Reviewing and Redefining the Role of Social Capital in Achieving Sustainable Cities: Strengthening Citizen Participation in Energy Conservation

Abstract

Social capital is a set of norms in social systems that improves the level of cooperation of community members and lowers exchange and communication costs. Thus, concepts such as civic society and social institutions are closely linked to the concept of social capital. This issue highlights the role of social capital in achieving sustainable development as well as cities as human society and, to sustainability. One of the main challenges in today's cities is the indiscriminate use of energy and its consequences on urbanized human life. Unfortunately, indiscriminate use of energy in addition to significantly reducing the level of energy and facing future generations with numerous problems challenges the urban environment with numerous environmental challenges. Thus, the main purpose of the research is to achieve a pattern for social capital in line with ever more stability of most cities. This issue pays attention to preserving energy in particular. Also, recognizing social components affecting the improvement of level of social capital in cities is a result of this research. The research is applied with regard to the purpose and with regard to the method considers working on qualitative structures. Accordingly, by applying analytic-descriptive method and using library method, effective components on the improvement of social capital were recognized; including: social awareness, social confidence, social involvement, social relations, social networks, social organs and civic organizations. These components, in general as a builder of social capital play an important role in guiding and directing urban policies to achieve energy conservation. Also, in order to operationalize these concepts according requirements for urban sustainable development, applied development is also recommended.