Fragmentation in the Sense of Community Comparison in Housing Estate and Single-Family Housing Residential Areas

Abstract

Planning has the power to prevent or reduce many physical and social problems associated with urban regeneration. By addressing issues such as poor infrastructure, lack of public space, and social inequality, planning can also help prevent potential future social problems. As a result, neighborhoods play a fundamental role in finding solutions to these problems. Unfortunately, recent rent-oriented urban regeneration practices carried out in Turkey have exacerbated these issues. This makes it even more critical to prioritize thoughtful planning in future urban development. This study aimed to test the theoretical assumption that different spatial designs produce distinct forms of neighborhood-level relationships through a sense of community in Eskisehir Neighborhood (Turkey). Firstly, we analyzed the effect of neighbor relations on the sense of community in residential areas within an urban regeneration project. Next, we examined a neighborhood located in the same area where the demolition process has not yet begun, and which still maintains its traditional characteristics. According to our findings we concluded that the sense of community has an impact on social interaction, community attachment, and community identity in single-family housing areas, whereas neighbor relations in housing estate areas only affect community attachment.