Rural development originates from a variety factors and one of which is desirable housing. Rural areas are highly dependent on housing due to their nature. In these areas, houses, in addition to being a settlement, have other functions such as being a place for raising cattle and the related products and other economic activities (i.e. agricultural products). Given the importance of rural settlements, investigating the factors influencing habitants’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction can be helpful in analyzing current status of settlement, future decisions to enhance the quality of living areas and avoid a repeat of those defects in other places. Therefore, considering the importance of the research, the aim of the present study which is descriptive-analytical, is to examine the villagers’ satisfaction in Ravansar and investigate the factors that affect their settlement satisfaction. Statistical population consisted of 5998 householders in 143 villages of Ravansar County. Using the Cochran formula and through the multistage sampling method, 180 people were selected as the sample size. In this study, 18 villages as the target ones were selected from six Rural Districts located in Ravansar County and the questionnaires were distributed among the householders (n = 180). The instrument used was a questionnaire which its validity was confirmed superficially by the opinion of experts and university professors. A pilot test was conducted to assess the reliability coefficient of the questionnaires which its Cronbach's alpha coefficient was more than 0.86 percent. The collected field data were analyzed using SPSS. Data analysis indicated that %40.6 of rural residents of Ravansar County were of low level, %37.8 of moderate level, and %21.7 of high level of satisfaction. In general, one-sample t-test results at 0.95 percent showed that satisfaction level was lower than moderate in the area. The findings also indicated that 6 variables such as the economic, welfare, facilities, physical, health, and structural explains %80.88 of the total variance of variables (factors influencing their satisfaction with rural housing). Duncan test results showed that Ghori Ghale and Zalo Ab Rural Districts were the highest and lowest in terms of satisfaction level of rural housing or housing units in which they live among the Rural Districts of Ravansar County.

Quality of life is multifaceted concept to demonstrate satisfaction of the person's life. In addition, it can be used as a criterion for determining satisfaction or dissatisfaction with various aspects of life of individuals and groups. Employment, income, access to services including education and health, safety etc. are among effective factors. The objective of the present study is to investigate life quality in rural areas in Ravansar. The population is 26663 people (5998 families) from which a sample size of 255 individuals was extracted using Cochran’s formula (p&q= .5, confidence level 95%, d= .06). Utilizing stratified random sampling and appropriate assignment, 18 villages were selected as target ones. For analyzing data, discriptive statistics (Frequency, Mean, Std. deviation and C.V) and inferential statistics (Spearman Correlation coefficient, One-Sample T Test and ANOVA) were measured. The findings indicated that the level of life quality was low in the studied area, and there is meaningful difference in terms of factors affecting life quality. The results also showed that rural areas of Ghori-Ghaleh, Zalo-Ab, and Hasan-Abad had highest means concerning life quality. Furthermore, Dolat-Abad and Mansoor-Aghaei had the lowest ranking mean, and the villages in Badr district were average. In addition, the results of correlation between quality of villager’s life and dependent variables showed that there is a significance relationship among variables of type of job, income level and the number of households (family size) with the independent variable. However, the correlation between quality of villager’s life and two variables of type of job and income level was positive and the correlation between quality of villager’s life and number of households (family size) variable was negative. Therefore, according to the unfavorable situation in the study area in terms of quality of life it should become a policy priority to improve the quality of life in rural Ravansar Town. In addition, due to harsh situation of Dolat-Abad and Mansoor-Aghaei district among the six districts of Ravansar Town, their residents should be considered as high priority. To improve the quality of life in the studied area, it is essential to consider population control policies through national media and as well as medical centers’ support. This should be juxtaposed with better rural employment and income, financial Bank support, entrepreneurship, Local markets and the revival of handicrafts industry.