Objectives: To identify how quality and design of streets impacts urban stress. Background: Few studies have comprehensively addressed environmental factors affecting stress in urban public spaces. However, a remarkable portion of our everyday life is spent in public spaces, particularly streets. Method: This study seeks to evaluate the effect of three types of streets as major public spaces on stress. These include a street with the dominance of green spaces (A), a motorist-oriented street (B), and a pedestrian street (C). For this purpose, we selected a group of participants ( n = 16) aged 20-30, with an equal number of men and women who were generally healthy and had normal stress levels. Participants were asked to wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, walk different streets, and answer the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) and urban design qualities questionnaires. Results: According to the results, participants experienced the highest stress in street type B and the lowest in type A. Conclusions: Green space and vegetation, a sense of security, privacy and coziness, climatic comfort, and safety of space had the most positive effect on stress reduction. Whereas noise pollution, vehicle traffic, and crowdedness were the most critical factors of stress. Finally, our findings suggest that the component of green space has a more significant effect on stress reduction compared with the elimination of vehicle traffic.

Brownfields particularly in old city centers reveal the story of abandonment and concealment, shaping the identity and collective memory of urban areas. Therefore, research and practice must prioritize both reutilization and heritage values. This study centers on the regeneration of historical brownfields in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and assesses public perceptions of redeveloped historical brownfields. Based on their approach to patrimony, the study categorized reclaimed brownfields as interpretive, cultural, or ecological sites. A questionnaire was administered to citizens who visited three sampled sites (n = 385) to collect data. According to the results of principal component analysis (PCA), women preferred the non-economic component, which includes environmental, social, heritage, and aesthetic dimensions, while men and older, highly educated respondents preferred the economic dimension in relation to brownfields. Despite positive attitudes towards brownfield regeneration, environmental and heritage dimensions, especially intangible heritage, are less well-known. However, heritage justifies and determines brownfield redevelopment. Increasing commitment to preserving heritage during brownfield regeneration has a positive effect on the perception of respondents.

Today, low carbon policies are more important in developing countries such as Iran with an oil-based economy. The present study addresses Semnan as a major Iranian city and attempts to examine carbon emissions from residential buildings, industrial plants and motor vehicles with new methodology to analyse the interaction of urban design and carbon emissions. First, carbon emission sources were examined; then, the summarised models and methods based on background researches have been divided into two general categories of carbon emission calculation and simulation to be used in softwares based on the level of accuracy and nature of their sources. The results show that the increased penetration of carbon emissions into residential areas can be reduced by designs that conform to climate changes (such as block arrangements and orientations) to avoid the pollutant to enter and to reduce the need for energy consumption.