Social Impact Assessment of Reconstruction Projects in the Historical Districts Case Study: Bein-Al-Haramain, Shiraz

Abstract

ABSTRACT Historical urban fabrics have many valuable attributes, but they are often subject to reconstruction plans, especially when they suffer from economic and social problems. Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a process of evaluating the positive and negative effects of large-scale projects on different aspects of society. The Bein-al-Haramain project, which was implemented in the historical district of Shiraz in 1995, is a suitable case for this study because of its magnitude and its location in a deteriorated historical area. The project affected Mansourieh Neighbourhood, a historic area that dates back to the pre-Safavid period. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the impacts of this project on the lives of the local residents from their own perspectives. This aim is pursued by using the participatory approach of SIA in the paper. The research employs content analysis as the method, semi-structured interviews as the data collection technique, and qualitative survey as the research strategy. According to the authors’ analysis, the Bein-al-Haramain reconstruction project had mostly negative impacts on the lives of the people living in the Mansourieh Neighbourhood. The main source of the negative effects was the disruption of the connections between Mansourieh Neighbourhood and its Bazaar and the rest of the city.