Social Impact Assessment of the Neighborhood House (Case Study: Sixth Municipal District of Tehran)

Abstract

The study investigates citizen-centric capacities in Neighborhood Houses established in the neighborhoods of the sixth municipal district of Tehran. The study mainly aims to examine the effects of the Neighborhood House on citizens’ awareness of citizenship rights and responsibilities. The subsidiary aims of the study include an assessment of the effect of Neighborhood House activities on distributive justice, increased social capital, social participation, improved quality of life, development of neighborhood identity and improved leisure patterns. According to Jürgen Habermas’ discursive citizenship theory, free and equal citizens engage in dialogues in order to organize their lives not only legally but also legitimately. Social activists follow a dialogue of ideas, intentions and demands in a free, equal and fair manner. The rights and responsibilities of communicating social activists consensually emerge through dialogue rather than external factors so that citizens are committed to both their responsibilities and other citizens’ rights. The methodology of the study is based on social impact assessment approach. The data was collected using both qualitative instruments such as interview and quantitative instruments such as questionnaire. Social impact assessment is the theoretical and methodological outcome of the awareness of latent, intangible functions of development plans. Attempts made to assess and estimate social outcomes, which may result from development initiatives, is called social impact assessment. The present study constitutes three stages of identification, analysis and solution. Analysis of the data obtained via interviews and questionnaires showed that the Neighborhood House initiative could assume an important role in raising citizens’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities. The results showed that the important outcomes of the establishment of Neighborhood House, as a development initiative, included increased distributive justice, social participation, social capital, improved quality of life, development of neighborhood identity and improved leisure patterns, which may together help realize citizen-centric goals. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p580