Sports Infrastructure Standards and Their Role in Achieving Flexible Centers for Integrated Residential Neighborhoods

Sports infrastructure is a type of infrastructure dedicated to various sports activities and practices. This research defines sports infrastructure as the essential physical and organizational structure required to facilitate sports activities. It is a crucial requirement in residential neighborhoods and a complementary element to the overall infrastructure. Its importance stems from its role in complementing neighborhood centers and its contribution to the social, economic, and cultural aspects of residential areas. Many residential neighborhoods suffer from weak and inefficient sports infrastructure. Despite its apparent presence, it fails to achieve its intended goals, whether in encouraging physical activity, promoting community health, or optimizing the use of allocated spaces. The main research problem is the weak understanding of the role of planning and design standards for sports infrastructure in achieving flexible centers for integrated residential neighborhoods. Therefore, this research aims to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework to include the concepts and values ​​specific to neighborhood centers and the standards for sports infrastructure. The research hypothesis is that aligning local planning and design standards for sports infrastructure with international standards for achieving flexible centers for integrated residential neighborhoods. The descriptive analytical approach was adopted to extract primary and secondary terms and their possible values. These terms were then applied to Al-Amiriya, a neighborhood in Baghdad, chosen because it is experiencing growth and increasing population density, necessitating a study of its potential for integration and diversification of uses (residential, commercial, educational, sports, and recreational). The research revealed a discrepancy between the achievement of international standards and the achievement of local standards within the locally selected research sample.