Smart neighborhood as a sustainable neighborhood: a comparative study of Al-Ghadeer village (Najaf-Iraq)

Abstract

The concept of neighbourhood planning has emerged as a new trend in our community and the emphasis has been of utmost importance on districts in cities as the basic independent units of metropolitans in a way similar to that of community formation. Improving neighbourhood structure can improve the standards of living through the introduction of a smart neighbourhood model, making it more suitable for being walked and enhancing the life quality of residents that leading to the upgrading of communal and territory sketch. This work focuses on the problems where neighbourhoods lack aspects that allow the use of technology and affect workable distance and social relations, which are the main pillars of liveability. The hypothesis was to evaluate the neighbourhoods constructed by Najaf Investment Commission, whether the standards for the neighbourhood were applied according to the standards of the United Nations Organization (UN-Habitat) using gap analysis, The study found a gap between the standards adopted in the planning and design of the studied residential complexes (Al Ghadeer Residential Complex) and the criteria and indicators for planning smart neighbourhood model, particularly in the effectiveness of traffic network and the occupied residential area which was greater than the commercial model and less than the specified standards.