The field of urban planning has recently adopted various innovative paradigms to foster sustainable cities. Among these, compact urban formsCompact urban form have gained prominence due to their emphasis on creating high-density areas that promote environmental, economic, and social sustainability through diversity and connectivity. Despite the numerous research and studies dedicated to urban compactness, there are still doubts about their veracity in promoting sustainability. The debate remains unresolved. This paper attempts to understand the factors that support or hinder the sustainable development of compact neighborhoods. This goal is achieved through an adopted methodology following the sustainable neighborhood planning strategy proposed by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HabitatUN-Habitat), as well as conducting a survey to understand residents’ experiences and perceptions of living in these neighborhoods. Results revealed that both neighborhoods exhibit compact development patterns, with most urban characteristics approaching, but not fully meeting, UN-HabitatUN-Habitat-recommended sustainability benchmarks. Nevertheless, they fail to achieve the desired sustainability progress, exhibiting various shortcomings, particularly in environmental and social aspects.