Background and Objective: The increase in urban accidents and the vulnerability of pedestrians has revealed the necessity of re-examining the relationship between urban form and traffic safety. This study aims to provide a spatial evidence-based urban form design guideline to enhance the quality of vehicular and pedestrian safety in the Park-e Mellat neighborhood of Mashhad.



Methodology: This applied research was conducted using a mixed-method (quantitative-qualitative) approach. The statistical population consisted of 277 recorded accidents occurring between 2018 and 2020. Spatial and traffic data were analyzed using ArcMap software. To assess the condition of the neighborhood, 53 indicators within the framework of five urban design systems (land use and activity, movement and accessibility, physical form, urban landscape, public realms) were evaluated using field observations, secondary documents, and spatial overlay analysis of accidents.



Findings: Pedestrians accounted for more than 50% of the injured in accidents. Contrary to findings from international studies, wide thoroughfares (30–38 meters) with 76% of accidents, high population density (250–300 persons per hectare), and proximity to Park-e Mellat (concentration of 53% of pedestrian accidents) were directly associated with reduced safety. Furthermore, the presence of mixed-use land uses and linear retail shops along the northern and eastern edges, as well as the concentration of billboards (70% of 95 billboards), showed a significant correlation with increased accidents. In contrast, the predominantly residential land use in the inner fabric, narrow streets (12–14 meters), and high building density were associated with increased safety.



Conclusion: Urban form in the Park-e Mellat neighborhood plays a decisive and sometimes inverse role compared to global paradigms regarding traffic safety. The pattern of wide, high-speed thoroughfares adjacent to high-traffic public realms is the most significant factor reducing safety. The developed design guideline, based on 14 corrective axes including reducing street width and length, moderating population density along the park's edges, organizing billboards, and creating continuity in pedestrian realms, can serve as a basis for structural interventions aimed at enhancing vehicular and pedestrian safety.





Background and Objective: The increase in urban accidents and the vulnerability of pedestrians has revealed the necessity of re-examining the relationship between urban form and traffic safety. This study aims to provide a spatial evidence-based urban form design guideline to enhance the quality of vehicular and pedestrian safety in the Park-e Mellat neighborhood of Mashhad.



Methodology: This applied research was conducted using a mixed-method (quantitative-qualitative) approach. The statistical population consisted of 277 recorded accidents occurring between 2018 and 2020. Spatial and traffic data were analyzed using ArcMap software. To assess the condition of the neighborhood, 53 indicators within the framework of five urban design systems (land use and activity, movement and accessibility, physical form, urban landscape, public realms) were evaluated using field observations, secondary documents, and spatial overlay analysis of accidents.



Findings: Pedestrians accounted for more than 50% of the injured in accidents. Contrary to findings from international studies, wide thoroughfares (30–38 meters) with 76% of accidents, high population density (250–300 persons per hectare), and proximity to Park-e Mellat (concentration of 53% of pedestrian accidents) were directly associated with reduced safety. Furthermore, the presence of mixed-use land uses and linear retail shops along the northern and eastern edges, as well as the concentration of billboards (70% of 95 billboards), showed a significant correlation with increased accidents. In contrast, the predominantly residential land use in the inner fabric, narrow streets (12–14 meters), and high building density were associated with increased safety.



Conclusion: Urban form in the Park-e Mellat neighborhood plays a decisive and sometimes inverse role compared to global paradigms regarding traffic safety. The pattern of wide, high-speed thoroughfares adjacent to high-traffic public realms is the most significant factor reducing safety. The developed design guideline, based on 14 corrective axes including reducing street width and length, moderating population density along the park's edges, organizing billboards, and creating continuity in pedestrian realms, can serve as a basis for structural interventions aimed at enhancing vehicular and pedestrian safety.





Background and Objective: The increase in urban accidents and the vulnerability of pedestrians has revealed the necessity of re-examining the relationship between urban form and traffic safety. This study aims to provide a spatial evidence-based urban form design guideline to enhance the quality of vehicular and pedestrian safety in the Park-e Mellat neighborhood of Mashhad.



Methodology: This applied research was conducted using a mixed-method (quantitative-qualitative) approach. The statistical population consisted of 277 recorded accidents occurring between 2018 and 2020. Spatial and traffic data were analyzed using ArcMap software. To assess the condition of the neighborhood, 53 indicators within the framework of five urban design systems (land use and activity, movement and accessibility, physical form, urban landscape, public realms) were evaluated using field observations, secondary documents, and spatial overlay analysis of accidents.



Findings: Pedestrians accounted for more than 50% of the injured in accidents. Contrary to findings from international studies, wide thoroughfares (30–38 meters) with 76% of accidents, high population density (250–300 persons per hectare), and proximity to Park-e Mellat (concentration of 53% of pedestrian accidents) were directly associated with reduced safety. Furthermore, the presence of mixed-use land uses and linear retail shops along the northern and eastern edges, as well as the concentration of billboards (70% of 95 billboards), showed a significant correlation with increased accidents. In contrast, the predominantly residential land use in the inner fabric, narrow streets (12–14 meters), and high building density were associated with increased safety.



Conclusion: Urban form in the Park-e Mellat neighborhood plays a decisive and sometimes inverse role compared to global paradigms regarding traffic safety. The pattern of wide, high-speed thoroughfares adjacent to high-traffic public realms is the most significant factor reducing safety. The developed design guideline, based on 14 corrective axes including reducing street width and length, moderating population density along the park's edges, organizing billboards, and creating continuity in pedestrian realms, can serve as a basis for structural interventions aimed at enhancing vehicular and pedestrian safety.