Enhancing urban local community identity in Iran based on perceived residential environment quality

Abstract

Local communities in Iranian cities had a special place in the past and the inhabitants of each local community considered themselves a member. With the introduction of modern urbanisation, the pre-modern structures of the local community have disappeared, but the legal definition of local community has remained as the smallest unit of urban division. Creating a reunion between local community and residents is important, and local identity should also be transformed conceptually. Accordingly, the main purpose of this research is to promote local community identity based on environmental quality indicators. The research has selected the Bagh-Shater local community in Tehran, which conforms to both the historical definition and also the new legal definition of Iranian urban local community. The effect of perceived residential environment quality (PREQ) indicators on urban local community identity (ULCI) has been studied. The results show that although neighbourhood attachment (NA) is an important component of urban local identity, now more than NA, upkeep and care (UC) create a local identity. Based on this, maintenance and preservation of the environment can be seen as a valuable concept which will interconnect the inhabitants and create local environmental behaviours.