Indian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Life Sciences ISSN: 2231– 6345 (Online) An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at www.cibtech.org/sp.ed/jls/2014/04/jls.htm 2014 Vol. 4 (S4), pp. 1210-1221/Soleimani et al. Research Article © Copyright 2014 | Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech) 1210 MEASURING RELATIONSHIP OF PLACE BELONGING AND LIFE QUALITY (CASE STUDY: HAFT CHENAR NEIGHBORHOOD OF TEHRAN) Mansoor Soleimani 1 , Mahnaz Akbari 2 , Mansoor Azizy 3 and * Amir Rahmani 4 1 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran 2 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran 3 Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran 4 Young Researchers and Elite Club; Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran * Author for Correspondence ABSTRACT Formation, growth and development of life quality concept during recent half century have converted to key and main concept in global discussions and human issues. Beside the concept, qualitative and quantitative extension of cities as a dominant form of human life has created new and specialized concept of urban life quality. In this article, with analytical-descriptive and survey method, we investigate concept of urban life quality and its relation with belonging sense and in this regard, 220 questionnaires are distributed between heads of family based on Cochran Formula. For reliability of questionnaire, Cochran’s alpha is used and also, for examining subjective dimension of life quality and its rate in Haft Chenar neighborhood, descriptive statistics and factor analysis model are used and for correlation between life quality (subjective) and its relationship with belonging sense, Pearson correlation is used. Research results indicate that life quality is low in some dimensions and areas that lead to decrease belonging sense in the neighborhood. Also, research results suggest high correlation between life quality and belonging sense to the place in Haft Chenar neighborhood. Keywords: Life Quality, Place Belonging, Factor Analysis Model, Haft Chenar Neighborhood, Tehran INTRODUCTION Research about life quality is increasingly emphasized in several past decades in area of urban issues. One of the main motivations of emphasis is significant growth of urban population. It is predicted that the procedure will be continued and until 2030, urban population will reach to 5 billion (Slavuj, 2011). In fact, coincidence with approach of urban sustainable development, concept of urban life quality has also found its place in literature of planning and urban management. Despite numerous benefits of urbanism, many policy makers in different countries know the increasing procedure of urbanism as a risk alarm. They point out deep effect on traditions and conventional relations and provision problem of services and public infrastructure, increasing the informal residences, deteriorating environmental conditions, increase the social issues related to the unemployment and underemployment. These issues and problems have attracted attention of researchers of different disciplines to study life quality, place quality and human welfare in urban areas in different countries as tools for supporting general policy making, compilation and monitoring the management strategies and urban planning (Kamp et al., 2003) and created the understanding and prioritizing of society issues. Growth of city and urbanization is the most prominent features of social-economic changes in recent period. Urbanization in this period is increased with a speed that has limited many opportunities for promoting life quality, so coincidence with urbanization of Iran society, analysis of its consequences including evaluation of life quality, is one of the important necessities of urban studies of country (Ali and Amini, 2010). It is seemed that concept of place sense is one of the major factors related to concept of life quality especially subjective quality of individual’s life. So, in the research, subjective and objective dimensions of life and relation of both with each other in Haft Chenar neighborhood and role of place sense in satisfaction of life quality of individuals are studied.