A Sociological Examination of the Socio-Cultural Barriers to Development (Case Study: Bileh Savar)
Keywords:
Development, ocio-cultural barriers, Bilesavar cityAbstract
Development necessitates change, and any form of development aimed at advancing society cannot be achieved without profound transformations in socio-cultural structures. This study investigates the socio-cultural barriers to development in the city of Bileh Savar by employing both a survey technique and the grounded theory method. The statistical population in the quantitative section consisted of 400 citizens aged 20 and above, with at least a high school diploma, employed in various professions. In the qualitative section, 15 university professors, managers, and experts in the social and cultural domains of Bileh Savar were selected using purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. The findings from the quantitative section indicate a significant relationship between all independent variables, including social capital, human capital, aspiration spirit, modernist attitudes, dependency on state power, cultural capital, and the level of development in Bileh Savar. The qualitative findings further reveal that the city's development is influenced by a set of specific conditions, categorized into three main dimensions. The causal conditions include the lack of a modernist attitude, weak social capital, dependency on state power, and weak human capital. The intervening conditions consist of weak cultural capital, inefficiency and ineffectiveness, and the absence of an aspiration spirit. The contextual conditions encompass the ecological situation and low levels of investment. These conditions collectively and interactively have led to the emergence of a phenomenon termed imbalanced development (core category), which has impacted Bileh Savar. In response, the residents of this city have adopted specific strategies, which can be classified into two broad categories: conflict with the status quo and adaptation to prevailing conditions. The consequences of these strategies, considering the prevailing conditions, include the persistence of underdevelopment, migration, and a low quality of life for the city's residents. Based on these findings, experts interpret the underdevelopment of Bileh Savar as a manifestation of uneven and uncoordinated development.
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