The application of phenomenography paradigm in understanding the urban phenomena Case study: How residents experience the consequences of living in segregated neighbourhoods

Document Type : Qualitative Research

Authors
H. Dadashpoor 1
M. ghazaie 2
1 Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University
2 Ph.D. Candidate of Tarbiat Modares University
Abstract
Introduction

Urban studies have often investigated phenomena through quantitative approaches. They have just studied the urban phenomena solely, and their relationships with the subjects have been discounted. That is while urban, and its phenomena usually have different layers which cannot be understood only through quantitative approaches. Because, quantitative researchers who play the most prominent role in these studies, have not experienced and understood the phenomenon and their results are often restricted to their statistical and quantitative analysis. While the deep understanding of urban phenomena and their consequences is only possible through understanding the experiences of those who have experienced and understood those phenomena for many years. The philosophical and methodological literature of understanding these experiences which is called phenomenography and the way it can be used in urban studies are the aims of the current study.

Methodology

Thus, to understand the philosophical, epistemological and methodological principles of phenomenography library research and documentary analysis has been used and for the application of phenomenography in urban studies a field study has been conducted. To do this, at first, one of the segregated neighbourhoods (Razavieh) of Tehran as the capital of Iran has been selected, and then through a phenomenographic paradigm, it has been tried to understand how residents in that neighbourhood experience segregation and how segregation has affected their quality of life. Consequently, an unstructured interview has been done by 23 of residents through a snowballing and purposeful sampling. Interviews have been recorded, and then they have been typed and finally through the phenomenographic strategy which has got seven different steps, the manuscripts have been analysed.

Results and discussion

The documentary analysis’s results indicate that qualitative research methodology and phenomenography can be considered as an indispensable methodology in urban studies because phenomenography aims to explore and describe phenomena with an emphasis on individuals’ lived experiences. With regarding the fact that phenomenographer should make friend with interviewee he/she would be able to get the sheer feeling of residents about a specific phenomenon which can help experts avoid from skin-deep decision making and face them with the reality what is usually hindered from them through quantitative methodologies. It should be taken into account that a phenomenographer usually reflects individuals’ feelings and they usually try not to make interventions while they are analysing the manuscripts.

Results which have been gathered through field study indicate that consequences which are imagined for living in a segregated neighbourhood and are usually extracted from quantitative analysis, are far beyond that we may imagine. Segregation’s consequences affect individuals’ lives through managerial, economic, social, physical and functional dimensions. In case of functional consequences, results indicate that residents’ lives are accompanied by a feeling of inequality. In case of physical features, negative consequences could be considered in three main groups which are the neighbourhood's distance from city centre, the quality of neighbourhood's landscape and urban fabrics. Social negative consequences could be divided into four main categories which are related to the impacts that living in a segregated neighbourhood has on demographics, society, households, and Individuals. In case of economic, residents’ job opportunities are affected, and it usually leads to their inability for affording their lives. Moreover, managerial consequences usually increase the distance between residents and managers which corruption and the lack of sense of belonging to the neighbourhood and its people are among the most significant ones.

Conclusion

In general, it can be declared that reaching to a pure understanding of urban phenomena especially those which are more complex, needs investigating of residents’ lived experiences what has been considered less in recent studies not only in Iranian contexts but also in all over the world. Phenomenography which makes understanding individuals’ lives possible is one of the qualitative ways which here is suggested. It can be used for those phenomena which are complicated and are dealing with individuals. Since it studies the relationships between the phenomenon and individuals, it can provide sheer results of what is going on. It should be taken into consideration that phenomenography is different from phenomenology which is more famous among scholars. With regarding these features which were counted for phenomenography and with considering the fact that urban phenomena are thoroughly in contact with individuals; it can be understood that phenomenography could be really helpful because it considers the relationship between the phenomenon and the subject rather considering the phenomenon solely. Through using phenomenography for investigating the negative consequences of living in a segregated neighbourhood not only it has been revealed that consequences are way more than those which are extracted through quantitative analysis, but it has been understood that residents consider managerial and economic consequences as the main ones and they believe that these consequences give rise to other ones. Moreover, based on the lived experiences it has been revealed that social consequences of segregation are more profound than the rest.

Keywords

Subjects

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The Journal of Spatial Planning and Geomatics
Volume 23, Issue 4
December 2019
Pages 1-35