Urban Design and Walkability: Lessons Learnt from Iranian Traditional Cities

Jamei, Elmira; Ahmadi, Khatereh; Chau, Hing-Wah; Seyedmahmoudian, Mehdi; Horan, Ben; Stojcevski, Aleksandar

doi:10.3390/su13105731

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In our first model which explored the associations between active mobility (commute 1 and non-commute 2 ), physical activity (walking frequencies to parks 3 and services 4 per week), and life satisfaction, any of the four mentioned variables indicated significant correlations with life satisfaction while controlling for factors including commute distance and individual-level factors such as age, gender, education, job, and income. The overall outcome is in line with some studies before [ 15 , 18 , 20 , 66 , 67 ] and during COVID-19 [ 61 , 68 ]. However, in terms of active commute travel, this correlation is marginal, which can be related to the dominance of private cars in commuting trips during the pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The Association between Active Mobility and Subjective Wellbeing during COVID-19 in MENA Countries

Ranjbarnia

Kamelifar²,

Masoumi³

2022

Healthcare

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Objective: To augment the international scientific approach to raising public mental health through active lifestyle among adults, we added the evidence of the association between physical activity and subjective wellbeing in the Middle East and North Africa region by emphasizing the mediator—COVID-19. This study aimed to identify the correlations between active mobility and subjective wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample from Tabriz, Iran, which has not yet been tackled in previous study. Methods: We finalized an online survey (N = 603) from adults between 5 June and 15 July 2021. This group reported their individual and socio-economic characteristics and their perception features and location (e.g., home, work) during COVID-19. The paper developed three ordinal logistic regression (OLR) models to examine the association between active mobility types such as commute, non-commute, frequency of active travel to parks and services per week, and different subjective wellbeing including: 1- life satisfaction, 2- feeling energetic, and 3- peaceful mind while controlling for socio-economic variables (e.g., age, gender, education, job, and income) and objective commute distance. We also incorporated the most relevant objective (street length, land-use mix, number of intersections, and building and population density) and subjective (perceived distance to different services, perceived walking places, and perceived facilities attractiveness) factors. Results: Positive response relationships between four types of physical activity levels and subjective wellbeing scores were demonstrated in all of the three developed models (with significant levels of 0.05, and 0.1) with appropriate model fits, which confirmed the existing literature. However, these relationships showed different patterns (varied significant levels) for each type of subjective wellbeing. In addition, the factors including street length (p value: 0.004), perceived walkable places (p value: 0.021, 0.068, 0.017, and 0.025) (positively), population density, and perceived distance to shopping malls (p value: 0.076, <0.0001, and 0.059 (negatively) were associated with different indicators of subjective wellbeing. Conclusion: As for the implication of our study, special actions by urban authorities such as increasing mixed-use and creating attractive places will be required to enhance the walkability of the neighborhoods. Moreover, notifying the adults regarding the benefits of physical activity is much more needed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The Association between Active Mobility and Subjective Wellbeing during COVID-19 in MENA Countries

Ranjbarnia

Kamelifar²,

Masoumi³

2022

Healthcare

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“…The movement system in the city consists of three levels, which are the streets that connect the city to the center, the streets that connect adjacent neighborhoods, and the secondary roads within the local communities, some of which are cul-desacs. This strengthened familiarity, communication, bonding, and social relations among the city's residents [23].…”

Section: Hierarchymentioning

confidence: 95%

The Crossing as a New Approach for the Urban Transformation of Traditional Cities Towards the Sustainability

Al-Jaberi¹,

Al-Khafaji²,

Al-Salam³

et al. 2021

IJSDP

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The topic of urban transformations has attracted the attention of researchers as it is one of the basic issues through which cities can be transformed towards sustainability. A specific level of transformation levels according to a philosophical concept known as a crossing. This article has relied on a specific methodology that aims to find a new approach for urban transformation based on the crossing concept. This concept derives from philosophical entrances based on the concepts of (being, process, becoming, and integration). Four levels have been for the crossing are (normal, ascending, leap, and descending). Each of these levels includes specific characteristics that distinguish it. The results showed that there is no descending crossing in the study area and that four indicators that have achieved leap crossing are: (coverage ratio, compactness, Effectiveness of the pedestrian and bicycle movement, and proximity. As for ascending crossing achieved in three indicators are: mix land use, blocks' length, and connectivity, as for normal crossing achieved in three indicators are: diversity of building heights, population density, and housing density. These results help in making the planning decision to transform traditional Karbala city into a sustainable city, by giving priority in development to the indicators that have achieved ascending crossing because it takes less time and effort to reach the leap crossing in comparison with indicators that have achieved normal crossing.

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“…that influences the possibility, the ways, and the overall satisfaction that cities' inhabitants derive from walking. In the academic literature, walkability is frequently defined by reference to such factors as safety, security, economy, and convenience of traveling by foot [72]. In the context of the debate on urban planning, walkability is seen as the need to facilitate citizens to move and develop [72], and thus to provide a "quality of a place" [73], or a user-friendly built environment [74][75][76].…”

Section: Walking and Walkability: Conceptual Boundaries And Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the academic literature, walkability is frequently defined by reference to such factors as safety, security, economy, and convenience of traveling by foot [72]. In the context of the debate on urban planning, walkability is seen as the need to facilitate citizens to move and develop [72], and thus to provide a "quality of a place" [73], or a user-friendly built environment [74][75][76]. These more detailed insights comply with our definition of walkability.…”

Section: Walking and Walkability: Conceptual Boundaries And Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptualizing Walking and Walkability in the Smart City through a Model Composite w2 Smart City Utility Index

et al. 2021

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This paper explores walking and walkability in the smart city and makes a case for their centrality in the debate on the resilience and sustainability of smart cities, as outlined in the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is argued that, while the human/inhabitant-centric paradigm of urban development consolidates, and research on walking, walkability, and pedestrian satisfaction flourishes, the inroads of ICT render it necessary to reflect on these issues in the conceptually- and geographically-delimited space of the smart city. More importantly, it becomes imperative to make respective findings useful and usable for policymakers. To this end, by approaching walking and walkability through the lens of utility, the objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework in which the relevance of walking and walkability, hereafter referred to as w2, as a distinct subject of research in the smart cities debate is validated. This framework is then employed to construct a model of a composite w2smart city utility index. With the focus on the development of the conceptual framework, in which the w2 utility index is embedded, this paper constitutes the first conceptual step of the composite index development process. The value added of this paper is three-fold: First, the relevance of walking and walkability as a distinct subject of research in the realm of smart cities research is established. Second, a mismatch between end-users’ satisfaction derived from walking and their perception of walkability and the objective factors influencing walking and walkability is identified and conceptualized by referencing the concept of utility. Third, a model smart city w2 utility index is proposed as a diagnostic and prognostic tool that, in the subsequent stages of research and implementation, will prove useful for decisionmakers and other stakeholders involved in the process of managing smart cities.

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Urban Design and Walkability: Lessons Learnt from Iranian Traditional Cities

Cited by 22 publications

References 39 publications

The Association between Active Mobility and Subjective Wellbeing during COVID-19 in MENA Countries

The Association between Active Mobility and Subjective Wellbeing during COVID-19 in MENA Countries

The Crossing as a New Approach for the Urban Transformation of Traditional Cities Towards the Sustainability

Conceptualizing Walking and Walkability in the Smart City through a Model Composite w2 Smart City Utility Index

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