**1. Introduction**

New Urbanism and related studies recognize the traditional organization of the built environment as offering more appropriate solutions for a better urban life [1]. In contrast, the modern movement tends to focus on the suburban, automobilebased built environment, with homogenized land use, the diminution of a sense of place and community engagement, and the decline of the role of neighborhood units in the formation of urban environments [2]. The New Urbanism movement adopted certain qualities from traditional neighborhoods that were felt to be particularly positive and reflective of a more compact traditional urban tissue;

key qualities included mixed land use, housing typologies, grid-like streets, and high densities. New Urbanism often expresses the need to, "rediscover the neighborhoods and sense of community through more human scale development" ([1], p.18), and conceives a better "public transit connectivity", more walking among the community, and an increase in the social experience of a community [1]. Along with that, smart growth trend of urban planning seeks to improve the walkability of existing urban sprawl developments by retrofitting their physical environment [3]. In this regard, Talen explained that the retrofitting of sprawling existing developments is achievable through applying quantitative measures of physical environment that are validated by research. Thus, models of those quantitative models can predict, explain, justify, and achieve potential smart growth. However, she addressed a series of challenges that pertained to smart growth studies including "data sources, geographical scales, aggregation scales and spatial resolution" which all have primarily to do with the research outcomes [3, 4]. Moreover, Hillier [5] argues that architects predominantly rely on normative criteria for design and future developments. Nevertheless, master planning represents a strategic framework that comprises several aspects of a particular location, including its physical, social and economic contexts [6]; thus, it is a reality-pertaining activity as much as normative activity. Evidence-based practice (EBP) within planning has recently emerged as a method to link planning practice to research in order to inform decision makers and professionals within urban planning [7]. Thus, this study both suggests a model to improve the existing neighborhoods and also provides feedback to decision-makers around future developments concerning the current master planning of neighborhoods in Basra city (2010–2035).

It is worth mentioning, that the Master Plan is the only official intervention plan by the government of Basra city. The current Master Plan of Basra city, developed by a local firm, (Snafy company) was approved by government officials in 2015 [8]. The statement and criteria for the current Master Plan of Basra city (2010–2035) recognized a common problem in the significant shortage of both residential units and land for new development. Although the importance of neighborhood as a widely considered planning unit primarily concerned with people's living environment, the existing residential land-use organizations of the current Master Plan applies the 'residential quarter unit' for future developments; this is approximately equal to four neighborhoods. Estimated residents in each quarter total 15,000. The units are classified into three types namely, high, medium, and low density housing units, where each type has a different percentage of the total quantity. Of the total area specified for each residential portion, high-density units will comprise 100 units/ha (10%), medium density will total 45-units/ha (25%), and low-density will amount to 35-units/ha (65%). Furthermore, the structure of the residential quarter includes two commercial centers (1 ha), retail space (1 ha), two religious centers (1 ha), health and social centers (1 ha), seven nurseries (2.5 ha), four primary schools (2.2 ha), four middle schools (3.8 ha), four secondary schools (4.4 ha), playgrounds (2 ha), local parks (3.5 ha), roads and open spaces (25.2 ha).

With regard to these aspects of the new Master Plan and further design considerations, is the subject of feedback from our study, which will be based on evidence concerning the walking minutes to occupational activities suggested by Al-Saraify and Grierson [9]. To support feedback, this work suggests a quantitative model adopting several urban design measures applicable to the physical environment at neighborhood scale. The authors explore structural and design differences within three neighborhoods of Basra city, namely Al-Saymmar, Al-Mugawlen, and Al-Abassya. Their buildings, streets, land uses, and edges were quantitatively measured to reveal differences with potential impacts on the walking activity of the residents. Moreover, the walking minutes outcomes of the residents are

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**Figure 2.**

**Figure 1.**

*Lock [15]).*

*Approaching Urban Design through the Analysis of Structural Differences within Three…*

differentiation of the physical environments may impact on walking.

based on previous work using Q-GIS software and the Neighbourhood Walking to Occupational Activities NWOA model [9]. Then, the walking outcomes are statistically associated with the urban design qualities to explain the extent to which the

The urban form of Basra city was significantly altered by different stages of interventions and this influenced the selecting of the case studies [10]. Also, sociopolitical conditions influence the formation of the urban form of Basra city over three distinct historical stages, including the Ottoman period (before 1916), the British colony and Iraqi Kingdome period (1916–1958), and Republic period (after 1958) [11]. No official planning system was applied after the old fence decayed. The inner organization of the traditional neighborhoods mostly still the same since it was founded before 1916 [12–14]. In the early 1950s Max Lock was hired by the Iraqi government to make the first Master Plan of Basra city [15]. This Masterplan had been embraced the automobile-oriented development, an orthogonal or grid-like or

*The current locations of the three neighborhoods located over the master plan of Basra City (authors based on* 

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87221*

modern planning vision was applied to the city.

*The targeted three case studies (three neighborhoods of Basra city): [10].*

**2. Defining the case studies**

*Approaching Urban Design through the Analysis of Structural Differences within Three… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87221*

based on previous work using Q-GIS software and the Neighbourhood Walking to Occupational Activities NWOA model [9]. Then, the walking outcomes are statistically associated with the urban design qualities to explain the extent to which the differentiation of the physical environments may impact on walking.
