Assessment of the main city square of Aydin, Turkey using urban space quality criteria

Abstract

Aim: City squares traditionally shape the identity of the entire cities and they are the pulsating hearts of the communities. Therefore, they are one of the most important parts of the open spaces. From this perspective, the aim of this study was to evaluate the urban space quality of the main Square of Aydin, Turkey to decide whether the space is successful or not. Also, the other propose of this study was to identify improvements for achieving a more livable and more functional City square. Methodology: The analysis consisted of three stages: "Development of forms", "Fieldwork"and finally "Evaluation and synthesis". In the first stage, an evaluation form was developed for analyzing the space quality of the City square of Aydin. In preparing the evaluation form, the urban space quality criteria were determined according to the literature. The four main titles used in the form were; "Sociability", "Uses and Activities", "Access and Linkages"and "Comfort and Image". Also each main title was divided into subtitles. A questionnaire form was developed to measure how the users feel and what they think about the square. In the fieldwork section of the study, the study area was divided into 3 sub-areas. Evaluation forms were filled to determine the current conditions of the main square. Then face-to-face interview was conducted with one hundred users. In the "Evaluation and synthesis"stage, all the information obtained from the fieldwork was evaluated holistically. Results: The main City Square of Aydin, located in the heart of the city, has great importance for the urban life and attracts many people throughout the day. It was found that the main City Square of Aydin can be easily accessed but the linkages between the subspaces were not well designed and there were disconnections among them. According to the questionnaire form, the most negative environmental issues on the square were indicated as lack of sitting places (%58), crowdedness (%47) and noise (%42). As a result, the evaluation of the analysis showed that to improve the space quality of the square "Comfort and image", "Sociability", "Access and linkages"and "Uses and activities"should be re-evaluated. Interpretation: As the message of this study was that the quality is not related only to the design of the place but also the image and identity, accessibility, sociability, functionality, activity diversity, and finally the livability, we have to handle the Square holistically from this perspective to reach our goals and improve the urban space quality.