Journal of Novel Applied Sciences Available online at www.jnasci.org ©2013 JNAS Journal-2013-2-9/398-409 ISSN 2322-5149 ©2013 JNAS Strategies to empower the marginalized communities of Ghale Chanan District in Ahwaz Province Jawad Bawi 1* and Mohammad Rahim Rahnama 2 1- PhD student in Geography and Urban Planning, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, International Branch, Mashhad, Iran 2- Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad ,Mashhad, Iran Corresponding author: Jawad Bawi ABSTRACT: The main objective of this study is to investigate the problem of marginalization in city of Ahwaz and to propose empowering strategies within the liberal framework. The staggering growth of Ahwaz population as the regional center in the Southwest of Iran, the seventh metropolis of Iran and the second largest city in terms of marginalization have given rise to a plethora of problems such as filthy marginalized communities, illegal housing, etc. One of these marginalized communities is Ghale Chanan District. It has been infused with numerous problems in the last few decades to the extent that it poses health, safety and welfare threats to the city. Empowerment is based on the poverty alleviation and its advancement depends on the cooperation of the citizens and urban management. It aims at provoking the sense of belonging in the area and eliciting the proper response as to the share of the state and people. What is central to this strategy is a special emphasis on increasing household incomes and poverty alleviation. The research method is descriptive - analytic and a sample size of 266 households was randomly selected using Cochrane method. The data obtained by means of the questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS software based on Pearson Chi-Square method. This area is characterized with physical and social features such as relatively stable and homogenous social context, disinclination to cooperate with state-run offices, lack of awareness of the urban management planning among the local people, the low quality of the housing and a combination of all these factors. The results, however, show that the citizens with a longer history of residency in the area enjoy better amenities and services. There is a positive (parallel) relationship between the history of residence and the desire to contribute, and the citizens with higher awareness of urban management planning are more likely to cooperate. Keywords: marginalization, organization and renovation, empowerment, Ahwaz, Ghale Chenan. INTRODUCTION Marginalization is rooted in the history of human social life and its manifestations have been the ethnic, religious ghettos used as settlements of the poor in the ancient societies. In its modern sense, this phenomenon have been incited by the emergence of capitalism and urbanism and the increasing migration from rural areas to the cities, first at the heart of capitalistic societies and then in under-developed countries. The implications of this colonialism are the rise of a number of social issues the most important of which are economic interventions, unemployment and migration from rural areas to the cities, which, in turn, worsen the issue of marginalization (Rabaniet al., 9005). One painful yet persistent aspect of this issue in Iran is the nefarious shadow of informal settlement or marginalization which has been the upshot of the unrefined waste of an unbalanced urban economy and poverty- alleviation culture on one hand and the lack of attention paid to this issue on the other hand. Thus, it has imposed behavioral abnormalities and aberrations on their receptive destination, i.e. cities. Rural migration and rapid growth of urbanization along with the rise of marginalization, the inefficiencies and difficulties of the urban life and the lack