Journal of Natural Environment

Evaluating the effects of the rural development and progress plan on promoting social capital

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Arid and Mountainous Areas Rehabilitation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

3 Department of Organizational Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

4 Social Business Institute, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jne.2024.384253.2718

Abstract

Social capital is recognized as one of the key factors in the sustainable development of rural communities. Additionally, participatory governance, considered an effective approach to sustainable development, requires examining and identifying factors influencing it, particularly the social capital of the local community. In this context, the present study investigates the impact of implementing the Rural Development and Improvement Plan, executed by the Housing Foundation in collaboration with the Natural Disasters Research Institute, on social capital among owners of microcredit fund accounts in Bakharz County. The research method involved extracting trust and participation relationships before and after implementing the plan through a network analysis questionnaire among microcredit fund account holders in eight villages of Bakharz County. The results indicated a significant increase in the macro-level indicators of trust and participation after the plan's implementation; specifically, the trust network density index increased from 35.4% to 59.4%, and the participation network density increased from 31.6% to 61.7%. Furthermore, the average geodesic distance in the trust network decreased from 1.71 to 1.41, and in the participation network from 1.86 to 1.29. Additionally, the decrease in input degree centrality in both networks indicated a better distribution of power and influence among actors. The increase in reciprocity and transitivity of relationships in both networks also facilitated interactions among individuals. Overall, these results demonstrate an increase in social capital in the studied rural areas and confirm improvements in participatory governance as well.

Keywords

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Journal of Natural Environment
Volume 77, Issue 4
March 2025
Pages 653-666