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

ABSTRACTHistorical 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.KEYWORDS: SIAUrban Heritagehistorical citylarge scale projectslocal inhabitantsdamaged DistrictBein-al-HaramainShiraz Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Notes1 This term selected is equivalent of Persian word for “Mahalle.” Mahalleh is an area smaller than a district usually with mental and social borders in which the inhabitants relate and identify themselves with its features.2 An area of small shops and people selling things, especially in South Asia, North Africa, or the Middle East3 Maktab or Kuttab is a type of elementary school in the Muslim world. Though the kuttab was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, and Islamic studies, such as memorizing and reciting the Qur'an.4 Afghan, Lur, and Turk people who immigrated to the neighborhood since 30 years.5 SIA should be typed in capital letters everywhere in the article.6 SIA should be typed in capital letters everywhere in the article.Additional informationNotes on contributorsZahra NaziriZahra naziri is graduated with a master’s degree from Tehran University in urban heritage conservation. She received her undergraduate degree in the same field from Art University of Shiraz in 2017.Somayeh Fadaei Nezhad BahramjerdiSomayeh Fadaei Nezhad Bahramjerdi is working as academic member and assistant professor of Architectural and Urban Heritage Conservation Group, School of Architecture, University of Tehran, Iran. She is a member of the National Committee of DOCOMOMO_Iran and TICCIH and a member of ICOMOS.