Measuring Social Resilience of Dilapidated Urban Texture Using Structural Equation Method (Case Study: Tehran’s District 15)

Abstract

Due to decrepit buildings, urban decay, and poor accessibility, dilapidated urban textures in central urban areas have become vulnerable to natural disasters and man-made activities (Ilanlou & Bani-Saeid, 2023). For this, supporting the community residing in the environment will effectively reduce risks and damages (Sadeghlou et al., 2022). The dilapidated texture of Tehran’s District 15 suffers from an inappropriate social resilience due to the developmental conditions of the area. For this, it is critical to explain social resilience to better deal with the implications of critical incidents. This study had an applied goal and fell under descriptive-analytical research. The statistical population was composed of 385 households (using the Cochran formula) living in the dilapidated texture neighborhoods of the district. Statistical data were analyzed by factor analysis and PLS^[1]-based structural equation modeling using One-sample t-test and SPSS and Smart PLS3 software. Finally, resilience maps were drawn and analyzed in the GIS environment. Results from testing study hypotheses using the PLS model, under the t-statistic coefficient of over 2.58, represented a significant relationship (at the confidence level of P<0.01) between the components influencing social resilience. Social capital, awareness and knowledge, social participation, skills and capacities, and the sense of place belonging held averages of 2.46, 3.39, 2.54, 3.17, 2.73, and 2.4, respectively, which were smaller than the criterion average of 3.67 (P<0.05). Findings showed that neighborhoods in District 15 of Tehran suffered from undesirable social resilience, with the Atabak and Minabi neighborhoods experiencing the worst conditions with respective averages of 2.57 and 2.69.