نوع مقاله : علمی - پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 گروه شهرسازی،دانشکده فنی و مهندسی، دانشگاه پیام نور، تهران، ایران.
2 گروه شهرسازی، دانشکده معماری و شهرسازی، دانشگاه هنر اصفهان، اصفهان، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Introduction: Social security stands as one of the foundational pillars of urban livability and neighborhood quality of life, shaped by the dynamic interplay of physical, social, and institutional-governance dimensions. Although each of these dimensions has been examined independently in prior scholarship, integrated frameworks capable of quantifying their relative contributions to social security remain scarce. This gap is particularly consequential in Iranian urban neighborhoods such as Azadshahr in Yazd, where compounding challenges—including physical deterioration, elevated in-migration rates, and growing social heterogeneity—make comprehensive, multi-dimensional assessment an urgent priority. Existing studies have tended either to rely heavily on subjective perceptual data or to conduct physical-spatial analyses in isolation, leaving the relationship between residents' security perceptions and neighborhood spatial structure underexplored. To address this empirical gap, the present study undertakes a multidimensional analysis of perceived social security in Azadshahr, with the explicit aim of comparatively evaluating the explanatory strength of all three dimensions within a unified analytical framework.
Materials and Methods: This applied study adopts a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's framework was conducted through 22 semi-structured interviews with residents, security professionals, and urban planning experts. NVivo-assisted coding produced 274 initial codes, subsequently organized into 13 sub-themes and four overarching themes: physical factors, social factors, institutional-governance factors, and social security. These findings guided the construction of the quantitative survey instrument. In the quantitative phase, 367 residents were selected through simple random sampling from Azadshahr's total population of 8,547. A researcher-developed 61-item questionnaire, scored on a five-point Likert scale, was administered. Content validity was established through expert panel review (CVI = 0.91; CVR = 0.89), while construct validity was confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability was demonstrated through Cronbach's alpha (0.74–0.81) and composite reliability coefficients (0.82–0.90). SPSS was used for descriptive and inferential statistics, and AMOS facilitated structural equation modeling, yielding strong model fit indices (CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.058, SRMR = 0.044). Three separate structural models were estimated to compare dimensional effects. Additionally, a physical-spatial analysis drawing on field observations and satellite imagery was carried out to examine street network configurations, land-use patterns, defensible space features, and overall built-environment quality in alignment with the CPTED framework.
Results and Discussion: All three dimensions exerted positive and statistically significant effects on perceived social security (p < 0.001), though with markedly different magnitudes. The social dimension proved to be the strongest predictor (β = 0.56; R² = 0.57), with neighborhood relations, sense of belonging, social capital, and civic participation emerging as its most influential indicators. The physical dimension ranked second (β = 0.31; R² = 0.23), with lighting quality, public space conditions, land-use diversity, and housing typology as key contributors. The institutional-governance dimension, while statistically significant, demonstrated a comparatively modest effect (β = 0.29; R² = 0.19). Physical-spatial findings corroborated residents' perceptions, revealing that indefensible spaces, physical decay, limited active land uses, and poor spatial legibility in certain sections of the neighborhood corresponded closely to reported experiences of insecurity.
Conclusion: This study establishes that social security in urban neighborhoods emerges from a multilayered interaction among physical, social, and institutional-governance factors, with social dimensions carrying the greatest explanatory weight. Physical interventions, therefore, are necessary but not sufficient; sustainable security outcomes require their integration with strategies that cultivate social capital, encourage local participation, and strengthen neighborhood governance. By bridging perceptual data with physical-spatial analysis, this research advances a more holistic and multidimensional approach to urban security assessment in the Iranian context.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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