نشریه جغرافیا و برنامه‌ریزی (Jan 2021)

Investigating the factors influencing the Reverse Migration from Tabriz metropolis to the Suburbs and adjoining villages

  • Ali Azar,
  • ghorban Mahboubi,
  • Mahsa Salahi Ranbari

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22034/gp.2021.39176.2597
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 74
pp. 29 – 41

Abstract

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Introduction One of the emerging phenomena of modern urbanization that has had a significant impact on various problems in metropolitan areas is the reverse migration from urban to villages locating in the suburbs of the cities. The continuation of reverse migration has reduced life quality and doubled the pressure on the rural environment. The rapid physical growth of Tabriz (called Urban Creep) has caused the uncontrollable development of rural settlements and has created a kind of new marginalization. Currently, the growth and development rate in the villages connecting to Tabriz is very high, so that the area of these villages has multiplied in recent years, and their population is several times more than that of Tabriz city. It should be noted that the average national growth rate is increasing. However, many of the areas built in these villages are outside the legal boundaries. Due to the lack of a local urban plan, illegal constructions and marginalization in these villages occur with an upward trend. If the trend of reverse migration in these areas continues, a turbulent and organic fabric will emerge in the next few years. Data and Method This study aims to determine the effect of various factors on migration from Tabriz to the surrounding villages and explain the rapid development of these villages. A descriptive-analytical research method has been used in the study. The documentary-library tools and field studies, including questionnaire, was used to collect the information. The statistical population of this study includes the migrants returned from Tabriz to the seven studied villages. In the new comprehensive plan of Tabriz, the villages of Anakhaton, Alvar Olia, Kojovar, Sahlan, Oghli, Khilijan, Konduro (Kondrud), which were previously outside the city limits, have entered the city limits. Subsequently, the research questionnaires were completed from the seven villages connecting to Tabriz city. The components of reverse migration are physical, socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors, of which 114 were selected using the convenience sampling method. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaires, and the obtained mean reliability was 0.7. Results and Discussion The average growth of the country's rural population during the last ten years (2006-2016) was 69.0%, while it was +43.83% for the studied villages in this period. This growth indicates that rapid physical development has increased in recent years in the villages surrounding Tabriz due to the high cost of land and housing in the Tabriz. The population of the studied villages in 2006 was 25892 people, which has increased to 37249 people in 2016. Furthermore, the area of other villages in 2006 was 284.61 hectares, which has increased to 552 hectares in 2016 and have grown 93.94%. Conclusion Based on the field studies and the data analysis results, in terms of population growth and population attraction, the highest population growth was related to Anakhaton village. According to the factor analysis model, twelve factors were involved in reverse migration to the villages connecting to Tabriz. In the economic and housing factor, the high cost of living in the city with a correlation coefficient of 0.731; in the ecological factor, healthy drinking water with a correlation coefficient of 0.813; in the recreational-tourism factor, the natural tourism spaces with correlation coefficient 0.8; in the entrepreneurship and employment factor, establishment of an industrial workshop in the village with a correlation coefficient of 0.705; in uniformity of social class factor, matching the village with the social class with a correlation coefficient of 0.739; in the urban pollution factor, pollution of the cities with correlation coefficient of 0.820; in village enthusiasm factor; the existence of a happy rural life with a correlation coefficient of 0.774; in the job opportunities factor, the job potentials with correlation coefficient of 0.827; in the security and spatial affiliation, the village security with a correlation coefficient of 0.715; in the high density of the city, urban population density with a correlation coefficient of 0.704; in the cultural-behavioral factors and government support, the factor of government support from the villagers in the form of equity shares and subsidies with a correlation coefficient of 0.858 were the most important variables in reverse migration from Tabriz to the connected villages. Moreover, according to the factor analysis model, the economic and housing factor (Eigenvalue=9.61) determined more than twenty-six percent of reverse migration variance and was the most important reason for the reverse migration to the surrounding villages of Tabriz. The high cost of living in the city, low income, high land prices in the city, low purchase and rental prices in the village were among the economic factors affecting the reverse migration.

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