Journal of Sustainable Urban & Regional Development Studies (JSURDS)
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Passive Defense Approach in Urban Vulnerability Assessment Based on the Principles of Residential Complex Design (Case Study: District 1 of Ahvaz Metropolis)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Extract article from research project

Authors

Seyyed Jafar Hejazi 1
Reza Nazarpour 2

1 1. Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

2 2. PhD Student in Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract
Background and Objective: The post-metropolitan era can be called the era of urban vulnerability, because cities simultaneously face natural hazards, technological crises, and social-security threats. The present study aims to evaluate the vulnerability of residential areas in District 1 of Ahvaz metropolis based on the principles of passive defense in the design of residential complexes.
Methodology: This research is applied-developmental in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in nature, based on spatial modeling in ArcGIS. The investigated indicators include 10 indicators covering 4 dimensions of vulnerability (physical, spatial-locational, social-demographic, and service-infrastructural). For weighting and integrating the indicators, the Fuzzy Logic model with Gamma operator (λ=0.9) was used.
Results and Conclusion: The findings indicate that more than 90% of residential buildings in District 1 are located in zones from no vulnerability to low vulnerability, and only 1% (equivalent to 232 buildings) are located in high and very high vulnerability zones. These critical hotspots are mainly concentrated in two areas, Bagh-e Moin and Bagh-e Sheykh, the causes of which are adjacency to hazardous land uses (gas stations and military-law enforcement centers) and deteriorated fabric. The assessment of compliance with the five principles of passive defense shows that the principles of hierarchical protection and minimum vulnerability are in favorable condition, universal coverage is in moderate condition, dynamic protection requires improvement, and relative self-sufficiency is in weak condition. It is suggested that measures be undertaken at three levels: short-term (relocation of hazardous land uses), medium-term (rehabilitation of deteriorated fabric), and long-term (revision of the detailed plan), especially in the critical hotspots of Bagh-e Moin and Bagh-e Sheykh.

Keywords

پدافند غیرعامل
منطق فازی
آسیب‌پذیری مناطق مسکونی
اصول طراحی مجموعه‌های مسکونی
کلان‌شهر اهواز
Subjects
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Journal of Sustainable Urban & Regional Development Studies (JSURDS)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 05 August 2026

  • Receive Date 14 May 2026
  • Revise Date 16 July 2026
  • Accept Date 01 August 2026
  • First Publish Date 05 August 2026
  • Publish Date 05 August 2026

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