The impact of urban design features and qualities on walkability and health in under-construction environments: The case of Hashtgerd New Town in Iran

A number of recent studies have examined the relationship between the built environment and the health of the residents. However, to our knowledge, no studies have focused on neighborhoods that are under construction. The new town of Hashtgerd near Tehran was selected for this study because individuals have been residing in the town during the construction phase while a high percentage of the area remains vacant and undeveloped. The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of the formal–spatial factors of such an environment on walkability and health. Because different impacts were expected for men and women, the study also included gender differences to understand how such an environment affects the walkability and health outcomes for each group. First, a cross-sectional study enabled us to collect data on the physical activity and Body-Mass Index BMI of the residents in selected clusters. In the following phase, the residents were surveyed regarding the environmental barriers to walking. These barriers were then regarded as potential urban design features, which later, were classified as the three main urban design qualities. A regression analysis was performed to reveal the impact of each barrier (urban design quality) on walkability and health. Our results demonstrated that, in this environment, continuity has the largest effect on walkability, complexity has an important effect on non-work travel, and scale attributes play a significant role in work travel. Additionally, it was concluded that this environment has a stronger influence on female residents than on male residents. Safety was the most important factor for women, whereas distance to destinations was the most important factor for men.

► The most influential quality affecting walkability in an under-construction environment is ‘continuity’.
► ‘Human scale’ is more important for work travel.
► Whereas ‘complexity’ is the determining factor for non-work travel.
► Gender plays a significant role in walking in an under-construction environment.
► ‘Human scale’ plays greater role for men, whereas ‘complexity’ is more important for women.