Enhancing the Continuity of Utilization of External Spaces at the Campus: Insights from the University of Baghdad Campus in Jadriya.

Abstract

The research focuses on the importance of enhancing the continuity of utilizing the outdoor spaces on campus on an ongoing basis within the buildings of the faculties of engineering and science at the University of Baghdad- Jadiriyah complex. The article emphasizes the importance of outdoor spaces in improving the level of education, encouraging social interaction, creating spaces for outdoor learning, as well as forming an environment for the academic community. The article seeks to identify barriers that prevent these spaces from connecting with each other, as well as the unused outdoor spaces, to finally determine the reasons for their poor utilization, and propose measures to promote the continuity of their use. This study was based on the qualitative methodology, where data is collected and observations are recorded through visual monitoring using video cameras, conducting field surveys and preparing plans, as well as interviews with the campus administration represented by the officials of the construction projects, and follow-up departments to identify problems and find the necessary solutions.The results of questionnaire forms were quantitatively analyzed, and the plans for outdoor spaces were analyzed through the "Space Syntax" program. The results showed the importance of using outdoor spaces and reducing the presence of unused outdoor spaces that may represent hotbeds for suspicious acts such as theft and vandalism of property while identifying the reasons why some of those spaces are used with high intensity and not others, as well as identifying what measures are working to promote the use of those spaces. The research presents a model that can be adopted by university administrations to assess the intensity of the use of external spaces and reduce the presence of unused external spaces so that those spaces can perform the function for which they were created.