Modern marginalization and its effects on lifestyle

Javad Mohammadi, the arrival and influx of technologies in the area of urban life manifest themselves in many ways and aspects. One of these areas can be housing and more broadly building housing settlements. No doubt, the construction kind of settlements may have an impact on the way of the life of people in various aspects of economic, social and cultural areas. Therefore, it is possible to investigate these urban areas based on the arrangement of the buildings close to one another and their urbanization style and it is possible to mention some of their features in this way.

The pathology of the Mehr Housing estates

One of the important principles of the housing design is subtracting the cost of land from the cost of housing. Thus, finding the location for housing has become one of the difficulties of this project. On this basis, generally the areas of lands provided for the Mehr Housing Projects are outside the urban or suburban areas that have become a fashionable marginal suburbanization in some ways.
Within the Islamic teachings, the location of the house and where it is built are important and are of great interest to the extent that, in addition to climate of the places where the houses are located, it is recommended not to construct buildings in remote and distant places away from the city and the larger communities.
The results of the interdisciplinary research done on the counter-structure design of the identity of Tehran sites and neighborhoods also show that the scale of the distance between a house and the city in the metropolis of Tehran today has had an impact on the quality of life among the residents of this metropolis. These studies show that the scale of "proximity to a residential area" has a constructive role in improving the quality of life and the sense of belonging of the residents to their place of abode. This scale affects their identity by residing in a city also through establishing social relationships among them.
Being located far away from the city leads to numerous difficulties and problems including the reduced and the loss of social capital because, as the Mehr housing estates are often built in the suburbs and the marginal areas on the side of the cities, these kinds of suburban residence take a lot of time for the inhabitants. Most of their time passes in automobiles and less and less time is spent with friends and neighbors or in the general meetings which are held for social initiatives. Also, a dispersed population and residing in distant suburban areas causes the loss of the internal dependence on the society and the time spent on the trip from the suburban areas to the cities and vice versa causes a rift between the workplace and one’s house which to a great degree results in a lack of dependence on one’s living place because one would not have any particular knowledge of the city areas and the needs and therefore would not feel a sense of belonging to one’s city which can potentially cause common benefits for the public.
Moreover, being away from the cities and the gathering of a number of people from various social statuses away from their families and without any link to one another cause a lack of identity and a feeling of separation among the inhabitants. As individuals have no familiarity with one another, the context becomes convenient for the emergence of anomalies and this provides a space for cultural anomalies, whereas in the traditional cities and environments, many of these anomalies occur rarely because identities are formed and because of the insensible monitoring people feel they are exposed to.

Lack of attention to the neighborhood element

The life of the Iranians in urban environments exists in three cross-sectional layers: residential places, urban neighborhoods, and cities.
Neighborhood was one of the very important elements of urban construction in the city in the past which has been neglected in recent years causing many problems in all areas (social, cultural, economic and political).
A neighborhood division in the country refers to a collection of residential buildings and services whose residents identify themselves with it and feel a sense of belonging to the place in terms of the social fabric. But, in general, the local neighborhood interactions are reflected by the agreement within a group of people with direct social relations gathered in a close neighborhood for which the amenities and leisure facilities are only provided to meet the needs of residents.
In short, the neighborhood is a place where people feel comfortable and a local community or society refers to a group of people who live in a certain place and among them there is a direct relationship based on common interests of fate and identity. In general, many efforts have been made to define the concept of neighborhood. A district may apply to a place or a particular geographical location or to a variety of people with common interests. Despite numerous definitions, great emphasis have been placed on the local flexibility, insight and knowledge of the local places. Several properties can be defined for the neighborhood in the past, especially in a Muslim city, as follows:
1. The formation of neighborhood is generally divided according to racial, ethnic, or religious kinship, and in many cases, this is used to name the neighborhood.
2. Each neighborhood had a community space and gave it a form of autonomy in relation to the other neighborhoods and mainly consisted of the main spaces of the city such as the local market and the shops.
3. Building a neighborhood was influenced by climatic factors, and the economic and political factors.
4. Neighborhoods generally used to have a political and administrative structure that was set in a larger structure.
5. The neighborhoods were very different in terms of volume and its constituent elements. Moreover, in traditional towns in Iran, residential areas were divided into different and distinct neighborhoods. People with similar interests or identical records were grouped in their neighborhoods for more comfort and support and security.
In small towns, due to cultural homogeneity, the basis of the local divisions was different according to the professions or the source and origin. So, there was always a common thread that could be attributed to the resident members of the neighborhood. In traditional cities, it was not possible to separate the poor from the rich and most of the people lived together with different social classes.
Although the reasons for forming communities were rooted in many ethnic backgrounds and origins, in the end the system of neighborhoods also contributed to the process of the formation of cities. In addition, the presence of people with common ethnic background among neighborhoods and cities which were divided into districts also lent support to municipal management. Most of the space was dedicated to private dwellings in each neighborhood along the narrow streets. The neighborhood was the focus of a central square that was often at the intersection of two or more original paths. The neighborhood center usually had a mosque and a bathroom to meet the needs of the residents of the neighborhood.
Among the other features of the quarters in the past, one can mention holding social and religious rituals that were held in mosques which created the establishment of a close link between local residents and created a peculiar interest in the neighborhood. The center of the neighborhood represented most of the contacts and was a place for rallying among the participants in the neighborhood.
Each residential area, while possessing a main route to the market through a town or along the main road leading to the connected market, was in the same way kept away from the public vibrant space. The interior of each quarter had a semi-private aspect and the location of any quarter was seldom designed beforehand. The general trend of the development of residential neighborhoods depended on economic growth and the city population and took its final form over time. The interior view presented a harmonious landscape, and very seldom, a house could be seen which stood out in height beside other houses.
Every neighborhood had almost an independent system in supplying the needs and social services and incorporated the equipment and facilities required by the residents. In terms of the physical space, these institutions were arranged as much as possible in a way that could provide the best access for people. Likewise, the center of the neighborhood was the location and the intersection of the main paths of the neighborhood and often the physical center of the community was taking shape in such a place.
The center of the neighborhood was always a space for gathering and spending leisure time for the residents of the neighborhood in addition to providing the spiritual and periodic needs of people. The construction of buildings and public spaces in the center of the neighborhood was done in two ways. First, the residents of the neighborhood were cooperating with each other and with the supply of the cost and the labor required, the necessary and required spaces were constructed. As for the second case, the affluent members of the neighborhood alone were responsible for the construction costs of buildings and public collections.
Thus, with the specification made, the residents of the neighborhood met several requirements in their quarter: connectivity requirements, management requirements and support needs. The neighborhood had its own visage in general and gave identity to the city. The neighborhood center was introduced with the prominent accumulation of signs and the border of neighborhoods were also created by the known alleys and this created edges with high visual demarcation. This picture was so clear that everyone was able to identify and represent oneself in the district.
In other words, the neighborhood was a pillar between the family and the city. The neighborhood is made of the nearby homes in a particular geographical area, and the family has a feeling about the residential neighborhood similar to a feeling for one’s own house and by entering the neighborhood, one finds himself in a familiar and friendly environment like a home. The neighborhood is made of assembly and association, close socialization, solid neighborhood relationships and informal alliance between groups of people. Neighborhoods are the fundamental elements of urban life and are the most consistent and passionate living spaces for the neighborhood residents because studies show that the Iranian people form an identity and are present more in their neighborhoods compared with homes and markets or the city in general.
Previously, the neighborhood population was composed of people of the religious beliefs or of very similar ethnic background and profession and so they were accustomed to the common culture and followed its norms.
In general, the positive characteristic of the neighborhood is having a kind of community spirit whose manifestations were unity and cohesion of people to each other and a sense of unity and being prepared for assistance and cooperation for the maintenance of the slogan of the neighborhood.
By providing the daily and required services and by creating site symbols and special features, each neighborhood gave its residents a sense of belonging and identity to the extent that any citizen was known by the name of the place where he lived.
With the rapid developments of modern times, the entrance to the stage of transition and with the change of economic and social infrastructure, this activity was shattered. Most of the cities or towns where the Mehr Housing buildings are constructed are either by the road so that the main road enters the city and then exists the city which again brings us to the main road or have been established in a community regardless of the neighborhood element.
In the past, to manage the prosperity, cleaning and security and other things, the residents of the neighborhood were asked to cooperate and in all matters related to the neighborhood, the role of citizens was important. However, gradually, this role was taken from the people and the residents lost their neighborhood identity. In such a situation, the citizens felt they were passive and detached from the neighborhood and also the city issues were tackled in the absence of citizens. In the meantime, neighborhoods and cities become unstable and commitment to the community is not deemed as an opportunity to serve the community and gain virtue.
In recent years, unfortunately, the neighborhood gradually lost its old structure and functions and was turned into a "zone" which means a unit that is constructed by the government to implement its plans. This process was followed in the construction of Mehr housing estates. In such a combination, people with varied cultures, customs, and habits are residing close to one another by accident and they are very demanding with respect to the government. In fact, the residents of the new areas want the government to solve all the problems instead of considering themselves to be responsible in the face of events quite contrary to the old neighborhoods.

The loss of urban identity

Since the "identity" is a set of attributes and characteristics that make the "distinction" of an individual or community of people from other communities, in the same manner, the city also complies with this standard, finds a character, and becomes independent. Identity in a city is created by creating a "public memory" in citizens thus leading them towards becoming a ‘citizen’ which is a wider spectrum than being simply a ‘resident’ by establishing a sense of belonging among them. So, although the identity of a city is caused by the culture of its citizens, it can affect the process of urbanization and can contribute to the development of related standards and the judgment of the supervisors and residents.
Identity is a measure of growth for the city. In other words, when a city or community is growing, part of the identity traits of the new organization will grow and change. In this structure, urban identity should be considered as a benchmark for the development and as a factor for improving the quality of the environment so that it can help with the participation and security of individuals.

The identity elements

Since each city has both functional and physical dimensions, so the various aspects related to its identity have two aspects as mentioned. So, in a general classification, the dimensions of urban identity can be in the form of these two distinct dimensions: the physical elements and functional elements or the content or the appearance of the city.
The first encounter with any object, phenomenon or balance, appearance and body bulk is perceptible to the senses through the easily recognizable appearance. So the first difference between the two objective beings is determined by appearances. With this explanation, now if in an initial definition, we know a city as a complex of buildings, elements and urban centers, it is certain that we should look for an appearance which can be unique to the city in the event of creating an identity. In general, the Islamic city must have the following characteristics in form:
The first principle to reflect the characteristics or the nature of the Islamic city is the adjustment and matching between the design and construction of the city with respect to the natural conditions, including natural position (topography) and weather. The use of concepts such as the backyard, terraces, narrow streets and gardens, reflect this situation. These elements were suggested in order to comply with warm the climatic conditions of the living environment of the Muslims.
The second principle is the urban fabric compatibility with the cultural and religious beliefs. Religious beliefs form the center or core of the cultural life of the Muslims. Hence, the mosque has a focal position in the hierarchy of the institutions and locations. Cultural beliefs that separate public and private life add the proper order to the place of consumption.
As a result, the urban layout consisted of narrow streets and dead-ends separating public and private areas from each other and the use of land emphasized on the separation of women from men. Thus, any economic activity that is concerned with trade and the social presence was different from the residential homes and such activities were concentrated in public areas and the main streets.
The physical and social relations between the public and private areas and between social groups and neighborhoods also reflected Sharia (Islamic law) respectively. The privacy principle was turning into a law and the height of the walls was considered above the height of a man on camel. This and laws relating to property rights, for example, were one of the determinants of the shape (or form) of an Islamic city.
The third feature is the maintenance of social principles in the city. The urban community is based on social groupings of cultural perspectives, ethnic origins and common inbreeding. So, such a development must be always in motion in order to meet these social needs, especially family unification, defense, social order and religious practices.
In the past, in the Islamic cities, factors such as extended family structures, privacy, gender segregation and strong social interaction were clearly manifested in the form of compact buildings and houses with yards.
According to the physical principles of urban identity, it becomes clear that for the Mehr housing estates, the structural elements of urban identity and expression are often ignored and in all such settlements we face a kind of urban development which remains the same for all the areas. This type of settlement is also done regardless of the Islamic and social principles to the extent that in some cities in which a population more than half a million is expected there is only one mosque built regardless of whether it is in an appropriate place or not. Many of these towns are devoid of any Islamic and Iranian symbols.
Also in terms of content, a city can no longer be seen only on the surface when we consider it as a living organism. If the content of a city is rooted in the identity of people, it consists of a population (qualitative and quantitative) and the culture of the city or citizens (race, language, art, clothing, etc.). Therefore, in this dimension, the role of a human being is viewed to be central. Ignoring the human element and the lack of cultural homogeneity and the presence of people with different cultures and identities in Mehr housing estates have cause the city to possess no identity in terms of content as well.