Prioritization of the Eelements Affecting Urban Environmental Quality in Shiraz

Urban environmental quality as a part of the urban life quality has a special position in contemporary urban planning studies because the higher the quality of an urban environment is, the higher the potential for smart and sustainable development will be. The physical and rapid growth of cities and urban sprawl in the third-world cities like Iran has caused urban life with environmental problems and poor quality of urban environment in the 21st century. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the quality of urban environment in Shiraz City. This research used a practical and descriptive-analytical approach. Archival and surveying methods were utilized to collect the data through a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population included Shiraz citizens. A total of 384 questionnaires were completed by using Cochran’s formula. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to validate the relationships between the variables and analyze them with the LISREL program. The correlation between the variables confirmed a significant relationship between the elements of residential, physical, content, and functional environments in the quality of urban environment in Shiraz. The highest correlations of functional characteristics, including health services, commercial services, recreational services, and social welfare services, with physical characteristics, including urban space, access and transportation, and spaces and buildings (0.67), followed by those of the characteristics of residential environment with physical characteristics (0.65) and then those of functional characteristics with environmental factors (0.64) were found, which showed the influences of the mentioned characteristics on the quality of urban environment in Shiraz.