THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL OF TOURIST HOST COMMUNITIES IN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL OF TOURIST HOST COMMUNITIES IN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Summary/Abstract: Due to the inefficiency of top-down planning and a purely economic and quantitative view of development, local development with an emphasis on social dimensions, including social capital, has been considered by various researchers and institutions. The research literature shows that social capital has been mainly focused on only one of its dimensions, defined as mostly the characteristics of an individual or an attribute of the society. However, in the present study, both social capital dimensions have been considered. Given the importance of the neighborhood as the smallest cell in spatial organization and urban planning, this research has been conducted on a tourist host neighborhood and in the context of a developing country. The present study investigated the role of the social capital of tourist host communities in local development. In the same vein, 100 random samples were selected from Darakeh, in district one of Tehran municipality, Iran. The results indicated that the social capital of tourist host communities plays an significant role in local development, and, in terms of the neighborhood components, they confirmed the importance of links and trust, and the mental and objective dimension of participation. Further, trust in the neighborhood counciland municipality played the greatest role in the desire of the residents to participate in the local decisions. Trust in the neighborhood council largely contributed to the success of the municipality in providing tourism and local services.

• Details
• Contents