Eighth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

In the last decades, sustainable development has become a critical approach to address environmental problems. Despite initial concern regarding the natural environment, the sustainability model was later evolved by embracing economic and social realm so that the ultimate goal of sustainable development is creating sustainable communities. Sustainable communities support diversity, safety, and participation, and thus, promote people’s quality of life as well as environmental justice. Urban planners have constantly examined various planning techniques and policies to achieve these goals. A growing body of literature has emphasized the association of urban form and social sustainability. This paper explores how certain urban form indicators can influence sustainability of communities. For this purpose, we examine two neighborhoods with different urban form characteristics in Shiraz, Iran. A mixed-method research design is applied for data collection and analysis. A semi-structured, in-depth survey was conducted to evaluate major contributors of sustainable community among residents, including neighborhood participation, communication, perception of safety, trust, and sense of attachment. To quantify urban form, ten urban planning experts independently assigned value into each neighborhood feature based on five factors including street network, urban fabric pattern, building density, land-use, and compactness. A multiple linear regression model is developed to evaluate the association between elements of form and sustainability. The analysis finds a significant relationship between social sustainability with organic urban fabric, semi-organic street network, medium building density, high level of mixed-use, and medium compactness.