Assessment of urban identity in newly built neighborhoods; Case of Pardis neighborhood in Ahvaz city, Iran

Although researchers have offered many definitions of urban identity, there is rarely an exact meaning of this concept. In general, it can be defined as the characteristics which distinguish a place from another, including differences in historical, socio-cultural, functional, and spatial values in urban space. Analyzing neighborhoods in cities with socio-cultural and identity problems and providing suggestions to cut their anomalies is so crucial for local entities. The purpose of this study is to investigate and assess the elements of identity in newly built neighborhoods to further the awareness of researchers and city managers to come up with efficient plans for solving their problems. For this, we choose the Pardis neighborhood of Ahvaz in Iran. The elements of identity in the Pardis neighborhood are investigated, and the situation of the Pardis neighborhood is analyzed and assessed considering the urban identity indicators reviewed in the literature. The obtained results show that the identifying elements in the Pardis neighborhood are more affected by socio-economic components and these factors are not in good condition in the current situation.