مسکن و محیط روستا (Jun 2023)
Designing a model to determine the contribution of factors influencing the return of marginalized populations to rural areas; case study: Marginalized residents of Mashhad city
Abstract
The extensive migration of rural residents to cities has resulted in numerous economic, social, and environmental impacts. However, this population concentration in specific areas contradicts land planning policies. Therefore, if these marginalized populations return to their rural areas, a significant portion of these issues will be resolved. However, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to identify the facilitating factors and conditions for this process. For this purpose, the present study was conducted using a descriptive and correlational method to determine a model for assessing the contribution of individual, social, and economic factors to the likelihood of return from the perspective of migrants, as well as prioritizing these factors from the perspective of experts. The required data was collected through a validated questionnaire from a sample of 300 migrants from Mashhad city and 30 experts in this field. To assess the questionnaire, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used, and the KMO index was used to determine the sample size adequacy. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) test was used to identify the factor structure and examine the factor loadings. Multiple indicator and multiple cause (MIMIC) model was used to determine the relationships between variables. Fit indices such as RMSEA, TLI, CFI, and Chi-square were calculated to evaluate the model. The results showed that among the predictive variables, only the variable of social institution attachment could influence the migrants' perspective. Therefore, this variable had significant correlations with hidden variables, mainly the primary migrant and facilitators. However, all four fit indices were lower than the desired value, indicating that the model did not fit well. Nevertheless, it was evident that the return was mainly to non-native rural areas, and family dimensions, particularly the sub-criterion of "observing peers' behavior," had the highest impact on marginalized populations' return to rural areas. These findings are consistent with the theories of Weber, Giddens, and systems theory. Based on these results, by demonstrating the number, diversity, and current conditions of individuals who have migrated, a larger number of marginalized populations can be convinced to return to rural areas.
