Document Type : Research Paper
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Abstract
Abstract Background: Sustainable urban design as a new academic science in the field of everyday life in urban spaces, can play a vital role in improving citizens health. Health and hygiene in the evolution history of human from ancient times until now has been the subject that societies have always interacted with. So that the health and welfare of the people of a city, is a key indicator to show the success of that city's sustainable development policies. In this case, one of the places that we observe the presence of people and their physical activities in the city, are the urban sidewalks that are the integral element of streets and made the human interaction besides the automobiles they have made. Objectives: Important consideration is that pedestrians health is not limited only to physical health and the dangers and disadvantages of automobiles. But many other factors can affect the health of pedestrians in the sidewalks environment. With this description, it is necessary to take actions to maintain and enhance pedestrians health in all of its dimensions. This article seeks to answer the question of which elements of urban sidewalks can influence pedestrians health and how and how much of this effect is? Methods: The process of this study includes four main stages. In first and second stages, with a literature review on urban sidewalks and health, requirements for collecting elements of urban sidewalks and also defining dimensions and components of health, were provided. To achieve this purpose, library studies, review of domestic and foreign similar researches and searching the internet, as a data collection techniques were used. In third stage, by using qualitative correlation method on components, we tried to establish the relationship between elements of sidewalks and health components, and finally in fourth stage, by a comparative analysis of these two categories, manner and amount of the impact of elements of urban sidewalks in relationship with dimensions and components of health are identified. Results: By examining how the 61 typical elements of urban sidewalks affect each components of quadripartite dimensions of pedestrians health and counting the existing relationships, determined that, entertainment equipment on the ground (19 relationships), margins uses (18 relationships), materials color (18 relationships), and pots and potted shrubs (17 relationships), have the greatest impact on pedestrians health components. Also, automatic devices (2 relationships), and consoles and saliency of the first floor of buildings (2 relationships), having minimal impact on pedestrians health components. By pluralizing the amount of impact of elements of each main part of sidewalk, it determined that sidewalks surfaces have the greatest impact on physical health, sidewalk furniture on social health, vegetation on mental health and soft elements of sidewalk on both social and mental health. Conclusion: This study showed that health is not just a simple and one-dimensional concept that only notices the physics of society’s population, but also includes other dimensions (such as social, mental and even spiritual). In addition, it explores and explains a significant relationship between urban design (specially designing urban sidewalks) and health, and with a new glance, showed that the elements of sidewalks of a urban space, can influence pedestrians health more differently. The results of this research need to seriously used and considered in preparing design guidelines for urban spaces (sidewalks of streets, plazas, pedestrian ways, local tracks, etc.) and any urban spaces where the movement of pedestrians flows in. The final design production with this regard, can improve public health of the society.
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