Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of many common neighborhood design patterns in responding to health needs, social interactions, and urban resilience. In a situation where the restrictions caused by the crisis have increased residents’ dependence on their daily living environment, the role of the quality of residential and neighborhood design has received more attention than ever before. Despite the development of studies in the fields of healthy cities, urban resilience, and sustainable design, most studies have examined these dimensions independently, and few studies have been able to provide an integrated framework for the design of neighborhood units based on the lived experience of residents and the perspectives of experts. Accordingly, the present study aimed to explain the conceptual framework for the design of sustainable neighborhood units based on the lived experience of residents and the perspectives of experts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theoretical foundations

The theoretical framework of the research is based on four theoretical approaches. The neighborhood unit theory explains spatial organization and access to neighborhood services as the main basis of urban quality of life; the healthy city theory introduces physical, mental and social health as a fundamental indicator of the quality of the living environment; the urban resilience theory emphasizes the capacity for adaptation and continuity of neighborhood performance in the face of crises; and the sustainable design theory pursues the integration of physical, social, environmental and management dimensions in the design process. The integration of these four approaches has formed the theoretical framework of the research and has served as the basis for analyzing qualitative data and extracting main themes.



Methodology

This research is applied in terms of purpose and qualitative in nature.