The Impact of Applying the Smart Growth Policy on Urban Development of Cities: (Sadr City in the center of Nasiriyah City as a Case Study)

Smart growth is one of the most important planning and development policies for cities, having emerged at the end of the last century. It is based on development that uses existing spaces effectively, limits sprawl and expansion towards agricultural lands and represents a significant approach to sustainability in the economic, social, environmental, and urban dimensions of urban development. The research will focus on two aspects: a theoretical side that will address the concept of development and urban development established the objectives, principles, and strategies of the smart growth policy, and identify key indicators to create a robust theoretical framework; and the practical aspect that will involve defining and analyzing a specific study area. This analysis will lead to a proposed plan for urban development based on smart growth principles and the derived theoretical indicators, culminating in a comparative analysis between the current and the proposed scenarios to demonstrate the positive effects of applying a smart growth policy. The research problem is (the cognitive deficiencies in highlighting the importance of applying the smart growth policy and determining its impact on urban development locally). The research aims at introducing this policy and the effects of its practical applications on urban development. The research concluded that the adoption of intelligent growth in urban planning has a positive and significant impact on the urban development of it and the various economic, social and environmental aspects as well as the urban aspect.