**2. Defining the case studies**

*Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design*

planning of neighborhoods in Basra city (2010–2035).

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

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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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 modern planning vision was applied to the city.

#### **Figure 1.**

*The current locations of the three neighborhoods located over the master plan of Basra City (authors based on Lock [15]).*

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

Three neighborhoods within Basra are considered by Al-Saraify [10] providing three distinct residential typologies of Basra City with varied potential impact on the physical activity of the residents. A visual comparison between the current status (**Figure 1**) and the proposed Max Lock's master planning of the three neighborhoods (**Figure 2**) shows that the interventions have considerably altered the quality of the neighborhoods' built environments. **Figure 2** illustrates how land uses of the case studies were planned by Lock, however, the peripheral arterial streets around the neighborhoods imposed gridlines which are mostly now utilized as commercial land use that surrounding the residential blocks of the neighborhoods. Thus, this urban tissue systematically sampled for the application of the defined urban design measures of the physical environment.

Within general consensus, the 'walking distance' offers a standard method to sample neighborhoods in behavioral studies, and the range of walking distance falls somewhere in the range between (0.4) and (0.8) kilometer radius [16, 17]. Similarly, health-built-environment studies depend on measuring Euclidian distance, 15-min radius or 30-min network distance that is 600-m radius [18]. Therefore, this study considers (400–600 m), that is, (10–15 min), as optimum ranges covering both the spatial definition of the neighborhood and the requirements of active living lifestyle. Accordingly, the sampled neighborhoods accommodate varied urban design qualities which are investigated in this study include; transportation roads, residential area, and commercial destinations. The centers of the selected neighborhoods were utilized to define the minimum (400-m) and maximum (600-m) ranges of the case studies. Moreover, following Al-Saraify [10] the cadastral maps of the three case studies are created depending on the systematic survey of the original maps and data of the government. The satellite images, PDF maps, and orthoimages were obtained from the Basra local government and georeferenced and geometrically corrected (orthorectified). Moreover, the images were spatially correctly located according to its georeferenced coordination points (*N*: 768546, *S*: 3376180, UTM-WGS 1984, 38 North) into the QGIS free source software by Google. AutoCAD Map 3D was utilized to create a shape file extension (.shp) of the neighborhoods in question that can be added into Q-GIS (**Figures 3–5**).

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**environment**

*Al-Abassya cadastral neighborhood map: [10].*

**Figure 5.**

**Figure 4.**

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

**3. Review of the measurement indicators of the urban physical** 

A proponent study by Cervero and Kockelman, addressed three dimensions that are considered responsible for moving demands of residents in the built environment; these include density, diversity, and design. The so-called '3Ds' represent a general umbrella for the measurement of the physical dimension of the urbanism phenomenon. Their study showed how these three dimensions contributed to an increase in the number of walkable streets in San-Francisco [19]. Regarding the

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

*Al-Mugawleen cadastral neighborhood map: [10].*

**Figure 3.** *Al-Saymmar neighborhood cadastral plan: [10].*

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

**Figure 4.** *Al-Mugawleen cadastral neighborhood map: [10].*

*Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design*

measures of the physical environment.

question that can be added into Q-GIS (**Figures 3–5**).

Three neighborhoods within Basra are considered by Al-Saraify [10] providing three distinct residential typologies of Basra City with varied potential impact on the physical activity of the residents. A visual comparison between the current status (**Figure 1**) and the proposed Max Lock's master planning of the three neighborhoods (**Figure 2**) shows that the interventions have considerably altered the quality of the neighborhoods' built environments. **Figure 2** illustrates how land uses of the case studies were planned by Lock, however, the peripheral arterial streets around the neighborhoods imposed gridlines which are mostly now utilized as commercial land use that surrounding the residential blocks of the neighborhoods. Thus, this urban tissue systematically sampled for the application of the defined urban design

Within general consensus, the 'walking distance' offers a standard method to sample neighborhoods in behavioral studies, and the range of walking distance falls somewhere in the range between (0.4) and (0.8) kilometer radius [16, 17]. Similarly, health-built-environment studies depend on measuring Euclidian distance, 15-min radius or 30-min network distance that is 600-m radius [18]. Therefore, this study considers (400–600 m), that is, (10–15 min), as optimum ranges covering both the spatial definition of the neighborhood and the requirements of active living lifestyle. Accordingly, the sampled neighborhoods accommodate varied urban design qualities which are investigated in this study include; transportation roads, residential area, and commercial destinations. The centers of the selected neighborhoods were utilized to define the minimum (400-m) and maximum (600-m) ranges of the case studies. Moreover, following Al-Saraify [10] the cadastral maps of the three case studies are created depending on the systematic survey of the original maps and data of the government. The satellite images, PDF maps, and orthoimages were obtained from the Basra local government and georeferenced and geometrically corrected (orthorectified). Moreover, the images were spatially correctly located according to its georeferenced coordination points (*N*: 768546, *S*: 3376180, UTM-WGS 1984, 38 North) into the QGIS free source software by Google. AutoCAD Map 3D was utilized to create a shape file extension (.shp) of the neighborhoods in

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**Figure 3.**

*Al-Saymmar neighborhood cadastral plan: [10].*

**Figure 5.** *Al-Abassya cadastral neighborhood map: [10].*
