Residential Satisfaction and its Related Factors among the Residents in Mehr Housing Project of Parand City

Expended Abstract Introduction: Residential satisfaction is one of the factors affecting the social wellbeing. Residence satisfaction has a complex theoretical structure and infolded concepts from economics, sociology, psychology, planning, and geography. Understanding the important dimensions of residential satisfaction will play an effective role in wellbeing. In addition to personal, physical and peripheral factors, social variables can also affect residential satisfaction. This is more significant in cities and towns without local inherency. One of the important government plans to provide housing for low income families in Iran was “Mehr Housing Project”. It seems that the aforementioned policy has a special emphasis on the quantitative aspect of housing and is more indicative of the social aspect rather than that of housing. Regarding this issue, the present study addresses the status of residence satisfaction among citizens living in Mehr Housing Project in Parand City. Method: Primary data gathering was accomplished using a questionnaire from 398 participants. Statistical population for the study included residents over the age of 18 who had resided in Parand city for at least 6 month. Based on theoretical and empirical research studies, the most important component of residential satisfaction educed as physical features, facilities, environmental quality, psychological and social security, public services, social interactions, and social problems. The initial version of the questionnaire was reviewed by the experts of the field. The content validity ratio and content validity index for each item were calculated and the validity of the questionnaire was assured. To assess the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha was used. The value of this coefficient is equal to 0.781, which indicates the suitability of the research instrument. Performing a pilot study shows that the variance of the residential satisfaction was about 262.5. Considering 0.1 standard deviation as error and 95% confidence level, the sample size calculated reduced to 342, which, with 10% probability of defect in questionnaires, the sample size increased up to 398. From among each of the phases of the Mehr project, an area was randomly selected. Then a street and a block were picked out from each area and data were collected from the inhabitants of that block. Finally, the data were entered into the SPSS software and using the correlation tests, the relationship between the various factors and residential satisfaction was measured. Findings: The average total satisfaction of residents of Mehr Project of Parand is 2.39 (out of 5), which indicates the lower medium score for residential satisfaction in Mehr housing of Parand city. Among the different dimensions of residential satisfaction, the highest rate is related to the low social problems in this area and the lowest satisfaction is related to public services and the quality of the surrounding environment. Study’s findings show a significant correlation between residential satisfaction and predictor variables such the amount of saving, district of residence, access to public transport, access to green space, size of housing units, type of ownership, and population density.  Table (1) Residential satisfaction in Mehr housing Project of Parand city Phase 6 Phase 5 Phase 4 Phase 3 All Dimension 2.14 2.54 2.38 2.47 2.44 Physical features of the building 2.24 2.49 2.5 1.89 2.41 Facilities and amenities 1.63 2.01 1.92 2.43 1.99 Quality of the neighbourhood 2.18 2.23 2.06 2.21 2.20 Psychological safety 1.41 2.01 1.72 2.2 1.89 Public services 2.11 2.37 1.68 2.1 2.20 Social interaction 4.27 3.88 3.36 4.44 3.97 Social safety 2.21 2.48 2.21 2.53 2.39 Residential satisfaction Table (2) Correlation between residential satisfaction and independent variables Test p r N Variable Pierson 0.624 0.025 374 Age Eta 0.384 0.448 398 Gender Pierson 0.374 0.045 391 Household size Spearman 0.404 0.042 398 Education Spearman 0.000 0.366 398 Economic situation Eta 0.000 0.434 398 Residence phase Pierson 0.084 0.087 391 Duration of residence Eta 0.006 0.532 396 Access to public transportation Eta 0.000 0.579 398 Access to green space Spearman 0.006 0.138 397 Residential unit size Eta 0.592 0.460 396 Type of housing seizure Eta 0.578 0.426 397 Residential type Spearman 0.000 0.201 397 Population density in the building Discussion: According to the findings, it seems that the promotion of the desirability of Mehr Project Buldings requires comprehensive policy packages in the field of urban development, construction, public services, and social policies. Considering the remarkable difference in the quality and development of the project in different phases, the problems of inhabitants have been very diverse. But the most important policy proposals to increase residential satisfaction for citizens living in Mehr City of Parand can be categorized as: creating sports, recreational and cultural facilities, developing the social gathering centers and encouraging people to attend local communities with appropriate promotions in local media, and enhancement of green spaces and parks for each phase. Along with these things, as aforementioned, it should be noted that creating suitable communities require a comprehensive package of policies in the field of urban development, construction, public services and social policy. Ethical Considerations In this study, all ethical considerations related to the study were considered. Full written consent was obtained from the respondents consciously and freely. The questionnaires were completed anonymously and the researcher’s confidentiality and confidentiality were respected.