Assessing the Role of Environmental Factors in the Transmission of Infectious Diseases in Communal Spaces

Communal spaces provide different facilities for users while they are the primary place for the spread of diseases, especially respiratory. Transmission is possible through human behaviors, the way they communicate with each other and breathe in an environment by airborne pathogenic particles. Experts from various fields have gained valuable experience and achievements regarding how to prevent these diseases by means of environmental factors. Due to the spread of the corona virus in the past years, environmental planners and designers seriously considered the need to review the design and use of spatial components. This study provides a framework for decision making and design of communal spaces based on how environmental components can be effective in preventing the spread of respiratory diseases such as coronavirus and influenza. The research method used in this article is logical reasoning combined with ANP method and focus group discussion. According to the results of this research, indoor air quality plays the most crucial role in preventing the transmission of viruses (contagious respiratory diseases) based on expert groups.