Journal of Iranian Architecture & Urbanism(JIAU)

Abstract Extended Abstract
Background and Objectives: In the modern world, urban spaces, on the one hand, and contemporary citizens, on the other hand, are heavily influenced by the effects of smart and virtual spaces and technologies. Hence, it is pivotal to establish spaces that would simultaneously meet the health needs of contemporary humans and pay special attention to the smart dimensions of contemporary life. The concepts of a healthy city and a smart city are emerging ideas that were introduced towards the end of the twentieth century, driven by the rapid growth of urban populations and the resulting challenges, along with economic and technological changes brought about by globalization. The concept of healthy cities was developed within an initiative framework by the World Health Organization and was introduced in the wake of the search for promoting health by a general entity of the international sphere (Taylor, 2010). The concept of smart cities was also initiated by technological companies in the private sector and refers to the utilization of innovations and technological sources in urban infrastructure and services. Accordingly, just as there are a large number of innovative approaches, there are common indicators used both in healthy cities and in smart cities. Assuming a general health priority, the subject of smartization in urban space is regarded as a strategic objective, causing the fatality of pandemic and non-pandemic diseases to be fewer and thus helping to create a prosperous and competitive economy. The present study aims to explain the components affecting a smart and healthy urban space and to provide a general conceptual framework in this connection.
Methods: From a goal perspective, the study was applied, and from the nature of information and its analytical perspective, it was qualitative, falling under documentary research. The present study was also considered a mixed research method. In this direction, the dimensions and components of a healthy and smart city, raised by professionals and experts, were first collected and were then coded by using content analysis, leading to the determination of a general healthy and smart city framework. Next, the determined indicators were firstly incorporated and then scored and ranked by ten experts by using the five criteria of urban space scales, health and smartization relevance, easiness of access to information, measurability, and spatial diversity changes via the Goeller scorecard method. Because the five criteria are not equally important, the AHP method and Expert Choice software were used to assign weights to the criteria. To calculate the final score, the score of each indicator was multiplied by the weight of the relevant criterion, and then all the scores resulting from the indicators were added up, leading to a final score of 10. The indicators that received a score of higher than 5 were selected and the “general conceptual framework of a healthy city with a smart city approach” was explained. Finally, to control the quality of the extracted framework, the Cohen’s Kappa Index was used to compare the researcher’s view with an expert’s to finally provide an ID of indicators.
Findings: The explained conceptual framework consisted of 5 economic, social, managerial, physical and environmental dimensions, encompassing 12 components and 52 indicators of a healthy and smart urban space. The economic dimension consists of the component of economic prosperity and the indicators of strengthening local markets, tourism, and business diversity. The social dimension consists of the component of social communications with the indicators of social engagement, social and ethnic plurality, participation in social life, the component of social facilities with the indicators of accessibility and the awareness-raising of cultural events, accessibility and the awareness-raising of recreational events, access to sports amenities, access to welfare services, access to high-speed Internet, wireless coverage, and finally the component of health with the indicators of access to healthy food, promoting bodily exercises, awareness-raising and training health principles, and access to healthcare services. The managerial dimension consists of the component of urban management that involves the indicators of cultural heritage preservation (regeneration), citizens’ satisfaction with urban management performance, administrating the effective programs of garbage collecting and recycling and traffic management. The physical dimension consists of five components titled as accessibility with the indicators of access to public transportation, access to pedestrian zones, access to cycling paths, access to places of rest, access to green spaces, access to clean public spaces, access to washrooms, access to parking lots, safety with the indicators of the safety of cycling paths, the safety of pedestrian zones, traffic safety, the quality of urban pathways, security with the indicators of lighting and illumination of urban spaces, 24-hour land uses, the new generation of rescue police, social monitoring (urban smart cameras), transportation with the indicators of various and diverse options of vehicles, providing the Internet in public transportation, timers indicating the time of arriving at the destination, the applications showing the position of the public vehicles, the quality of public transportation (using sensors to improve public mobility), non-motorized public transportation (EVs, hybrids, and scooters), and environmental design with the indictors of land use diversity, design proportionate to peoples’ needs, diverse greenery, the quality of urban furniture, and place attachment. The environmental dimension consists of two components of energy with the indicator of using renewable sources and the environmental quality with the indicators of air, sound, and visual quality, water quality, and surface water collection and disposal.
Conclusion: According to the scores calculated, the environmental dimension with a score of 9.4 held greater importance than other dimensions and should be paid special attention in urban planning and designing. As all indicators of environmental quality received a score of 9.9, a key requirement for creating a healthy urban space with a smart city approach is to focus on air and water quality, reduce sound and visual pollution, and manage and collect surface waters effectively. The physical dimension with a score of 8.6 ranked second, followed by the social dimension (a score of 8), and economic and managerial dimensions with scores of 7.6 and 6.9, respectively.

Abstract Extended Abstract
Background and Objectives: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the indicators of a healthy city in Rasht in and finally to examine the relationships between the indicators of a healthy city, including identifying the most important factors affecting the realization of a healthy city. For this purpose, the city of Rasht has been chosen as a case study in this research.
Methods: The current research is considered an applied research in terms of purpose and, according to the method of answering research questions, it is considered a descriptive-quantitative research. In this study, the information was collected through surveys and documents. In order to investigate and evaluate the indicators of a healthy city, a questionnaire with a 5-level Likert scale was designed. The information obtained from the questionnaires was analyzed and evaluated by SPSS software. First, in order to confirm the accuracy of the questionnaire, the value of Cronbach’s alpha was checked, and this value with a coefficient of 0.913 indicated the very favorable and reliable internal validity of the questionnaire questions. Then, by using binomial tests, Pearson correlation and linear regression test, the findings have been analyzed step by step. The sample size was calculated using Cochran’s formula of 384, according to the population of Rasht in the latest population and the housing census in 2015, that was reported to be 679,995 people.
Findings: According to the average results of the indicators, the “housing quality” index has the highest average value of 3.12. On the other hand, the “organizational-managerial” index has the lowest average among the indices, with an average of 2.52. Also, according to the average results of the research items, the item of “residential unit’s access to facilities such as water, electricity and gas” from the housing quality index has the highest average with a number of 4.15, as well as the item “the existence of special bicycle paths in the place of residence”. The environmental and physical index with an average of 1.93, they have the lowest average among all items. And finally, the average of all items in the current research is equal to 2.86. Then, a step-by-step regression test was used to investigate the relationship between the “health and hygiene” index and other research indicators. At first, by entering the index of “health and sanitation” as a dependent index and 5 other research indices as independent indices, the effective indices identified by this test are entered into the model in order of effect. According to findings, “organization and management” index had the greatest impact on the health and hygiene of the citizens, as it was able to predict 34.4% of the variance share of the “health and hygiene” index alone with a correlation coefficient of 0.586. Also, in the fourth model, where all the effective indicators are included in the model, the model has a correlation coefficient of 0.704, which shows the high correlation between these factors and the health of the citizens; It could form 49.5% of the share of the variance of the “health and sanitation” variable. Finally, only the “economic” index has been removed from the model due to its insignificant effect on the “health and sanitation” index.
Conclusion: Based on the step-by-step regression test, firstly, the “management and organizational” index alone is able to predict 34.4% of the variance share of the “health and hygiene” index. Also, these two indicators have the highest correlation among all the indicators of this research, which indicates the continuity and high influence of these two indicators on each other. Therefore, Rasht’s urban management can place special emphasis on the topic of a healthy city and the health indicators of the citizens in its planning, in order to ultimately improve the health and health status of the city and its citizens. In the next step, the indicators of “housing quality” and then “environmental and physical” have the greatest effect on the health status of citizens, which indicates the importance of physical issues and the quality of life of citizens in addition to environmental issues. But at the last stage, the “social” index has an undeniable effect on the health index. Based on this, it is possible to improve the indicators of a healthy city with proper planning in order to increase interactions between citizens and raise the level of people’s participation in urban affairs and provide a suitable platform for the direct relationship between citizens and city officials to increase two-way interaction between them. The point to be pondered in this research is the exclusion of the economic index from the final model, which shows the insignificant and negligible impact of this index on the health status of the citizens, which indicates that this index has a lower priority than other indices, and can be a suitable subject for future research in this city.