A B S T R A C T
The purpose of this article is to evaluate the neighborhood of Khajehnezamolmolk in Tehran in terms of the indicators of a child-friendly neighborhood viewed from a right-to-the-city approach. The objective data of the 22 studied indicators are provided from documentary sources. Also, the data of the 31 subjective indicators was obtained from sample people of 373 parents of children living in the studied neighborhood. They are selected randomly from the households who reside here. The questionnaire contains 31 items to evaluate the 31 indicators. After comparing the subject data with the standard criteria, the data were graded in the range of 1-5 so that all the indicators were on a single scale. A one-sample t-test model is implemented in SPSS software to analyze the data. Findings showed that the overall condition of the studied neighborhood is lower than the average level (score 3). The score of 2.17 indicates the weakest situation for the indicators of the institutional-legal dimension. The scores of physical-environmental and social-cultural aspects are 2.28 and 2.8, respectively. The weakest indicators are per capita of green spaces, cultural, and sports land use, and the indicators of parents' education level, encouragement to observe cultural events, the possibility of providing children needs for goods and services in the neighborhood, and accessibility and quality of kindergartens and elementary schools. Enhancing the neighborhood to approach the standards of a child-friendly neighborhood requires a strategic program in the direction of sustainable cultural regeneration.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
According to the definition of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), a child is someone with an age lower than 18 years. Cities can be exciting and lively environments for childhood. However, certain risks and challenges, such as noise and air pollution, a sedentary lifestyle, traffic hazards, crime, social isolation, etc., may endanger children's health and healthy growth. The idea of child-friendly neighborhoods is formed in line with the idea of children's right to a city and the need for the neighborhoods to satisfy children's needs and their right to participate in the affairs. The idea of a child-friendly city was officially proposed in 2004 by the United Nations Children's Fund. It stipulated that an effective local management system committed to implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be established. Children's right to the city not only refers to children's access to urban services such as schools, health-treatment centers, playgrounds, libraries, museums, and transportation, but it also indicates children's ability to participate in decision-making. This article aims to evaluate one of the old neighborhoods of Tehran in terms of the degree of compliance with the criteria of a child-friendly neighborhood in line with the approach of the children's rights to the city.
 
Methodology
Two data sets are used in this research. The first was extracted from statistical documents and research reports or received from Tehran Municipality. The second is survey data. They were obtained from a sample of 373 household heads with at least one child living in the study area. The questionnaire contains 31 questions to evaluate 31 indicators. The respondent's evaluations were done based on a five-point Likert scale. Then, the evaluations were quantified from 1 to 5 and entered into the SPSS software. Implying the One Sample T-Test model, each index's mean of evaluation scores was calculated. Each statistical figure of the data from each index of the first data set was also matched with scores in the 1-5 according to the standard figures of the index so that both data sets had the same scale. Descriptive statistics parameters were used to rank and analyze the data. The study area is Khajeh Nezamolmolk neighborhood. It is located in District 7 of Tehran Municipality and has an area of 84.5 hectares and a population of 34,031.
 
Results and discussion
The mean of all the indicators is 2.55, below the average (3). This suggests that the neighborhood, in general, lacks characteristics of a child-friendly neighborhood. The mean of the institutional-legal dimension indicators, which is 2.17, indicates a poor condition. Also, the mean of the indicators of the physical-environmental dimension is 2.28, which indicates a poor situation. The mean score of 2.8 for socio-cultural indicators shows an average situation. 5 indicators out of a total of 41 indicators show a very poor situation, of which 4 indicators are of the physical dimension (adequate green and per capita and use of space, culture, sports, and parks). One indicator is from the institutional-legal dimension, and it is a monitoring system that ensures safety and evaluates the health of the environment for children continuously). No indicator had a mean higher than 4.5. In other words, none of the indicators shows a good situation. Only two indicators, including parents' education level and encouragement to observe cultural events, show a relatively good situation. The weakest dimension in terms of the neighborhood's child-friendly criteria is the institutional-legal dimension. Not only at the local level but also at the national level, there are no rules and regulations that directly relate to the child's rights about the living environment, especially the physical environment.
 
Conclusion
The neighborhoods in the central part of large cities like Tehran, including the studied neighborhood in Tehran, have experienced rapid population growth and spatial extension in recent decades. They have rapidly created and expanded new constructions around their cores, all of which have become physically deficient. So, they cannot respond to today's children's needs, the environment necessary for sociability, learning, intellectual growth, and a safe and healthy space for life and peace. Most of the fabric is worn-out, most buildings are old and cannot be improved, most roads are incompatible with today's urban transportation needs, and the parcels of land are mostly tiny. The scarcity of vacant land or the land that can be acquired has compensated facilities and services. Transforming the studied neighborhood towards a child-friendly neighborhood requires a strategic plan to be prepared and implemented in line with sustainable cultural regeneration. Laws must approve it and oblige city managers to develop neighborhoods in line with child-friendly criteria, such as land acquisition for developing facilities and services.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
 We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.