust, information and cooperation) dimension of social capital on the sense of citizenship. The research population of this study was the residents of 13 areas in the city of Mashhad of which 415 individuals were chosen through multi-stage sampling. By using a questionnaire, the required data was gathered and analyzed by using Spss and Amos software. The results of this study indicated that both structural (0.434) and cognitive (0.289) dimensions of social capital have a significant positive relationship with the sense of citizenship.

Rapid developments and multiple movements have made the texture of urban neighborhoods very transitory and unstable; and also has increased the level of delinquency and crime which has in turn increased the fear of crime and lowered the sense of security and safety in cities. Therefore the present research aims to study the social factors that affect the sense of security among women in the city of Esfahan. A combination of the ideas of Buzan, Coleman, and Giddens has provided the theoretical framework of the study. The research method was survey and the tool for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire which contained five-item Likert-type questions. Research population consisted of all Esfahani women aged 15 to 65 of which 435 individuals were selected using a quota and random sampling technique. The questionnaire had construct and face validity and reliability alpha of all variables was above the 0.70 threshold. Research results showed that the mean for sense of security was 16 out of 50 which means that the sense of security is relatively low. Except of media usage, the mean of the other variables (generalized trust, institutional trust, perception of the police, victimization, urban defenseless places) were below their theoretical means. All the independent variables together could explain about 41 percent of the variation of the dependent variable, namely sense of security.

This paper analyses the family poverty among urban women in Tehran using available secondary data. The analysis is presented in two parts. In part one the related poverty literature has been reviewed. In the second part, the paper sets to probe the economic and social characteristics of gender inequality in Tehran. The paper argues that metropolis city of Tehran has been faced with an unprotected inequality among women due to ever increasing immigration, an imbalance of public facilities with population growth, the lack of efficient assistance policies, and limitations of job opportunities. The results indicate that 42 percent of Tehran population lives under the poverty line. There is a considerable regional income inequality among female-headed households. It also suggests that there are inequalities in terms of nutrition, health, education and housing conditions. In addition, the women poverty has been multidimensional; women poverty including women headed households are heterogeneous; the determination of the patterns of social mobility or involvement in poverty, both for men and women, needs potential and flexible approach due to variability of their time and space situations.

A quick look at the state of the environment in recent decades indicates that human activities are the main and effective causes of environmental change which while bringing about useful and appropriate changes; it will also have destructive effects on the environment. This article, using the theories of individualism and life satisfaction, studies social factors affecting environmental behavior of the residents of the city of yazd. The research population consisted of all the residents of Yazd of which 323 individuals were selected through random cluster sampling. This is survey research that utilized a questionnaire to collect the needed data. The results showed that environmental behavior was significantly related to age, environmental awareness, individualism, and life satisfaction. There is a significant difference between men and women in environmental behavior, too. The results of regression analysis showed that the adjusted coefficient of determination for all the independent variables was equal to 0.283, meaning that all of these variables could explain close to 28 percent of the variation of the dependent variable (environmental behavior).

This research has been done using urban studies theories including sociological and urban planning theories. The aim of this paper is to examine factors that influence people’s participation in the development and management of urban spaces. This is a survey research which used a questionnaire to gather needed information. The research population included all the residents of Tehran’s 22 municipal districts of which. districts 1, 6, and 22 were chosen for the study. Using a cluster and multi-stage systematic sampling technique, 470 individuals were selected as the sample. The questionnaire had face validity and its reliability coefficient was abovethe 0.70 threshold. The results showed that residents' level of participation was at the level of medium to low. Factors that influenced people's level of participation included their perception of the importance of participation (R=0.509), their perception of the consequences of participation (R=OA52), their level of satisfaction of city management and programs (R=0.541), and their perception of their own skills and expertise(R=OA07).

Public spaces constitute the most important part of a city. These spaces are places in which most contacts and interactions between people take place, and include all parts of the city to which the population has visual and physical access. Amount of usage and the appropriateness of public spaces are important topics that should be considered by any study about the daily lives of men and women who live in the city. Limitations affecting women’s. presence in urban areas include a wide range of physical -social limitations. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that affect women's presence in public spaces in the city of shahinshahr.This is a survey study which used a questionnaire to collect the necessary data. The research instrument had face validity and its reliability Alpha Coefficient of 0.87. The research population consisted of all women over 15 years of age in Shahinshahr of which, using Cochran formula, 330 women were selected as the sample. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between individual characteristics and limitations on women in the city of Shahinshahr.