Ali Akbar Salaripour, P.H. D student will complete his P.H. D thesis on “Exploring person-neighborhood relationship to promote identical characteristics of Iranian-Islamic neighborhood in Rasht city" in Saturday, July 01, 2017, at 8:00am.

Abstract:

Recent studies have proven that reduction in physical distance is a stimulus for increase of social interactions inside the settlement boundaries. Furthermore, existence of a positive relation with one’s neighborhood can lead to higher levels of psychological and physical health.

In Iranian-Islamic city, neighborhoods were not a mere unit of physical division for enhancement of social interactions; rather, they have been places for social residence according to Iranian Islamic culture. Nonetheless, taking its substantive positive characteristics and historical authenticity into consideration should not prevent exploring and criticizing its role in people’s life. Achieving appropriate solutions for promotion of identical characteristics of Iranian-Islamic neighborhood is highly dependent on a holistic exploration of person-neighborhood relationship based on the everyday life experiences of residents. Considering such approach, this thesis will try to investigate one traditional (Sagharisazan) and one modern (Golsar) neighborhood of Rasht city. Both of these studies are based on exploratory-qualitative methods, but their internal research design is different. Such difference is required to provide two distinct but complementary objectives of the thesis. The objectives are as follows: : a) understanding person-neighborhood relations in traditional neighborhoods and its historical changes; b) understanding the current situation of this relationship in new urban developments.

Results show that from childhood to adulthood stages, residence in traditional neighborhood has completely been a social affair, and thus, neighborhood attachment is mostly affected by attachment to local community, instead of being mainly affected by physical features of neighborhood.

In contrast, presence of children and adults in public space of Golsar neighborhood is so limited. Lack of suitable opportunities for the socialization of children in this neighborhood can cause multiple damages to their social and intellectual growth. Adult’s relations with Golsar neighborhood is entirely based on personal meanings. Therefore, neighborhood attachment is dependent on those meanings that are connected with home and personal continuity. Comparison of settler’s identification with these two neighborhoods demonstrates that formerly proposed principles for description of the process of identification with places, that includes: distinctiveness, continuity, self-esteem and self-efficacy; are not sufficient for interpreting main aspects of identification with Iranian Islamic neighborhood. Thus, equilibrium and Islamic perfectionism should be added to these principles.

Impacts of macro-level social and political events on the Iranian Islamic neighborhood can be summarized into two main categories: place changes and social semantic changes in neighborhood. Findings from the two neighborhoods confirm that social semantic changes such as changes in the meaning of mosque and neighborhood; have had most serious damages to the entity of neighborhood concept in Iranian Islamic city. Thus, that's why the researchers should not look for a definite model or final image of Iranian-Islamic neighborhood, if they want to promote its characteristics. Instead, they should concentrate on the recognition of its impacts on people's life and apply appropriate levers of change in accordance with contextual conditions.

Keywords: Iranian Islamic neighborhood, identical characteristics, Golsar, Sagharisazan