A B S T R A C T
Satisfaction is considered one of the effective methods for evaluating the success of urban development plans and projects, and it is a tool to measure which type of housing and residential environment meets the needs, expectations, and aspirations of residents. This article aims to compare Amiriyeh and Pay-eToop neighborhoods in Bojnord city in terms of residents' satisfaction with living in these neighborhoods. Using a questionnaire, the data was obtained by a survey from 229 heads of sample households living in Bojnoord city. The residents' satisfaction is analyzed by 26 indicators set as home and neighborhood indices. The data is entered into SPSS software to run the One Sample T-Test and calculate statistical parameters. Also, the data is entered in Arc GIS in accordance with the UTM coordinates of the responder's locations to provide a GIS point layer to use zoning maps to be drawn. Residential satisfaction is lower than average and slightly higher in Pay-eToop than in Amiriyeh. Also, the average score of the indicators that are set as home indices is lower than those for neighborhood indices. The zoning maps indicate that most parts of the neighborhoods show an average level of satisfaction with housing, and the maps of different indicators are not much different from each other. The role of physical indicators in low satisfaction is much more significant than social indicators. To improve satisfaction, paying attention to the neighborhood regeneration and improving the housing quality is necessary
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Satisfactory housing is one of the most valuable aspects of life and one of the main elements of people's living standards. The higher the level of satisfaction with a place, the more people will feel a sense of belonging to that place and feel more relaxed about being there. The feeling of satisfaction from a place can cause the positive effects of the place in the process of relationships in which the environment is being formed and carried out. On the one hand, satisfaction measurement is considered one of the effective methods of evaluating the success of urban programs and plans. On the other hand, it is a tool to measure which type of housing and residential environment currently meets its residents' needs, expectations, and aspirations.
 
Methodology
The residents' satisfaction is analyzed by 26 indicators set as home and neighborhood indices. A questionnaire gathers the data. Household heads in the studied neighborhoods (Amirieh and Pay-e Toop) are randomly selected as 229 sample people. The sample people evaluate the items in the questionnaire in a 5-range of the Likert scale from very high to very low. The qualified range was then changed to quantified scores from 5 to 1. Afterward, they were entered into SPSS software to run the One Sample T-Test and calculate other statistical parameters. The address of each respondent is included in the questionnaires, and based on the address, the UTM coordinates of the respondent are determined using Google Earth. Then, the information from the questionnaires is entered into the GIS according to the coordinates to provide a GIS point layer for drawing zoning maps.
 
Results and discussion
The score of 2.75, which is the average figure of the evaluation scores for all the indicators of both neighborhoods, indicates that residential satisfaction is lower than the assumed average score (3). The average scores are 2.90 and 2.57 for Pay-e Toop and Amirieh neighborhoods, respectively, and they indicate that the residential satisfaction in the first is slightly higher than the other. Pay-e Toop is the oldest neighborhood in Bojnoord, which accommodates the traditional complex of shops (Bazar) and essential physical elements of historical eras, such as the city's citadel. In addition to the high proportion of immigrants, it also includes deep-rooted and native families that have strong social relationships. Also, the average score for the neighborhood indices is slightly higher than for the home indices. The average figure for all 26 indicators is lower than the assumed average score (3) and indicates a lower residential satisfaction. Five indicators with the higher satisfaction score are as follows: relationship with neighbors, living in the ancestral neighborhood, the situation of streets and ways, living with relatives, and the quality of wastewater disposal. On the contrary, lower satisfaction scores belong to the indicators of access to shopping centers, healthcare service centers, the size of homes, and access to public transportation, respectively. Despite the fame of the gardens of Bojnord in previous centuries, in recent decades, most of the gardens disappeared, especially in the city's central business district, which corresponds to the two studied neighborhoods; there is a small area of land covered by parks and green spaces. Green spaces are mainly the small green strips on the edge or in the middle of the streets. For Amiriye and Pay-e Toop neighborhoods, the Pearson correlation coefficient between the respondents' education levels and their scores of residential satisfaction are -0.36 and -0.23, respectively. It implies that residential satisfaction has an inverse relationship with education. Also, the correlation coefficient between the residence length in the neighborhood and residential satisfaction scores are +.001 and -0.29, respectively (for Amirieh and Pay-e Toop neighborhoods). It also indicates no relation for the first neighborhood and an inverse relation for the other.
The zoning map of all the indicators shows that in more than 90% of the neighborhood area, the level of satisfaction is in the medium range. In Amirieh, the parts with low satisfaction are scattered. It can be said that the northeastern edge of the Amirieh neighborhood and the southwestern edge of the Pay-e Toop neighborhood have lower satisfaction.
 
Conclusion
The role of physical indicators in low satisfaction is much more significant than social indicators. The physical components of the neighborhoods caused a low level of satisfaction. On the contrary, higher satisfaction is revealed from the socio-cultural components. Households prefer the quality of services more than the availability of services. In medium-sized cities such as Bojnoord, neighborhood relations, closeness to relatives, and living in neighborhoods where the ancestors lived are still decisive in creating residential satisfaction. To improve life satisfaction, paying attention to housing quality and the regeneration of both neighborhoods is necessary. Also, improvement, retrofitting, enhancing the quality of the building, and improving the quality of urban services, especially healthcare services, public transportation, and commercial services, should be considered.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
 We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.