Azadeh Lak

• Ph.d
• Professor (Associate) at Shahid Beheshti University

Introduction: Walkability is crucial for sustainable development and promotes environmental, economic, and health benefits. Based on the importance of walkability in the built environment (WBE) during the sustainability era, this study offers a critical review of WBE using a bibliometric approach to showcase the following: a) progress and main area...

Cultural landscapes, particularly cities with rich historical and cultural heritage, play a crucial role in bolstering the resilience of local communities. The occurrence of climate change-induced phenomena jeopardizes cultural landscapes, resulting in the deterioration of historical structures, natural landscapes, cultural heritage, the economy, a...

Introduction The urban green space (UGS) is one of the most significant urban spaces with unique visual and social features, including pleasant air, low noise, and vitality, making it a recreational place for citizens, especially the youth. According to previous studies, perceived green space and the interaction with it is associated with mental he...

Rising temperatures, a major global environmental challenge, negatively impact health, the environment, society, and the economy. Surface Urban Heat Islands (SUHI), exacerbated by urbanization and climate change, intensify vulnerabilities for urban areas and residents. Urban planning and design aime to reduce these vulnerabilities through large-sca...

Background Population aging is a pervasive phenomenon occurring rapidly worldwide, while sustainable development goals are considered the mental health among older adults. Methods To investigate the factors affecting mental health, we conducted a scoping review of the 47 papers published between 2015 and 2022 to explore various dimensions affectin...

Introduction Aging is an inevitable process that leads to changes in various dimensions of older adult life, including physical, psychological, and social aspects. Unfortunately, older adults are more susceptible to health problems caused by adverse experiences such as the Corona outbreak. Aim The current study examines the lived experience of old...

Background Public open spaces (POSs) is considered a feature of the built environment that is important for physical, mental, and social health during life and contributes to active aging. Hence, policymakers, practitioners, and academics have recently focused on indicators of elder-friendly environments, particularly in developing countries. Obje...

Digitalization and sustainability are among the most critical mega-trends in 21st century. The nexus between digitalization and sustainability unfolds exciting opportunities in addressing global challenges, creating a just and sustainable society and laying the groundwork for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Several studies have reviewe...

This study analyzes the compactness/sprawl index and its effects on the spread of COVID-19 in the neighborhoods of Ahvaz, Iran. Multiple Criteria Decision Making and GIS techniques were used to develop the indices. Also, the effects of compactness/sprawl on COVID-19 were investigated using a regression model. It was found that when considering the...

Background: The 21st century is currently dealing with the significant challenge of climate change. Global warming is one of its primary consequences, and the rapid growth of urban population has made cities especially vulnerable to its effects. Urban heat islands (UHI) are phenomena that result from the combination of global warming and urban deve...

Introduction Walking to schools has declined with the rise of automobility, particularly in developing countries, due to fast urbanization. Conversely, Active School Travel (AST) benefits children’s physical health and contributes to their emotional health. Purpose This cross-sectional study has developed a new model for analyzing children's AST b...

Over the past decades, agritourism has spread rapidly worldwide with the growing interest of tourists in learning about rural life and the farmers' need to increase their income with various economic activities. Diversifying business activities on the farm, primarily through agritourism, increases the farm's income and helps reduce the financial pr...

The fast growth of megacities population has resulted in severe traffic issues. Developing highway networks is considered as one of the major strategies in Iran’s capital city. However, health, environmental, and social consequences have been observed due to increased motorization and megaconstructions. This study aims to explain how residents perc...

The fast growth of megacities population has resulted in severe traffic issues. Developing highway networks is considered as one of the major strategies in Iran's capital city. However, health, environmental, and social consequences have been observed due to increased motorization and megaconstructions. This study aims to explain how residents perc...

Outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) has considerable impacts on the health and life of different groups of people. Older people are one of the most vulnerable groups to climate-related diseases. Heat-related deaths are likely to increase due to an increasing proportion of adults aged 65 and over in the total population. Reviewing literature shows that ve...

Outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) has considerable impacts on the health and life of different groups of people. Older people are one of the most vulnerable groups to climate-related diseases. Heat-related deaths are likely to increase due to an increasing proportion of adults aged 65 and over in the total population. Reviewing literature shows that ve...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for defining the notion of “physical integration” regarding the Iranian bazaar as the main component in the structure of traditional Iranian cities. Applying this conceptual framework to the historical bazaars in the cities of Kerman and Shiraz, this study seeks to pave the way...

Background: Today, the beneficial impact of public open spaces(POS) on the mental and physical health of the elderly is considered worldwide. However, the knowledge about these effects on the mental health of older adults in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, especially in developing countries, is still insufficient. Methods: This study investigate...

In recent years, a new approach of intervention in urban spaces, called Tactical Urbanism (TU), has been introduced to solve current problems of urban areas. The main purpose of this approach is to meet the needs of citizens in urban spaces. This chapter investigates the experience of a TU project in form of “play street” in a disadvantaged area in...

Rapid urbanization has caused significant challenges for environmental protection and historical conservation, leading to severe problems in sustaining healthy built and natural environments. Adopting new approaches to sustainable urban regeneration (SUR) is essential and could provide effective and efficient solutions to these problems. In this st...

The spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has caused abundant mortalities in settlements, has drawn the attention of urban planners and policy-makers to the necessity of improving resilience to future pandemics. In this study, a set of indicators related to pandemic resilience were identified and used to develop a composite multi-dimensional pandemic...

Abstract: Background: Analyzing and monitoring the spatial-temporal patterns of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic can assist local authorities and researchers in detecting disease outbreaks in the early stages. Because of different socioeconomic profiles in Tehran's areas, we will provide a clear picture of the pandemic distribution...

Since its emergence in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted the attention of researchers in various fields, including urban planning and design. However, the spreading patterns of the disease in cities are still not clear. Historically, preventing and controlling pandemics in cities has always been challenging due to various factors such...

Creating ‘resilient places’ has increasingly become a major priority for urban planners, designers, and policy makers. ‘Spatial resilience’ as a subset of urban resilience can be used to guide the development of a conceptual framework for resilient place assessment. In this regard, a resilient place should feature a combination of physical and non-...

Background An essential element in the process of “aging well” is the concept of Active Aging (AA). To propose an operational definition of Active Aging, the present study seeks to develop a new measurement tool through an ecological approach. The aim is to recognize significant indicators that play a role in assessing AA in urban areas. Methods T...

According to the elders' health as the main priority of ageing in place, recent research focuses on a better understanding of the elders' needs of perceived safety especially the older women as the vulnerable group in urban open environments. This study aims to explore the perception of older women about safety and its related features in outdoor s...

Background: The worldwide emergence of future pandemics emphasizes the need to assess the pandemic resilient urban form to prevent infectious disease transmission during this epidemic. According to the lessons of the COVID-19 outbreak, this study aimed to review the current strategies of responding to pandemics through disaster risk management (DRM...

One of the significant issues in developing countries like Iran is the decreased feasibility of place-making projects in urban development because the majority of urban design projects are top-down, high-cost, and long-term, thereby taking them years to be implemented. Even when implemented after a long time, these projects usually do not meet the...

According to the elders’ health as the main priority of ageing in place, recent research focuses on a better understanding of the elders’ needs of perceived safety especially the older women as the vulnerable group in urban open environments. This study aims to explore the perception of older women about safety and its related features in outdoor s...

The elderly's needs and preferences for public open space seem different from who are not in elderly time; also, ageing requirements should be taken into consideration to improve older adults' active life. In this respect, creating active ageing requires a new approach to engage older citizens in outdoor environments viewed as healthy and sustainab...

امروزه کیفیت فضاهای شهری از مهم‌ترین دغدغه‌های طراحی محیطی می‌باشد. این مطالعه با هدف ارائه ترجیحات محیطی استفاده‌کنندگان از فضاهای شهری زیرپل‌های شهری انجام شده است تا متضمن دست‌یابی به مدل مناسب در جهت طراحی این گونه فضاها باشد. این پژوهش با دو روش کیفی و کمی انجام شده است. در مرحله اول به جهت بررسی ترجیحات محیطی شهروندان، بر اساس تکنیک کیوسورت1...

Background: The worldwide emergence of future pandemics emphasizes the need to assess the pandemic resilient urban form to prevent infectious disease transmission during this epidemic. According to the lessons of the COVID-19 outbreak, this study aimed to review the current strategies of responding to pandemics through disaster risk management (DRM...

Background: The worldwide emergence of future pandemics emphasizes the need to assess the pandemic resilient city to prevent Infectious disease transmission during this epidemic. Methods and design: According to the lessons of the COVID 19 outbreak, this study attempts to review the current strategies of responding to pandemics through Disaster Ris...

Several countries are planning urban districts as knowledge and innovation spaces (KISs) to achieve economic and cultural goals. The literature shows that urban planning qualities such as place quality play a paramount role for the knowledge-based economy to flourish. This study develops a theoretical framework based on local experts’ opinions to a...

Backgrounds According to the elders' health as the main priority of Ageing in place, recent research focuses on better understanding of the elders' needs of perceived safety especially the elder women as the vulnerable group in urban open environments. The aim of this study is to explore the perception of elder women about safety and its related fe...

Urban resilience is one of the most debated concepts that confronts environmental, socioeconomic, and political uncertainty and risk. Decision-makers cannot deploy substantial principles of resilience in urban design practice unless they have a vivid operational definition. To form a clear definition for Resilient Urban Design (RUD) in practice, th...

Purpose Man has always faced natural hazards and thus attempted to reduce their financial and loss-of-life damages. Assuring sustainable development in the post-disaster reconstruction of areas requires predictive measurements (i.e. vulnerability assessment). This study aims to assess the outcomes of relocating villages after the 2005 flood in the...

It was highlighted that the original article [1] contained a spelling mistake in the name of Hamid R. Baradaran. This was incorrectly captured as Bradaran. The original article has been updated.

Background: "Active aging" is an inclusive term and has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review was to identify those aspects that play significant roles in building this concept using an ecological approach. Methods: In this study, seven online databases, including JSTOR, Pub...

Background: Considering the lack of specific measurement tools to study elders' perceptions in outdoor spaces, the study objectives were to derive and validate a questionnaire that assesses the essential features of elderly-friendly urban spaces. Methods: We used closed-ended questions in two phases. In the first qualitative phase, a preliminary...

Background "Active Ageing" is an inclusive term thus has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review is to identify the aspects which play significant roles in building this concept in an ecological approach.Methods We searched seven online database s, JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science,...

The authors have withdrawn this preprint from Research Square

Designing public space can take an interdisciplinary approach to urban space design by highlighting the relationship between urban design research and practice. This research attempts to educate students as ‘researcher-designers’ by applying practical techniques such as Place-check and Gehl’s public life-tool in a review of how public space design...

Background "Active Ageing" is an inclusive term thus has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review is to identify the aspects which play significant roles in building this concept in an ecological approach.Methods We searched seven online database s, JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science,...

Background Considering the lack of specific measurement tools to study elders' perceptions in outdoor spaces, the study objectives were to derive and validate a questionnaire that assesses the essential features of elderly-friendly urban spaces. Methods We used closed-ended questions in two phases. In the first qualitative phase, a preliminary ques...

Background: Although issues of elderly people’s active life in public spaces are increasingly being reevaluated, the amount of research dedicated to enhancing urban public space qualities based on the concept of elders’ preferences is still limited. Methods: This study aims to identify the elders’ preferences specially their use of public open spac...

In spite of its influential history of saffron production and carpet weaving, as well as its notable urban historic fabric, the historic city of Birjand, Iran, has lost its original appeal due to various social, cultural, economic, and physical problems. This research investigates the potential for heritage tourism to help regenerate a declining hi...

Abstract Purpose The fast development of urban movement infrastructures has created neglected urban places in cities. This study aims to provide users’ preferences for designing lost spaces that are a by-product of elevated urban highways (UHs) and bridges to develop a conceptual model for better environmental design. Design/methodology/approach T...

Purpose: The fast development of urban movement infrastructures has created neglected urban places in cities. This study aims to provide users' preferences for designing lost spaces that are a byproduct of elevated urban highways and bridges in order to develop a conceptual model for better environmental design. Design/methodology/approach: This r...

Background "Active Ageing" is an inclusive term thus has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review is to identify the aspects which play significant roles in building this concept in an ecological approach.Methods We searched seven online database s, JSTOR, Pub-Med, Web of Science,...

Background: "Active aging" is an inclusive term and has been defined from a variety of aspects in different domains throughout the literature. The aim of this review was to identify those aspects that play significant roles in building this concept using an ecological approach. Methods: In this study, seven online databases, including JSTOR, Pub-Me...

Background Considering the lack of specific measurement tools to study elders' perceptions in outdoor spaces, the study objectives were to derive and validate a questionnaire that assesses the essential features of elderly-friendly urban spaces. Methods We used closed-ended questions in two phases. In the first qualitative phase, a preliminary ques...

Even though Iran’s borders are vast, shared with seven neighboring states, its borderlands are socially and economically deprived owing to their remoteness from the capital and their marginal location on the national periphery. Therefore, considering the need for border development is essential. Because so many borderland residents survive through...

Situated at the center of cities, Iranian bazaars have not only shaped the structure of cities but also serve as a fundamental urban space. In recent decades, unsustainable developments deteriorating the old historic districts of cities have negatively influenced the physical, economic, and social aspects of bazaars. This is the most serious challe...

Blue and green spaces contribute to the quality of cities in various ways—ranging from providing air corridors and visual amenities to positively affecting public psychological health and wellbeing. Urban blue and green spaces had geopolitical and agricultural functions in the past. These functions are still evident in many cities. They also provid...

Today’s fast-paced urbanization process has caused many problems in urban development. Therefore, urban space is slowly losing its nature and disappearing due to the speed of rapid urban development. Trying to keep up with the modern era’s prevalent epoch of roads and bridges, urban policies in Iran have focused on developing road networks in rec...

During the last century, the rapid growth in human settlements has caused the fragmentation of spatial structure of urban and rural areas. This study explores the dimensions of physical integration between the new and old developments of human settlements. In this regard, a mixed-method was applied for Qehi village as a historic place in two steps....

During the last century, rapid growth in human settlements has caused the fragmentation of spatial structure of urban and rural areas. This study explores the dimensions of physical integration between new and old developments of human settlements. In this regard, a mixed-method was applied for Qehi village as a historic place in two steps. In phas...

Safety and security are considered as basic human needs and fundamental rights. Women, who are among the most vulnerable groups, need more safety and security in neighborhoods. Using a conceptual model, this study explored factors contributing to women's perceptions of safety and security in their neighborhood. In the context of the North Salsabil...

Background: In spite of the increased range of inactivity and obesity among Iranian adults, insufficient research has been done on environmental factors influencing physical activity. As a result adapting a subjective (self-report) measurement tool for assessment of physical environment in Iran is critical. Accordingly, in this study Neighborhood E...

There are many bridges in the Iranian major cities. It is still proceeded for constructing new bridges in order to solve traffic problems. The spaces under bridges and the expectations of users are rarely important for city officials and designers. Hence, this research is looking for guidelines of designing the unmanaged spaces under city bridges c...

Natural disasters, such as the 2003 Bam earthquake, affect person-place bonds particularly peoples’ place attachment. Many of post-earthquake reconstruction projects have been carried out based on a mainly physical approach to provide shelters with little consideration for the emotional bonds between persons-places. Recent sociological studies in B...