Journal of the planner and development

There are many challenges facing KUT city, like many other urban areas around the world, due to rapid urbanization and the limited space available. The study area therefore needs intelligent land use planning to address these issues while conserving natural resources. The objectives of the study include the analysis of changes in land use in the KUT city from 2003 to 2023, the identification of influencing factors, forecasting future land uses by 2033.The research used various methods of data collection and analysis, highlighted the changes in land uses between 2003-2013 and 2013-2023 and the factors influencing these changes, the possible decline in green and agricultural areas by 2033.Using the results of the model of the(Land Change Modeler LCM) in idrisi environment, the(Transition Area Matrix)was also created for the distribution of urban land use, using the cellular automata represented by the Markov model to predict what will happen in the future and by 2033, using the Markov cellular model (CA-Markov).
In connection with the results, significant urban expansions were observed around the city limits in the North and South-East Directions. Scattered urban growth was also predicted in the peripheral areas of the city and the study recommended the use of GIS software and modeling for urban land planning, advocating smart growth methods and preserving green, agricultural and natural areas for environmental and economic reasons.

Urban planning and urban environment design have become central to the agenda of sustainable development for rapidly expanding cities and communities Researchers and planners strive to create communities that offer a high quality of life, where places are responsive to the needs of individuals, communities, and environmental sustainability.

The research explores the role of the social dimension in improving the quality of life and knowing its impact on community development, cultural identity and common meanings of place. The study provides a comprehensive view of the importance of improving the quality of life and enhancing social cohesion in the urban environment.The research addresses the challenges of studying and applying the social dimension in practical contexts, with a focus on analyzing social changes and evaluating the well-being of vibrant urban areas. This enables planners to identify areas in need of activating social spaces that offer a distinguished quality of life.One of the challenges of this study lies in the limited specialized knowledge about mechanisms for activating social indicators in cities. Its goal is to identify effective social dimensions and indicators in the urban context, presuming that activating these indicators contributes to achieving a high quality of life and supports sustainable development in urban communities.
A set of influential social indicators has been extracted for use in planning processes, and these indicators were applied to the study area (Residential Complex A in the city of Basmaya) to assess their achievements and identify strengths and weaknesses.

The study proposes suitable mechanisms to activate the concept of social interaction and achieve a high quality of life in the study area.
From the foregoing, the study aims to build a theoretical framework that includes effective social mechanisms and indicators in the city.

Most Iraqi cities suffer from increasing rates of air pollution and a lack of green areas, which is one of the most important ways to reduce air pollutants and raise air quality. This study represented an analysis of the relationship between the Spatial distribution of green areas on the one hand and the locations of concentration of various types of air pollutants on the other hand.
Because green areas in the city are of multiple types, each type has varying capabilities to reduce air pollutants. The researcher drew and identified each of these types and determined its percentage of the total area of green urban infrastructure in the city.
Air pollutant distribution maps were drawn based on geographic information system programs and remote sensing techniques. The locations and concentrations of air pollutants were determined based on images from the Sentinel-5 satellite and through the Google Earth Engine platform. Accordingly.
the researcher arrived at a set of information regarding the concentration locations of various air pollutants and the areas that must be enhanced with green areas to raise air quality. The researcher also concluded that the total area of green urban infrastructure in the study area has reached 31.64 km2 in 2023, as it needs to be strengthened and distributed according to reality requirements to reduce air pollution, as well as the importance of remote sensing techniques in monitoring air pollution and its sources.

The concept of sustainability has emerged as a solution to many problems facing cities, and it has become essential to follow in various fields and sectors, particularly the housing sector due to its significant economic and social importance. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the nature of sustainability and how to achieve it in the planning of residential complexes. This requires identifying effective and integrated criteria and indicators that serve this purpose.

The Al Ghadeer Residential Village was chosen as one of the residential investment projects witnessed by the city of Najaf in recent times. However, there is dissatisfaction with some effective indicators in achieving sustainability in the studied residential complex. Applying sustainability criteria and indicators in the planning of residential complexes contributes to creating housing projects that are suitable from all social, economic, and environmental aspects. The study adopted a descriptive approach and obtained residents' opinions through a questionnaire designed to identify the most prominent criteria and indicators and assess residents' satisfaction with them. The sample size was 60 questionnaires distributed to residential units, and a set of conclusions was reached, including the following: Most of the urban criteria related to the residential environment in the study area comply with national standards except for the criteria related to the adequacy of educational, health, and commercial services for the population. Residents are dissatisfied with the social indicators related to privacy, the lack of green and open spaces, play areas for children, and the unavailability of public transportation within the vicinity of the residential complex

Cities around the world are a major source of urban challenges, facing multiple problems ranging from environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources to urban degradation and lack of social interaction. This research aims to explore the role of urban acupuncture as an innovative strategy in the context of urban renewal policies. The study addresses the two concepts separately, where urban tingling is understood as small, specific interventions aimed at stimulating activity and social interaction in specific areas of the city, while urban renewal deals with comprehensive improvements that include various aspects of the city. The thesis aims to analyze the role of urban acupuncture in the context of urban renewal policies, and to understand how to employ this strategy to enhance social interaction and renewal in cities. It enhances the activity and sustainability of specific areas in the city.

Urban agriculture is a component of urban sustainability، as affirmed by the new global urban agenda. Unfortunately، urban agriculture still suffers from marginalization in Arab societies، including Palestinian urban communities. The concept and values of urban agriculture are deeply rooted in Palestinian heritage memory through the concept and values of the household farm ("Al-Hakoura")، which have started to fade in Palestinian cities.

Therefore، this study aims to reclaim the concept and values of "Al-Hakoura" from memory and Palestinian folk heritage to support urban agriculture and sustainability in Palestinian cities. This study used qualitative and cartographic methodologies in collecting، processing، and analyzing primary and secondary data through fieldwork in the cities of Ramallah، Al-Bireh، and Beitunia as case studies
. This study found that the concept and values of "Al-Hakoura" are deeply rooted in Palestinian memory and folk heritage، where they constituted an essential component of the Palestinian household. It served as the Palestinian household's food basket and a space for social and cultural interaction for Palestinian families and neighbors in the neighborhood، particularly for women، serving as a place for entertainment، and intellectual and cultural production such as stories، proverbs، poetry، food، and folk songs. Moreover، this study recommends reclaiming and enhancing the concept and values of "Al-Hakoura" by developing modern models of urban "Al-Hakoura" to support urban agriculture in Palestine، thereby enhancing the resilience of the Palestinian people on their land and in their cities to preserving and revitalizing Palestinian folk heritage، particularly under Israeli occupation and the siege of Palestinian cities

Every human being has the right to education, and the state is legally obligated to provide it to its people. From this standpoint, the educational service is one of the services governed and supervised by the state. This educational service meets the needs of the times by preparing graduates to engage in life activities on all social and economic dimensions.
This research shed light on the study of evaluating the efficiency of educational services in Al-Dabouni district in Wasit Governorate and analyzing their efficiency in comparison with Iraqi standards. The evaluation shows insufficient school buildings in the district, and the research suggests building a sufficient number of educational buildings to fill the current deficit. It is also recommended to improve and develop existing schools and use modern technology in education. The summary is based on previous studies on the efficiency of educational services and an analysis of local planning standards.

The phenomenon of urban sprawl is considered one of the important phenomena or issues that most of countries in this world suffer from, as it affects agricultural lands and the sustainability of cities, which leads to shrinkage and contraction of agricultural areas, the importance of the research lies in knowing the changes that occurred in the vegetation cover during that time period and determining the extent to which they were affected, This paper deals with the development of the phenomenon in the region between the period (2000--2020) in the city of Baghdad, GIS is used, where satellite visualizations of the region were used from the (Land sat) satellite from the US Geological Survey (USGS) website for the years (2000--2010--2020), and then classification operations depending on (NDVI,NDBI) indexs , data analysis and processing were carried out, as well as calculations were made for the process of creeping that occurred during that period within the study area in order to reach quantitative results, as it was concluded that this region has witnessed unbalanced and unsustainable growth at the expense of agricultural lands, which It affected the sustainability and development of the city.