The Study of Social Sustainability in Urban Renewal Process (Case of Study: District 11 of Mashhad)

One of the challenges confronting cities in the developing world is Social Issues. Social problems and unfavorable neighborhood environment probably endanger the lives and property of the citizens and their future generations. This indicates that urban areas experience different levels of decay when their planning and design fail to meet changing needs. In this regard the urban renewal process are often beset with social problems such as destruction of existing social networks, expulsion of vulnerable groups and adverse impacts on living environments. These phenomena have instigated urgent need for an effective approach to urban redevelopment .This approach intends to take into account of the sustainability concept when designing the projects in order to create sustainable communities for the citizens. This paper reviews the sustainable urban design concept and identifies critical factors for enhancing social sustainability of urban renewal process. On this basis an experimental model of stability testing of the modernization projects in social dimension is evaluated in District 11, Municipality of Mashhad. In this study the questionnaire surveys to collect data from sample size of 380 and various statistical analyses such as Independent T-test, Pearson correlation, multiple regression and path analysis are used. Based on these findings, the certain design features should be incorporated for achieving social sustainability. ‘‘Satisfaction of Welfare Requirements and community feature (Sense of community, Crime and safety, Partnerships) , ‘‘Creation of Harmonious and Housing and area conditions, ‘‘Provisions Services Daily Life Operations (facilities and -Public transport)’’,‘‘Form of Built environment and ‘‘Availability of Open Spaces’’ were believed to be the significant underlying factors for enhancing social sustainability of local urban renewal process..