Assessing the usability of interior spaces through social sustainability factors: typical housing compounds in Erbil city

Social sustainability concerns human well-being, equity, and interaction, and plays a critical role in shaping adaptable living environments. This study investigates the impact of social sustainability on the usability of interior spaces by analyzing factors such as flexibility, social interaction, and responsiveness. A mixed-method approach was adopted, combining surveys and documentation (qualitative) with questionnaires and visual syntactic analysis using Depthmap X10 software (quantitative). The findings revealed that social sustainability factors positively influence interior space usability, and an equation was developed to predict usability based on these variables. Space syntax analysis further demonstrated that the layout design of residential spaces significantly affects usability, particularly in relation to social sustainability. The results indicated a positive association between visual connectivity and integration, with both showing an inverse relationship with visual mean depth. This highlights the interplay between spatial variables, where increased connectivity and integration enhance usability, while higher mean depth corresponds to greater privacy and responsiveness to social needs. A comparison between questionnaire responses and syntax results showed no significant difference, confirming alignment between residents’ perceptions and the visual-syntactic analysis within the theoretical framework.