Housing morphology and urban form in Haditha, western Iraq: evidence of urban imprints in arid environments

This study reconstructs the multi-phase transformation of housing morphology and urban form in Haditha, western Iraq, using selected historical and contemporary evidence from 1930–2025 to examine how environmental constraints, sociocultural practices, and planning interventions shaped residential development. Grounded in Conzenian urban morphology, the multiscalar framework integrates historical maps, GIS and remote sensing, field surveys, interviews, and quantitative assessment of 45 representative dwellings. A morphology-based Climate Responsiveness Index (CRI), informed by passive-design principles, evaluates how street–plot–building configurations shape relative passive climatic potential. Results show a shift from compact, inward-oriented courtyard housing, with high plot coverage, shaded streets, and strong climatic adaptation, toward contemporary outward-facing forms with larger plots, increased setbacks, and reduced passive performance. Hybrid housing emerges as an adaptive intermediary, selectively reinterpreting vernacular principles within modern construction systems. Quantitative results indicate declining climatic responsiveness across typologies, confirming that performance depends on integrated street–plot–building relationships rather than isolated design elements. The study advances urban morphology by conceptualizing climatic responsiveness as an emergent multiscalar property. While Haditha reflects specific Euphrates corridor, dam-related, and kinship conditions, the framework offers an analytically transferable approach for morphology-sensitive, culturally responsive, and climate-conscious planning in comparable rapidly transforming arid urban contexts.