Ain Shams Engineering Journal (Apr 2024)
Urban Chaos: A descriptive study of functional overlap using the city of Babylon (Medhatiya) as a model
Abstract
Due to the negatives resulting from functional overlap, which caused the detection of urban problems in residential environments and the increasing alerts regarding their contribution to the exacerbation of crowding, chaos, noise, and stressed infrastructure, the necessity of confronting these negatives necessitated that specialist in the field of urban design, including engineers and researchers, have a role in reviewing design concepts and strategies. The precedent related to functional overlap and evaluating the effectiveness of the design of current residential environments, as well as creating and developing more effective design and planning ideas that guarantee the provision of lively and safe environments that achieve satisfaction for residents through the diversity and harmony of functions and their proximity to each other, The research adopted an inductive approach to the knowledge presented in previous literature related to the subject of the research, as it represents an approach The research first builds a cognitive framework and then builds a comprehensive theoretical framework for indicators of chaos Which linked it to the topic of positive and negative functional interference, and the research achieved its own goals by applying the vocabulary of the theoretical framework to a sample elected within the Babylon Governorate with the aim of testing the validity of its hypothetical perceptions and evaluating its actual reality, as the results showed the validity of the hypotheses, as well as determining the levels of evaluation of the elected sample and diagnosing the extent of urban problems. In it, some proposed realistic solutions are presented that suit current requirements and contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the positive chaos of functional overlap by achieving urban vitality. One of the most important findings of the research is that the cause of the negative chaos resulting from the overlap of functions is not related to the essence of functional diversity but rather is related to the manner in which it is achieved. Placing it within the area or street, and vitality is the main indicator of positive chaos within residential environments, which, once achieved, will lead to reducing negative returns on the environment as a result of revitalizing and protecting places and enhancing functional diversity within places with high accessibility, taking into account the privacy of residents within places designated for use. Residential jobs by excluding opposition jobs such as (industrial or service jobs).
