A Survey of the Environmental Effects on the Livability of Rural Areas (Case Study: Villages of Buin Zahra County)

Purpose: Every human being, regardless of the city or village that he Lives, in pursuit of a desirable and satisfying life needed fields and factors to enable a person to provide comfort and long-term well-being for himself and his community. To some authors this condition is synonymous with livability or suitable conditions for life, in general, it refers to a set of objective characteristics that make a place in point is that people tend to live in the present and future. The aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental factors affecting the livability of rural areas and tried to answer the question of whether environmental factors affect the livability of rural areas or not? Design/methodology/approach: The nature of this study is applied, and it uses the descriptive-analytical method. Data was collected by documentary study and field studies (questionnaires, interviews, and direct observation). The population statistic was the rural area of the city of Buin Zahra. 211 households were chosen through Cochran formula. To analyze the data descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and comparative statistics (correlation analysis, one sample t-test, ANOVA) were used. Finding: The results showed that the livability of the villages in all dimensions is moderate. The results of analysis of variance showed that the environmental factors affecting the livability of the villages have significant differences in all indicators. Furthermore, the analytical results indicated that the correlation between habitability and environmental factors are significant and there is a positive relationship between them. By promoting the quality of environmental factors, the livability of rural areas will be upgraded. Originality/value: Due to their lifestyle and livelihood, villagers are the direct beneficiaries of environmental resources (i.e., water, soil, forest, grassland); therefore, environmental factors should be considered in the development of a village and its livability because the preservation of the environment against pollution and destruction of the village and its values is especially important. This study aimed to explain the effects of environmental factors on the livability of rural areas and finally offers some recommendations for improving and promoting the rural environment factors.