Study of active design strategies to enhance physical activity in university educational buildings: a case study at King Abdulaziz University

Abstract Saudi Arabia is taking significant steps to improve urban lifestyles by implementing the Quality-of-Life Program, which focuses on increasing public participation in physical activities. Studies have shown a link between physical inactivity and poor health. A large percentage of the adult population does not meet the World Health Organization's physical activity recommendations due to many reasons, including the lack of active design strategies in the built environment. This research aims to measure the extent to which active design strategies are applied in university buildings at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia and suggest recommendations for university educational buildings in KSA. A comparative analysis of systems for evaluating the application of active design strategies was conducted, and The Movement Checklist in WELL Building Standard was used as a tool to evaluate educational buildings. Additionally, a questionnaire and interviews were used to identify the awareness of the study sample of the importance of physical activity and to discover appropriate active design strategies for them. The findings of this research will help to inform the development of active design strategies that can be applied to university educational buildings in KSA and will contribute to achieving the objectives of the National Transformation Program's Quality-of-Life Program.