Comparative Study of Factors Affecting Quality of Life with Respect to the Urban Scale (Case Studies: Tehran, Qazvin, and Ziaabad)

Introduction

Quality of life is a multi-dimensional concept intertwined with the background and living conditions of the people of a country or region; for this reason, the difference in the characteristics of cities can cause a difference in the perception and concept of quality of life. One of the most important concepts that causes differences in the characteristics and characteristics of cities is the scale and size of cities. Quality of life is a multi-dimensional concept intertwined with the background and living conditions of the people of a country or region; for this reason, the difference in the characteristics of cities can cause a difference in the perception and concept of quality of life. One of the most important concepts that causes differences in the characteristics and characteristics of cities is the scale and size of cities. In recent years, it has been observed that measuring the quality of life and selecting indicators of the quality of life in cities have been done regardless of the scale and size of the cities.Nowadays, in most studies in the field of quality of life, which are conducted in cities with different scales, similar and almost identical indicators are used regardless of the scale and size of the city. The homogenization of quality of life indicators in research shows that the scale and size of the city do not affect the quality of life in cities. The perception of the concept of quality of life by people in all cities is the same regardless of the city's characteristics, scale, and size. Now, considering this issue and the multifaceted nature of the quality of life and the fact that this concept is intertwined with the location and living conditions of the people of a country or region, the question arises whether a change in the scale and size of cities can cause a change in the level of quality of life and effective indicators?

Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between the scale of cities and to explain and measure the concept of quality of life in the city.



Methodology

The research method is applied and based on quantitative methods. In order to collect information, the completion of the questionnaire was used to search for people's opinions. The indicators evaluated in the research have been extracted with an emphasis on adaptability to large, medium, and small cities and compliance with the current state of urban development and modern developments by reviewing related texts and sources. In other words, the governing approach of this research is a survey method using a questionnaire about the quality of urban life. Data analysis was done in SPSS software using step-by-step regression method. For sampling in this research, a simple random sampling method is used in which all members have an equal chance to be selected, and the reliability of the questionnaires of each city was calculated based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient.



Results and discussion

The findings from the data analysis in this research show that 25 indicators were extracted and identified in Ziaabad, 34 in Qazvin, and 18 in Tehran. Despite the existence of commonalities and differences among the indicators extracted in each city, the difference in the number, type, and nature of the indicators and the non-uniformity of the indicators in each of the urban types show the impact of the scale and size of the city on the perception of the concept of quality of life and the compilation of indicators. The city's scale is closely related to the quality of life and indicators affecting the quality of life. In such a way, the change in the scale and size of the cities causes a change in the characteristics and characteristics of the cities and, finally, a change in the perception of the quality of life in the cities and the difference in important and effective indicators on the quality of life. Thus, the scale of cities is an issue that affects the quality of life from various aspects. Some indicators affecting the quality of life in large-scale cities may not affect the quality of life in small-scale cities. Conversely, some important indicators in small cities may not have any effect in explaining the quality of life in large-scale cities and metropolises. Therefore, the scale of cities is directly related to the perception of the concept of quality of life and the selection of effective indicators of quality of life.



Conclusion

The scale and size of cities are issues that, by affecting many aspects of the city, can cause changes in the characteristics and overall identity of cities. Changes in the scale and size of cities can lead to changes in people's perception of the concept of quality of life and differences in indicators affecting quality of life. Therefore, the scale and size of the city have a close relationship with the quality of life and the indicators affecting it. The results of the analysis of this research show that the indicators of the quality of life in the three cities of Ziaabad (small city), Qazvin (medium city), and Tehran (large city), as study samples of the research, are different and diverse due to the difference in the scale and size of the cities. In Ziaabad, as a small example of the scale of the research, the priority is the cultural, social, and administrative areas, and the second priority is the issue of transportation and congestion; the costs of providing housing and environmental pollution have a significant impact on the quality of life. In Qazvin, as an example with a medium scale in the research, indicators of the economic field, facilities and services, urban infrastructure, and social and cultural issues impact the quality of life. As a large-scale example of social and cultural indicators in Tehran, housing traffic and transportation have become the most critical explanatory and effective factors in the quality of life in recent years.