Purpose The current direction of urban planning and development is plagued with a number of issues related to crime and safety in neighbourhood areas. Undoubtedly, the physical characteristics of the surrounding environment play a vital role in residents’ social interactions and crime rate. This study aims to examine the role of the environmental features of the built environment, in particular house maintenance, on residents’ sense of belonging and victimisation. Although past research has relied on police victimisation rates, the current research has measured the actual victimisation rate through a questionnaire survey. Design/methodology/approach The study is quantitative in nature and consists of 255 residents from an urban neighbourhood in Penang, Malaysia. Findings The results of structural equation modelling indicate that house maintenance has a significant and positive impact on the sense of belonging, while there is a negative impact on victimisation rate. However, the study findings do not support the mediation role of the sense of belonging in the relationship between house maintenance and victimisation rate. Originality/value The study suggests that physical characteristics of the environment play a significant role in reducing opportunities for property victimisation and a building sense of belongings amongst neighbours. This study can also be considered as a further step for obtaining insight into the understanding of the impact of physical characteristics of the neighbourhood environment on victimisation.

The present study has two purposes—methodological and theoretical. The methodological purpose is to examine a method for the analysis of perceived incivilities and health in urban neighbourhoods. The current study investigates the direct and indirect relationships between the two variables. The theoretical purpose is to measure neighbourhood incivility as a second-order latent variable that represents physical and social incivilities, and investigates place identity and place attachment as mediators in the relationship between incivilities and health. Previous research has focused on a single dimension of incivility. By contrast, the current study considers a multidimensional form of incivility. This quantitative study comprises 265 residents from an urban neighbourhood in Penang, Malaysia. The results of the structural equation modelling suggest that perceptions towards neighbourhood play a mediating role in the relationship between incivility and health. The mediation roles of place identity and place attachment in the relationship between incivilities and health are also supported. Thus, facilitating human–place bonds alleviates the negative effects of incivilities on health in the study neighbourhood. Residents are less attached to neighbourhoods that are perceived as socially and physically deteriorated. Thus, reducing incivilities and improving place attachment may enhance neighbourhood health.

Purpose Hospital landscape is not a useless space within hospital buildings anymore. It is considered as a supportive area providing mental and physical peace. However, the planting design of the hospital landscape and the way it should be in order to not disrupt wayfinding performance is neglected. This paper, which is a case study, aims at investigating the effects of planting design in Kerman hospitals’ landscapes on the users’ wayfinding using space syntax techniques. Design/methodology/approach This research focuses on the effects of planting design on the users’ wayfinding in hospitals. In so doing, library research, computer simulation and analysis with the University College London (UCL) Depthmap software, and comparison techniques are used. Based on axial maps, the measures of integration, connectivity and intelligibility are considered for analysing the wayfinding process of individuals. Findings The findings show that planting configurations in the hospital landscape can affect individuals’ wayfinding. Integrated and regular planting design in addition to combining planted areas with the hospital buildings can pave the way for intelligible space and easier wayfinding. Originality/value According to the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to use the space syntax techniques in the health-care landscape architecture in terms of planting design and wayfinding. As wayfinding is an important issue in health-care spaces, the study findings can greatly help the health-care building designers and the related organizations to pay attention to the hospital landscape as much as hospital indoors.

Purpose Given its ineffective urban control strategies, Iran’s urbanisation experiences indicate highly rapid migration, horizontal expansion, spatial inequality and an imbalanced distribution of public services. Considering the significance of historic fabric for the spatial continuity of neighbourhoods and the formation of the physical identity of cities, this study aims to evaluate the impact of quality of place (QoP) on resident satisfaction in a historic – religious settlement of Sari, a provincial capital city in the north of Iran. Design/methodology/approach Various studies have evaluated resident satisfaction in the old urban fabric, but scarce investigations have focussed on the impact of QoP on resident satisfaction at historic-religious settlements. Conceptually, this research extends theory by reframing QoP as a reflective, hierarchical construct and modelling its impact on satisfaction. A sample of 227 residents was analysed via structural equation modelling. Findings Understanding the contribution of QoP to residential satisfaction is a key element in facilitating sustainable neighbourhood development so as to improve the condition of a historic neighbourhood. QoP is a second-order construct with four dimensions, namely, public facilities, sense of belonging, perception of safety and environmental quality, and is highly reflected by public facilities, followed by perception of safety, environmental quality and sense of belonging. The objective characteristics of the environment and subjective wellbeing perceived by residents play significant roles on resident satisfaction, especially in historic neighbourhoods. Originality/value Analysis of the structural model supports the theoretical findings in the literature that associate high QoP with high satisfaction. The model of this work can be applied for a wide range of human settlements.

Neighbourhood safety represents an important topic of study to illustrate the reasons behind the increases in crime and mitigate its effects in neighbourhoods. This study examines how the social and environmental features of neighbourhoods may influence the social sustainability of residents based on the assumption that the perception of safety and social cohesion mediates the effects of neighbourhood environment on social sustainability. A quantitative method was employed to collect data from residents in a low-rise residential area in Penang, Malaysia. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated the positive and significant effect of neighbourhood accessibility on perceived disorder, whilst the effect of accessibility on social cohesion was negative. Disorders may comprise social and physical disorders, and may have a negative effect on perception of safety, but not on social cohesion. The relationship between disorders and social sustainability is serially mediated by the perception of safety and social cohesion. This implies that those who perceived high disorderliness in a neighbourhood environment reported a lower level of perception of safety, social cohesion and lower levels of social sustainability. Attempts need to be made to reduce neighbourhood disorderliness to pave the way for 2030 Agenda goals implementation.