%0 Journal Article %T Monitoring the Theory of the Right to the City in Reproducing Age – Friendly Space of the city (Case study: Worn-Out Texture of Central District of Zanjan) %J Human Geography Research %I University of Tehran %Z 2008-6296 %A Heidari, Mohamad Taghi %A Mohamadi, Shahram %A Rahmani, Maryam %D 2021 %\ 03/21/2021 %V 53 %N 1 %P 195-212 %! Monitoring the Theory of the Right to the City in Reproducing Age – Friendly Space of the city (Case study: Worn-Out Texture of Central District of Zanjan) %K The right to the city %K urban space %K age-friendly city %K Zanjan City %R 10.22059/jhgr.2019.278353.1007891 %X Introduction The city is considered a social right, with the role of urban space in production of the daily life rhythm and reproduction of social relations making an approach in citizenship rights, in which the residents must be the main players and beneficiaries in the creation of urban space. Meanwhile, the increasing lifespan of humans and growing elderly population are considerable results of the 21st century. Ageing is a biological process rather than a disease, an important phenomenon that gradually befalls everyone. The phenomenon of aging creates significant changes in all aspects of human societies’ life, including a wide range of age structures, values, and criteria, as well as the creation of social organizations. It is very important to confront the challenges, posed by this phenomenon, and adopt appropriate policies to improve physical, social, and mental status of the elderly. In this regard, by turning the city into an age-friendly space, it seems that Lefebvre ideas could be appropriate criteria for spatial intervention in the cities for the benefit of vulnerable group. Lefebvre’s idea of the right to the city is a powerful response to all cities, especially those wherein the citizens suffer from extreme conflict in different forms (deprivation and depriving groups of people from the right to peace, security, and solidarity). Since the right to the city belongs to all its inhabitants, a study on elderly’s right to the city as a vulnerable group in need of support, doubles its importance. Methodology This research was descriptive-analytical. In the terms of time span, it considered the present circumstances. Following the study of Lefebvre ideas to extract spatial manifestations of the idea of the right to the city as a conceptual model of research, the condition of the elderly resident in the worn-out texture of Zanjan city was investigated. Since the number of elderly residents in the worn-out texture was not clear enough, this study employed the sampling method of the missing statistical population to determine the sample size, which turned out to be 170 individuals. The locative sampling method of the study was clustering, with the clusters getting selected systematically. The studying condition of the elderly resident in the texture was done by SF-36 standard questionnaire with Likert spectral ranking and face-to-face interviews by the researchers. Research indicators got compiled in two parts: independent and dependent variables and contextual variables. The dependent variable included "the right to the city" and the independent ones were the "the right to appropriate use of urban space" and the "the right to participate", both with 3 indicators. The contextual variables also included individual characteristics of the statistical population. To analyze the data, descriptive tables and charts, Kruskal-Wallis test (to investigate the differences between the statistical groups on the subject of the research), and the path analysis test (to study the effect of the indicators of the right to use urban space and the right to participate on the urban right component) were utilized with the help of SPSS software program. Results and Discussion The findings showed that the right to the city in the worn-out texture of Zanjan city did not materialize and the average satisfaction of the statistical population from the right to the city index was 2.94, which was below the average. Meanwhile, the right to appropriate use of urban space had a rating of 3.01, with the participation right having a rating of 2.87. Study of the statistical population with Kruskal-Wallis Test showed that the elderly with different physical characteristics did not have a unique understanding of the status of the right to the city index in the worn-out texture of Zanjan. Yet, there was no disagreement between other different groups of gender, socioeconomic status, and length of stay in the city, which added to the importance of the right to the city concept. The study of the right to the city indicators and the effect of each one on urban space with the path analysis test showed that the total effect of the right to appropriate use of urban space component on the right to the city component was 0.827 and the total effect of the component of the right to participate was 0.823. This trend showed that in terms of statistical population, the components of appropriate right to use and right to participate had a favorable impact on the right to the city component and by strengthening these two components, one can create a favorable urban environment in the central worn-out texture of Zanjan and adapt it to the needs of different groups, especially the elderly.  Conclusions From Lefebvre's view, the right to the city manifests itself as a privileged form of rights. There is no doubt that today the concept of the right to the city is used as an umbrella term for sustainability, with its meaning becoming much wider, compared to what Lefebvre first applied. According to the research findings, the component of the right to participate with a score lower than the right to appropriate use of urban space should be considered and planned first based on the needs for upgrading the urban space production/citizenship right, and then on urban decision making and urban organization. In this way, the group of elderly people who enjoy more leisure time than other members of society can be active and productive members in creating vibrant urban spaces and experience dynamic aging. The right to appropriate use of urban space should also be considered based on the needs for upgrading the control and ownership of space, physical share, and ultimately urban vitality, in line with the right to participate in order. The reason behind this is that the elderly is a group with mobility limitations who need to adapt to the environment in order to be present in the community and urban spaces. %U https://jhgr.ut.ac.ir/article_74374_a1fbc3291bc1fd4af22107d8e907fa62.pdf