Many individuals or social factors may affect a citizen’s participation, some of which are the aims of this article to investigate. The method used was survey and the population included all the heads of households in Mashhad. Samples of 182 respondents were selected by using multi stage, cluster sampling strategy. Results showed that the mean of citizen participation index was under the average. Citizen participation was directly correlated to the benefits of participation, socialization of citizen participation, social trust, sense of belonging to the city, and socio-economic status. Regression models as well as path analysis showed that the benefits of participation, socialization of citizen participation, and social trust were the most direct determinant factors, while the sense of belonging to the city and socio-economic status were the most indirect determinant factors in citizen participation. The authors concluded that citizen participation may be increased by enhancing benefits of participation, socialization of citizens into participation, and social trust. On the other hand, priority should be given to people in lower socio-economic status regions in citizen participation programs. It was also concluded that the sense of belonging should not be emphasized in the programs.
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