Urban Economics and Planning

Urban Economics and Planning

Investigating the impact of urban regeneration on environmental health components of old urban neighborhoods (Case study: Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood in Tehran)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Nazanin Tavakkoli 1
Habibollah Fasihi 2
Taher Parizadi 2
1 MSc Geography and Urban Planning student, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/uep.2025.542660.1696
Abstract
Introduction 
Cities around the world today face unprecedented challenges such as rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and socio-economic inequalities. To address these issues, urban regeneration has emerged as a vital strategy to revitalize declining neighborhoods while improving the quality of life for residents. Urban regeneration encompasses a variety of measures, including infrastructure improvements, economic development, and social interventions, with a particular emphasis on environmental improvement. The health of the urban environment significantly affects the health of its residents. For example, access to green spaces is associated with reduced stress levels, increased physical activity, and increased social interactions. Conversely, environmental degradation, such as pollution and a lack of green spaces, can lead to adverse health outcomes and reduced quality of life. Addressing health in urban environments means understanding, measuring, evaluating, and contextualizing the health of populations and the built environment across various impacts, geography, and temporal evolution. In this article, while evaluating the health status of the urban environment of the Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood in Tehran, the effectiveness of the regeneration measures that have been widely carried out in recent years has been examined in many components and dimensions. 
Materials and Methods
The environmental health status is evaluated with 22 indicators, which are classified in 3 dimensions of physical (5 components), health-environmental (11 components), and social (6 components). Information on 19 indicators is obtained through surveys, and for the rest, by using formal statistics. A sample of 383 people was selected randomly and had an almost equal spatial distribution in the neighborhood. The data collection tool is a questionnaire. For each indicator, there are a pair of questions, the first of which evaluates the current situation and the other evaluates the effectiveness of the regeneration plans in improving the indicator. The questionnaire data were entered into the SPSS software, and after confirming the reliability by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.728 for all items), first the one-sample t-test analytical model was implemented for odd-numbered items, and then the structural equation model (SEM) of Amos software was implemented for even-numbered items. The study area is Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood, located in District 12 of Tehran Municipality and within the historical fabric of the city. This neighborhood has an area of 69 hectares and had a population of 11,318 in the 2016 Iranian Public Census.
Findings
The figure of 2.166 for all the indicators indicates that the environmental health in the studied area is lower than the hypothetical average (3). Among the three dimensions, the better situation belongs to the components of the physical dimension, with a figure of 2.34. The components of the health-environmental dimension show an average figure of 2.121, and in the social dimension, the average figure is 2.10. In 22 evaluation indicators, the condition of vehicle traffic, social security, and sense of place shows weaker conditions. If the figure 4.5 -5 is considered as a very favorable condition, 3.5-4.5 as a favorable condition of environmental health, 2.5-3.5 as an average condition, 1.5-2.5 as an unfavorable condition, and finally a score of 1-1.5 as a very unfavorable condition, the three components show a very unfavorable condition overall. More than half of the components (12 items) show an unfavorable condition, and the remaining seven components show an average condition of environmental health. Also, the findings from the structural analysis model show that the implementation of regeneration projects has a greater impact on the components of improving urban infrastructure, promoting social security, improving the hygiene of public places, and residents’ access to health care centers, respectively.
Conclusion
The problems of urban environmental health in Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood are due to the incompatibility of functions and activities with the physical, social, and cultural characteristics of the neighborhood. In other words, what is imposed as a container in the form of current commercial activities on the container, that is, the body of the neighborhood, is not compatible with itself. Emamzadeh Yahya has long played an important role in the commercial-administrative and political center of the capital of Iran. Over time, the nature of commercial activities has changed, and the form and method of transportation have changed. On the other hand, in parallel with the increase in population and in connection with the extra-local functions of the neighborhood, the density and extent of commercial activities have multiplied, while the body, and especially the passages, have remained intact, and due to the historical nature of the fabric, the possibility of any widening and development of the passages has also been ruled out. Overcrowding and congestion beyond the capacity of the daily passing population, traffic and congestion, noise pollution, weak sense of place, the increasing tendency to commercialize space and use residential buildings as commercial, workshops and warehouses, a high potential for accidents, the insecurity and unsafe space, etc. all are related to the incompatibility of the function of space with the existing structure.
In line with the goals of regeneration, old, worn-out neighborhoods such as the studied area should be living environments with economic activities, social interactions, and must be places for offering and providing a diverse range of services, which are needed by the resident population. Providing a business space that is compatible with the fabric is a requirement for urban regeneration, but in the case of historical fabrics such as the Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood, it is advised to revive and develop activities, functions, and businesses that do not impair the living conditions and living in the neighborhoods, the quality of life, and the health of the environment. For this reason, the revival and development of the cultural economy as the main driver of regeneration is a practical suggestion of this research to improve the health of the neighborhood environment.
Keywords
Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood
Healthy neighborhood
Historical fabric
Regeneration

Subjects

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Urban Economics and Planning
Volume 6, Issue 4
Winter 2026
Pages 148-161

  • Receive Date 24 August 2025
  • Revise Date 14 September 2025
  • Accept Date 15 September 2025