Influence of Salutogenic Manageability Factors on Residents’ Well-Being in the Open Spaces of High-Rise Residential Complexes: Evidence from Erbil City

Salutogenesis is a health-related design paradigm that links physical environmental characteristics to positive well-being by enhancing the Sense of Coherence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the manageability factors of the salutogenic theory namely functional design, safety, accessibility, person-centered design, and positive affordances and residents’ well-being in the outdoor spaces of three high-rise residential complexes in Erbil, Iraq. A cross-sectional mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining observation checklists, questionnaire surveys of 60 residents (20 from each residential complex), and statistical analyses using SPSS, including Spearman correlation, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. The results revealed considerable differences among the three residential complexes. Nawroz City achieved the highest standardized checklist score (61.8%), followed by Cihan City (55.9%), while New Eskan City recorded the lowest score (17.6%). Correlation analysis indicated that all manageability factors were positively associated with residents’ well-being. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that design for positive affordances was the only statistically significant individual predictor of residents’ well-being (β = 0.497, p = 0.003). Overall, the findings suggest that higher levels of manageability are associated with greater residents’ well-being, highlighting the importance of supportive outdoor design features in high-rise residential complexes.