Empirical Formation of the Indicators of Social and Cultural Sustainability of Tehran City

Introduction: In view of the importance of knowledge and attention to the nature and type of indicators of social and cultural sustainability of Tehran city in urban policy and planning by the officials and trustees, this study, based on a hybrid conceptual framework, compiles and prioritizes the indicators of the construct of social and cultural sustainability of Tehran city in view of the role of Tehran City Council and Municipality.
Method: This research was conducted using a quantitative method (survey method with questionnaire and a checklist of indicators) and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and network analysis. In this method, the indicators were finalized after the initial list was compiled, refined, validated, and weighted by 30 relevant experts selected based on purposive, snowball, and key person sampling strategies.
Findings: The priority of social sustainability indicators related to equity and justice, social participation, social responsibility, sustainability of local communities, recognition of social groups, preservation and improvement of urban nature, sustainability of population, and reorganization of labor. In the dimension of cultural sustainability of Tehran city, the indicators of cultural diversity, cultural participation, cultural equality, cultural identity, cultural heritage, prosperity and realization, and innovation were ranked.
Conclusion: The results indicate that social and cultural sustainability is a totality which, on the one hand, is fluid, dynamic and changing due to its dialectical logic and, therefore, no static indicators can be given for it, and, on the other hand, its indicators cannot be derived from this totality. In fact, all these components are not an isolated concept and independent of other components, and all these components together form the totality of Tehran’s social and cultural sustainability.