Identifying the Key Components Influencing the Design of Residential Complexes with an Emphasis on Enhancing Neighborhood Identity
Keywords:
Neighborhood Identity, Residential Complexes, Social Interactions, Neighborly Relations, Sense of PlaceAbstract
In recent decades, urban development and the expansion of mass housing construction have significantly transformed residential patterns and social interaction. In many contemporary residential complexes, the dominance of quantitative and physical design approaches, coupled with insufficient attention to residents’ social, semantic, and cultural needs, has led to challenges such as declining quality of life, incompatibility with the urban fabric, the weakening of neighborhood identity, and a diminished sense of belonging. Accordingly, identifying the components that influence residential complex design and clarifying their role in strengthening neighborhood identity are essential to improving the quality of contemporary residential environments. This study aims to identify and prioritize the components influencing the design of contemporary residential complexes, with an emphasis on enhancing neighborhood identity. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach and uses a literature review and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), implemented through Expert Choice 11 software, to identify and prioritize the relevant components. The results indicate that the semantic, social, physical, and functional dimensions rank in descending order of priority in terms of their contribution to enhancing neighborhood identity. Within the semantic dimension, sense of belonging and attachment and sense of tranquility are prominent components. In the social dimension, security and social interactions are the leading components, while comfort and hierarchy are the most prominent components of the physical dimension. In the functional dimension, diversity of uses and self-sufficiency and connection with nature are among the most important components associated with strengthening neighborhood identity. The findings suggest that incorporating these components into the design process of residential complexes can help strengthen social sustainability, reduce resident dissatisfaction, and foster more compatible residential environments.
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