Cultural heritage is of great importance and requires precision and methodology in its reconstruction. The traditional houses in the Old City of Mosul are primary examples of the city’s architectural heritage. It is characterized by its uniqueness and elegance, centered around an inner courtyard, and possesses a unique architectural identity and rich spatial composition. This identity has rapidly begun to fade due to urban transformations and ongoing conflicts in the region. This study applies standard shape grammar, a formal design language, to decode traditional Mosul houses, focusing on formal and syntactic (topological) relationships via Euclidean transformations. A sample of 12 traditional house plans was analyzed, yielding 22 generative rules across five design phases. To assess the validity of these rules, five new house designs and three hybrid designs were generated and evaluated using a structured questionnaire administered to 40 academic architects from the University of Mosul to examine the similarities and differences between the newly generated designs and the original houses. The results confirm that standard shape grammars can effectively encode, reproduce, and expand the design logic of traditional houses in Mosul, providing a methodological tool for reconstructing the spirit of heritage in a contemporary style.
The paper addresses the need for a procedure to complement mainstream global-scale metrics with a localised assessment of building material-generated local-scale impacts by first proposing a novel definition of Collateral Landscapes (CLs) to frame localised impacts within global manufacturing processes. Secondly, it proposes the Collateral Landscapes Impact Assessment Tool (CLIAT), which, at present, focuses on extractive activities and is primarily intended for planners and decision-makers to conduct preliminary assessments and prioritise and guide recovery operations. To establish measurable CLIAT parameters, eight Local Impact Categories were identified by grouping systematically reviewed local-scale indicators. Three of them (Visual Impact, Local Biodiversity Impact, and Local Water Footprint) were selected for the first CLIAT implementation and translated into three corresponding subindices. Each subindex relies on Potential Impact Indicators, which quantify the direct and indirect pressures exerted by an extractive activity, and Local Vulnerability Factors, which contextualise these pressures based on the territory’s specific susceptibility. Such parameters are computed through spatial data in a GIS environment. In addition to numerical values, the methodology’s output includes maps and multilayered diagrams. Furthermore, image atlases provide a human-eye perspective on the potentially exposed species and affected landscapes. The methodology is tested on six quarries of coloured marble located in Northern Italy, a territory characterised by high anthropogenic pressure. The application of the CLIAT tool enables the establishment of impact scores for each quarry and the categorisation of them into three impact profiles: high-impact (Quarry 5); an intermediate cluster (Q2, 3, 4, 6); and a lower-impact site (Q1). Such results show the tool’s ability to quickly prioritise recovery or impact-mitigation measures across a pool of extractive sites. To assess the methodology’s reliability, the Visual Impact subindex underwent a validation procedure showing a strong correlation between questionnaire scores and tool results, while the reliability of the whole tool’s scoring methodology was assessed through an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis that systematically perturbed raw data, weighting schemes, and aggregation rules, which provided evidence of CLIAT’s robustness.
Procedural modelling has evolved from a niche computer-graphics technique into an increasingly important infrastructure within computational urbanism, geodesign, 3D GIS, heritage reconstruction, scenario-based planning, and urban digital-twin research. Yet these computational and planning-oriented literatures still lack a unified account of how this shift has reconfigured the epistemology and governance of urbanism. This paper reconstructs that trajectory and argues that procedural modelling is best understood as a partial and situated mode of urban knowing and governing: it translates selected urban realities into executable rules, data pipelines, and algorithms, while requiring other forms of urban knowledge to remain present through qualitative, participatory, historical, and political inquiry. Using a systematic historical analysis of 60 coded sources from the 1970s to August 2025, the study synthesizes developments across computer graphics, architecture, GIS, planning, and digital-twin research. The findings periodize five eras: formal grammars, procedural cities, the planning turn, GIS integration, and digital-twin/AI convergence. They show how procedural techniques migrated across domains, transforming from representational tools into platforms for simulation, participation, and operational monitoring. The paper contributes a mediation framework linking data–rules–algorithms–morphology–governance and a typology of encoded assumptions concerning control, normativity, scale, variability, and uncertainty. It reframes calibration, data dependency, and interpretability as epistemological and political problems of ground truth, visibility, accountability, and participation. The paper concludes by arguing that procedural urban infrastructures must be made governable through validation, explainability, uncertainty communication, public contestability, and institutional auditability.
The twenty-first century has witnessed an urban transformation in China of unprecedented scale and speed. Driven by national policies aimed at constructing approximately 400 new cities between 2000 and 2020, this expansion has repositioned the country as a global laboratory for urban experimentation. These newly established settlements do not constitute mere expansions of existing fabric, but function as strategic nodes for the active remodelling of regional systems, facilitating a transition from industrial satellite towns toward integrated and polycentric urban regions. However, this accelerated development has revealed a fundamental tension at the heart of the Chinese urbanisation process: the often-problematic integration of global urban models with local specificities of socio-spatial, economic, and cultural nature. The resulting landscapes frequently exhibit morphological fragmentation, a lack of cohesive identity, and a misalignment between physical form and lived experience, highlighting the limitations of a purely technocratic approach to city-making. In light of this, this article argues for the need of moving beyond mere technical adjustments and proposes instead a methodological framework designed to critically mediate between global imperatives and local contexts. It posits that such an approach can be founded, in specific contexts, on an operational synthesis of morphogenetic principles and what we will name here as the “discretized city”, strategically implemented through localised urban densification devices. Inspired by Rossi's notion of “primary elements” as stable, sense-generating urban structures, these devices are conceived as catalytic interventions aimed at guiding expansion, regulating density, harmonising growth, and fostering the emergence of a local identity. To verify this hypothesis, the article presents a critical analysis and design experimentation applied to the case study of the Danyang-Changzhou corridor in Jiangsu Province. This linear system, supported by major transport infrastructures yet layered upon pre-existing agricultural patterns, serves as an emblematic case for testing the proposed methodology and evaluating its implications. The application of the methodology takes place within a learning-by-doing appraisal context, as a teaching device and a test of the original hypotheses. Within this case study, a three-phase operational strategy (Re-cognise, Re-signify, Re-configure) is applied to demonstrate how an approach guided by targeted devices could design the transformation of unstructured urban expansion into a polycentric network endowed with greater morphological cohesion and a defined identity. By examining the potential of these methodological tools, the study concludes that the central challenge of contemporary Chinese urbanisation is not technological but rather cultural and philosophical. The success of its new cities will depend not only on technical proficiency, but on their capacity to critically transcend reference models, forging a paradigm in which the promise of urbanity is realised through a conscious and contextual synthesis of the global and the local.
The rapid growth of the older adult population (aged 60 years and above) underscores the urgent need for walkable urban environments that support their mobility, independence, and well-being. Although walkability is known to influence physical activity, social participation, and quality of life, empirical evidence explaining how perception-based dimensions of the built environment shape these outcomes remains limited, particularly in non-Western and developing country contexts. This study develops and validates a structural model linking five perceptual dimensions, safety, security, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics, with walkability outcomes among older adults. A cross-sectional survey of 333 older adults in Udupi District, India, was conducted via a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Adopting a positivist paradigm, Structural Equation Modelling using SmartPLS 4 was employed to test 33 direct hypotheses and three mediating effects involving five perceptual dimensions: safety, security, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics, along with community engagement programs. The results revealed that community engagement programs significantly enhance perceived security, comfort, convenience, and aesthetics but not safety. Comfort positively influences both increased physical activity levels and increased socialization and mediates the relationship between community engagement programs and these outcomes. Convenience has a significant positive effect on quality of life and mediates the relationship between community engagement programs and quality of life. Aesthetics positively affect increased physical activity levels and increased socialization, whereas safety has a significant positive relationship with increased socialization. The study presents a validated, perception-driven structural model explaining walkability outcomes for older adults. Although context specific, the findings offer transferable theoretical and practical insights, providing actionable guidance for age-friendly, community-centered urban planning and policy development.
This article examines how responsive architecture can transform the realities of vulnerable communities in Global South contexts. Conventional definitions of architectural excellence privilege form and technology over social impact; this study reconceptualises excellence as the capacity to convert vulnerability into opportunity. Predicated on theories of vulnerability as structurally produced and social sustainability emphasising equity, participation, and cultural continuity, the article positions architecture as a socio-cultural agent of empowerment. A qualitative comparative case-study approach analyses ten projects recognised by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1992–2025), organised into two typologies: education and knowledge environments, and healthcare and social support environments, and examined across three analytical dimensions: identification of vulnerability, responsive design strategies, and socio-cultural outcomes. Findings demonstrate that vulnerability in the Global South is systemic, and that successful projects consistently synthesise vernacular knowledge with contemporary solutions, prioritise participatory processes, employ environmentally responsive technologies, and create spatial configurations that foster social interaction, dignity, and collective authorship. Beyond functional provision, these projects contribute to place-based identity formation, community self-organisation, and long-term social resilience. The study argues that responsive architecture constitutes a central paradigm of professional excellence, requiring architects to operate as facilitators and advocates in generating social value for vulnerable communities.
This review systematically analyses contemporary model-based approaches to emergency evacuation in buildings, drawing on 53 peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025. It emphasises the relevance of these approaches to architectural design workflows and performance-based safety engineering. The unique perspective adopted for this review focuses on the ways past research connects to, or is relevant for, architectural practice and design. Five modelling families are identified—Agent-Based Modelling (ABM), Social Force Models (SFM), Cellular Automata (CA), Multi-Agent Systems (MAS), and Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) guidelines and steering-type engineering models—and are examined using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and population, exposure, comparator, and outcome (PECO) frameworks. These models are mapped across hazard contexts, design dimensions, and integration strategies. The findings show that ABM and CA are the most versatile, supporting analyses of spatial layouts, exit schemes, and evacuation dynamics, while MAS introduces adaptive decision-making through machine learning (ML) and reinforcement learning. Gaps remain in modelling human-centred detailing, vulnerable populations, and hazards beyond fire, such as seismic or multi-hazard events. Integration with Building Information Modelling (BIM) and hazard simulators demonstrates a trajectory toward digital twins that embed evacuation safety within design processes, making these methods accessible to architectural practitioners. By consolidating these directions into a comparative framework, this review contributes to advancing computer-aided design and simulation in architecture, while strengthening the evidence base for fire safety and emergency engineering.
Patrimonialisation has emerged as a central paradigm within cultural heritage studies, providing a process-based framework for understanding heritage recognition beyond conservation. In recent years, the Gulf region has increasingly relied on patrimonialisation to regenerate deteriorating historic districts, as they suffered major neglect due to post-oil modernization. This process is characterized by the selective transformation of historic districts, whereby heritage assets are aesthetically curated to enhance their attractiveness for cultural tourism consumption. This study examines how patrimonialisation acts as a catalyst for cultural tourism in the Gulf region, transforming historic districts from remnants of the past into tourism-oriented urban heritage districts. The study adopts a qualitative case-study approach, examining the urban historic districts of Jeddah, Dubai, and Doha. The methodological design integrates a comprehensive literature review, document analysis, and examination of stakeholder-driven promotional strategies to investigate the historical evolution of the historic districts, the challenges associated with post-oil modernization, the characteristics of the existing built environment, and their alignment with emerging tourism-oriented transformation. Data is analysed through the five-dimensional patrimonialisation framework that includes selection, justification, conservation, exposition and valorisation. The analysis reveals that patrimonialisation, which frames heritage as a dynamic process rather than a static one, when explored through the lens of cultural tourism, allows for the identification of the shifting trajectory of the urban historic districts. Findings reveal the prominent dimensions in each case that selectively construct tourism-oriented heritage districts to align with the rapidly transforming urban fabric of the Gulf region. By embedding these findings in the five dimensions of patrimonialisation, the study highlights the process-oriented understanding of how tourism-oriented urban heritage districts in the region grapple with the need for heritage preservation on one end and the quest for urban development on the other.
This study develops and tests a GIS enabled framework for the regeneration of aging Gulf districts, demonstrated through two cases Al-Butina (Sharjah) and Al-Bustan (Ajman). Methodology involves Vector GIS modeling of road networks and land uses was built from recent satellite imagery and validated against Google Earth and OpenStreetMap; Artificial Intelligent (Architectural Urban Design) assisted diagnostics and scenario testing then quantified gaps and evaluated interventions. In Al-Butina Sharjah site (200.4 ha) study has proposed, a 6.1-km walk/cycle lattice stitched through existing rights-of-way converts a car-oriented fabric into a permeable network supporting safe access and short trips. A structured land bank of under-utilized plots (68.2 ha; 34
Rapid urbanization in Jakarta has intensified informal sector activities, particularly street vending. While playing a vital socio-economic role, this informality frequently generates spatial conflicts within the public realm. In Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zones, these tensions are significantly amplified, high pedestrian footfall and constrained spatial capacities create direct competition between mobility, accessibility, and informal economic activities. This study investigates the spatial management of street vendors around Kebayoran Station, a dense TOD hub in South Jakarta. By analyzing six physical elements: land use, building form, circulation and parking, activity space, pedestrian pathways, and vegetation, the research assesses how vendor distribution affects urban sustainability and public space quality. Utilizing field observations, surveys, and cross-tabulation analysis, the findings indicate that vendors strategically cluster in high-footfall areas with limited regulatory oversight, often obstructing circulation and occupying setbacks. Land use and pedestrian pathways strongly shape vending patterns, while limited vegetation and poor infrastructure reduce environmental quality. To mitigate these conflicts without compromising vendors’ livelihoods, this study proposes a framework for adaptive spatial integration, specifically recommending designated vending zones, formalized circulation systems, inclusive pedestrian areas, and enhanced greenery and facilities to improve order, safety, and sustainability. Ultimately, the findings emphasize that achieving sustainable urban livability in TOD areas requires moving beyond exclusionary policies toward inclusive spatial management that formally accommodates the informal economy.
Modernization processes, often portrayed as neutral trajectories, have historically operated as sociopolitical instruments that reshaped space and marginalized religion in urban life. In response, contemporary religious groups have generated counter-territorialities, producing alternative spatial orders. Despite their increasing visibility, religion-based communal formations remain underexplored within urban geography and planning scholarship. This article investigates the Menzil Community, one of the most influential Sufi-based religious groups in Türkiye, and the territorialization dynamics of Menzil Village, its spiritual center, through a multi-scalar analytical framework. As a case rarely examined through spatial analysis, it offers a critical lens to address the absence of religion in spatial theory. Two spatial dimensions are explored: (1) the nationwide institutional network radiating from Menzil Village, and (2) the village itself as a purpose-driven intentional community. GIS-based mapping reveals the community’s sociopolitical presence through its geographical distribution and institutional typologies, while spatial and morphological analyses of Menzil Village uncover its distinctive territorial logic. Findings highlight two interrelated drivers of spatial formation: religiously coded semantic-normative practices and programmatic self-sufficiency. The study reframes religious communal geographies within planning discourse, emphasizing their implications for inclusive and context-sensitive urban policy.
Over the past five decades, Oman has undergone a rapid urban transformation, shifting from dense, traditional settlements to sprawling modern developments. This paper provides a topological exploration of this shift based on the structure of neighborhood street networks. The research objective is to quantitatively comprehend the differences in the structural properties of street networks between pre- and post-1984 Omani settlements. Utilizing a comparative case study approach, we analyze three traditional and three modern neighborhoods using Space Syntax methodology to assess properties of connectivity, geometry, and centrality. The results reveal statistically significant differences between the two settlement types. Traditional street networks are characterized by higher connectivity, shorter and more uniform segment lengths, and slightly higher average integration values, suggesting a finer-grained urban fabric with greater potential for pedestrian route choice. Conversely, modern networks exhibit lower connectivity, longer street segments, and a more hierarchical structure, which is consistent with a more vehicle-oriented layout. The findings suggest that post-1984 planning policies are associated with measurable changes in the spatial attributes of Omani neighborhoods. This research contributes to the discourse on urban development in the Arabian Peninsula, offering critical insights for future urban planning and policy.
Abstract Following Turkey’s 2018 currency crisis, the government introduced four key housing re-regulations which reduced mortgage interest rates, investment-based citizenship incentives, rent increase limitations, and monetary easing to stimulate economic recovery. This study examines how state-led financialization of housing disproportionately favours middle- and high-income groups while limiting access for low-income households. Focusing on Istanbul, the analysis combines policy review with secondary data from 2007 to 2025 and reveals that the state housing agency TOKİ increasingly prioritised middle-income housing production over housing for low-income in Istanbul. Homeownership among the lowest-income groups fell by 25% from 2007 to 2024. Although originally designed to support low-income groups, TOKİ’s housing output for very low-income groups declined after 2019. Furthermore, foreign investment surged due to relaxed citizenship laws, rose housing prices, while 750,000 units remained vacant as landlords anticipated future capital gains. This paper argues that Turkey’s post‑crisis housing strategy has deepened state‑led financialization reinforcing inequality and weakening the social function of housing for low‑income households .
In the Middle East, because of existence of fault lines, arid landscapes, and seismic activity, the geopathic stress (GS) could theoretically be amplified by natural formations. So, the architecture, environmental health, and bioelectromagnetics are most considered the challenges in geopathic stress in the mentioned countries. The main goal of this research is to build a framework that is based on science aspects for multi-hazard risk assessment for built schools site in Alborz Province, in Iran. In this regard, it was used two vision as general assessments and as case study assessments, for present study. The methodology to find safe locations for schools in Alborz Province combines geospatial analysis, engineering geology principles, and quantitative decision-making techniquesFor this purpose, it has been selected 25 schools from in different geographical points of Alborz Province to assess the multi-hazard risk. The Alborz Province as a high active tectonic zone can be lead to significant geological hazards like earthquakes and potential GS from faults. The results showed that Karaj has higher hazard levels due to closer proximity to faults like Mosha and North Alborz, with distances under 10 km increasing seismic and geopathic risks. Also, the statistical reulsts showed that 32
Over the centuries, urban spaces have served as platforms for social interactions and have shaped different behaviors within their structure. The physical and qualitative characteristics of urban space play an important role in shaping these activities. This study addresses the lack of consideration of behavioral and human factors in the design of Gohardasht (Azadi) Street in Karaj, Iran. The authors aim to investigate the role of behavioral patterns in this environment and provide insights for urban design practices in similar cultural contexts. The study is applied research in terms of objective and analysis, using descriptive-analytical and survey research methods for data collection. The variables studied include physical, functional, and environmental factors. The theoretical aspects of urban space and behavioral patterns were researched using library studies, reliable websites, and relevant articles. Geographic Information System (GIS) maps and information from relevant organizations were used to identify and study the area. Field methods, questionnaires, and direct observation were used to accurately determine the scope of the study and answer the research questions and hypotheses. According to the Cochran formula, 193 questionnaires were analyzed for this study, using stratified sampling to include different segments such as residents, users, and shopkeepers. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed an average overall satisfaction rate of 37.3
The phenomena of mega-scale development around the world in recent years have attracted a lot of attention. From a dramatic underwater mega-tunnel to desert skyscrapers and Japanese supertalls, the tendency has shown incredible feats of mega-structure construction, including Nusantara the Capital City of Indonesia due to be inaugurated on August 17th, 2024. Despite the excitement of the general public, there has always been a pro and con to the replacement, one of the most major issues is the Indonesian-ness of the projects. The idea of the archipelago architecture design principles has been questioned as to whether it is related to the development of the city backbone, nor its architecture. This research aims to investigate the idea of the megastructure concept for Indonesian architecture from a theoretical perspective using a combination of historical and etymological approaches. The steps are: 1) Questioning the idea of megastructure, 2) Understanding the philosophy of Indonesian architecture, and 3) Building the concept representation of megastructure for Indonesian architecture. The research finding is there is a possibility of seeing megastructures differently according to a local context. The output is the megastructure concept based on Indonesian vernacular house typology. The novelty of the research is eight typological categories and three fundamental guidelines for developing Indonesian megastructure.
This article is devoted to analysing the design and symbolics of the Safra Square ( , Kikar Safra) and City Hall complex, Western Jerusalem. Built around the historic Town Hall of the British Governate, and inaugurated in 1993, the City Hall complex is strategically located along the bustling Jaffa Street, just west of the Green Line, and immediately north of the Old City walls. This threshold location is replete with historic and political significance, as narratively and visually expressed in the design and decoration of the square: its multiple memorials, artefacts, and other spatial interventions celebrate a ‘unified’ Jerusalem under Israeli administration (post 1967 occupation). This article introduces an inventory of how the design and spatial practices of the square relate to visual, narrative and political-performative dynamics. We discuss how the overarching narrative takes shape through an intertwined mechanism of petrification and mundanization, and show how Safra progressively has taken shape as a representational space in the heart of the city, saturated with particularist narratives that link the meaning of space to the legitimacy of military, political, and administrative control.
Abstract Urban public spaces are critical elements of the urban environment, serving as venues for social interaction, cultural exchange and community engagement. In examining these venues, accessibility is critical in judging their functioning and inclusions. This study focuses on the urban core of Kannur, Kerala where significant public spaces are assessed for accessibility. Congestion, underutilization and poor connectivity hinder the ability of these public space locations to serve as vibrant, inclusive community hubs. While accessibility in public spaces has been widely explored globally, studies within the Kerala context rarely examine public spaces through the lens of physical, visual or symbolic dimensions of access. Moreover, even in global literature, these dimensions are often addressed individually rather than as an integrated framework. This study addresses that gap by applying a multi-dimensional accessibility framework that integrates spatial mapping, photographic documentation and qualitative comparative scoring to evaluate key public spaces in Kannur. The findings show that improvements in accessibility such as pedestrian-friendly pathways, enhanced visual access and better safety measures can significantly transform these underperforming spaces into more engaging and inclusive areas. By drawing comparisons with global examples and combining local insights, the study emphasizes the benefits of accessible spaces. It underscores the need for developing well-connected public spaces that cater to the social, cultural and economic requirements of different metropolitan populations. Furthermore, the research promotes policy interventions and urban design strategies that prioritize accessibility. By doing so, it envisions public spaces as dynamic, multifunctional and equitable environments that respond to diverse user needs.
The issue of spatial conflicts is a recurring theme in territorial planning. It is a complex and multidimensional topic involving diverse actors and conflicting interests. In particular, the landscape is often at the center of controversy, reflecting the differing needs and expectations of residents, local authorities, and economic stakeholders. Among these, the issue of renewable energy production has become increasingly prominent. We used the Region of Sardinia as a case study, where numerous wind farm projects have been proposed in recent years and have almost always faced strong opposition from local communities and administrators. We investigated these conflicts through an analysis of local press articles from 2009 to 2024 to identify the main critical issues. Several recurring themes and sub-themes emerged. Overall, the situation in Sardinia reflects typical conflicts related to the energy transition, where national or global decarbonization goals clash with local demands for territorial protection; tensions arise between economic development and environmental and cultural preservation; legal gaps and a lack of community participation in decision-making processes are evident. At the same time, some distinctive features emerged, particularly regarding the collective nature of dissent and the political-institutional strategies adopted by regional civil society. Understanding these dynamics is a key premise, as it provides important insights for planning, implementing, and communicating projects that are truly place-based and capable of contributing to a more inclusive and shared ecological transition-addressing a conflict that remains largely unresolved.
The article unveils an interdisciplinary contextual framework for understanding mosque construction in the U.S. urban landscape. It responds to the challenges arising from the rapid growth of mosques in various U.S. cities and the limited resources available for architects, designers, and planners to develop contextually sensitive solutions that are in-tune with their locale. Through a case study of eight Greater Phoenix mosques within a relational regional context, this article highlights nuanced factors that shape mosque development processes from conception to construction, including demographic, economic, and social factors. The article also highlights the important role of interfaith solidarity, relationships with city officials, and architect’s advocacy in shaping mosque designs. Unlike prior research focused on aesthetics, this study provides a shift towards addressing the developmental process that responds to practical community needs.
