Measuring sustainability of urban blocks: The case of Dowlatabad, Kermanshah city

This paper tries to measure morphological characteristics of urban blocks through comparing an existed situation to sustainable development principles for urban form and applying an analytic assessment. The integral aim of this paper is identification of morphologically sustainable urban block and proposing an analytic assessment for measurement of sustainability of urban block. The three main morphological characteristics of urban block are size/length, configuration/grain and orientation. This descriptive-analytic paper uses scientific, empirical and quantitative method of studying of urban form through urban design perspective and French morphological school. The case study of present paper is Dowlatabad neighborhood of Kermanshah city in the west of Islamic Republic of Iran. This formerly informal/semiformal settlement has different problems in three initial characteristics. Approximately 13% of urban blocks are too long, some blocks are very large or very small, some areas have so many 4-way intersections, some areas have low permeability, majority of urban blocks have some cracks and the west side of neighborhood has an improper urban block orientation. Analytic assessment of sustainability of urban blocks of Dowlatabad quarters shows significant difference between adjacent and apparently similar quarters.