Kapsayıcılık açısından kamusal alanlar: Beyazıt Meydanı örneği
Public spaces in terms of inclusiveness: Example of Beyazit Square
Yazar: ELİF KESKİN ŞÜKÜR
Danışman: PROF. DR. ŞEVKİYE ŞENCE TÜRK
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Şehir ve Bölge Planlama Ana Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2023
Konu: Şehircilik ve Bölge Planlama = Urban and Regional Planning

Özet:
Kamusal alanlar, insanların bir araya gelmesini, birbirleriyle etkileşim kurmalarını sağlayan herkesin kullanımına açık olan alanlardır. Meydanlar, sokaklar, parklar vb. gibi alanlar olarak da tanımlayabileceğimiz kamusal alanlar kullanıcıların kent içerisindeki toplanma alanları olmuştur. Antik dönemlerden beri var olan kamusal mekânlar, şehircilik tarihinde tartışılmaya başlandığından itibaren dönem koşullarına göre sürekli bir değişme ve gelişme içerisinden olmuştur. Bu değişim içerisinde kamusal alanlarda toplum yararı gözetildiği için herkesin kullanabileceği şekilde tasarlanmıştır. Herkes için tasarlanan kamusal alanlar; erişilebilirlik, faaliyetler, rahatlık ve sosyallik olmak üzere dört ana kapsayıcılık bileşeninden oluşmuştur. Bu tez çalışması ile günümüz kamusal alanlarının kapsayıcılık açısından incelemesinin yapılmıştır. Toplumun her bireyi tarafından kolaylıkla erişilmesi gereken kamusal alanların aslında tamamen kapsayıcı olmadığı ortaya koymaktır.
Çalışma alanı için İstanbul, Fatih'te yer alan Beyazıt Meydanı, kamusal alanının kapsayıcılık bileşenini irdelemek için seçilmiştir. Konum olarak tarihi yarımadada yer alması meydanı kentin tarihi merkez noktalarından biri haline getirmiştir. Ayrıca alan etrafında İstanbul Üniversitesi'nin kampüslerinin yer almasından, meydana yakın hem tarihi hem ticari odak noktalarının konumlanmasından ve çok sayıda kişi tarafından kullanılmasından dolayı örnek çalışma alanı olarak seçilmiştir. İlk olarak kamusal alanlarda kapsayıcılığın önemi, tarihçesi, bileşenleri ve kamusallığı artırmaya yönelik stratejiler konusunda literatür araştırması yapılmıştır. İkinci olarak, kapsayıcılık açısında kamusal alanlar ile ilişkili örnekler araştırılmış ve değerlendirilmiştir. Üçüncü olarak ülkemizde kamusal alanların kapsayıcılığına dair yasal mevzuat irdelenmiş ve son olarak seçilen çalışma alanı üzerinde incelemeler yapılmıştır.  Alan çalışmasında önce alanın konumu, ulaşımı, önemi ve tarihçesi ardından alana dair alınmış olan mekânsal plan kararları incelenmiştir. Yapılan detaylı inceleme sonrasında sahada yapılan gözlem, fotoğraflama ve görüşme çalışmalarının ardından literatür araştırması neticesinde oluşturulmuş olan kamusal alan kapsayıcılık bileşenleri Beyazıt Meydanı örneği üzerinde alanın kapsayıcılığını sorgulamak adına ayrı ayrı irdelenmiştir. Yapılan incelemeler sonucunda Beyazıt Meydan sosyallik ve erişilebilirlik bileşenlerinin yetersiz olması başta olmak üzere çalışmalar ve gözlemler neticesinde alanın kapsayıcılık bakımından kısmen kapsayıcı olduğu belirlenmiştir. Kamusal alanların kapsayıcı olma niteliklerini kısmen kaybettiği tespit edilmiştir.

Abstract:
In the city, people come together, discuss and interact in public spaces that are open to everyone. Like streets, squares, avenues, parks,  these areas, which we can also describe as, are the areas created to serve the society and that everyone has the right to access and benefit from them. The most important feature of these areas is that they are a collecting area shared by the community, they are the main integration areas of the city.
Public spaces should be designed and planned in a human-oriented manner for the benefit of society. In this sense, the components of public inclusion; Accessibility, which is directly related to the usability and inclusiveness of the space, has been determined on four parameters: comfort so that users can maintain their relations properly, activities so that they can serve many different users at the same time, and sociability because they are spaces where people come together and spend time. Also Public spaces should be designed in a way that is human-oriented, compatible with the environment, and responds to the needs of the society. In order for these spaces, which are open to everyone to use, to be compatible with everyone and to be more qualified, the space should be arranged in an accessible, diversified and more attractive way in terms of usability.
Public spaces have been the areas where people create their physical and social activities, so it is important that the public space is available to everyone. To increase the inclusiveness of public space; Four different strategies have been developed: usage dynamics by gender, design suitable for different uses, recognizing public spaces with their past, and providing opportunities for cultural activities. At the same time, it has been understood that the strategies affecting the inclusion of the public sphere have three different but related structures. These; personal experience, process and context, and physical environment.
After the literature review, a case study was conducted. The areas chosen as examples are Superkilen Park in Copenhagen and the Old Market Square in the UK. Then, the location and history of the Grays Monument Area were mentioned, and then the functions in the area were examined. The inclusiveness of the area has been negatively affected on the proliferation of private use in the area.
Superkilen Park in Copenhagen,  has been designed to be interesting for everyone in an area where cultural diversity is high and the income group is not very high, and the factors affecting the design are examined. The Old Market Square in Notthingham, on the other hand, is one of the oldest squares in United Kingdom, and the design parameters of it to be redesigned and made accessible to everyone have been examined.
With the renovation project realized in the example of the Grays Monument Area, the reduction of social accessibility in the public area, the involvement of private actors in the operation of the area, and the fact that the areas support gentrification have deteriorated the quality of the public space and created a negative impact on the public interest. As seen in the examples examined, the inclusion of non-public actors in contemporary public spaces can negatively affect the inclusiveness of the space.
When the public space is examined within the legal legislation, it has been determined that in general, there is not enough mention of public spaces in the existing laws, and there is no detailed explanation such as what it is, its importance, by whom it is used, and its standards. The article on the qualifications of public spaces is not included in any regulations or laws.
The Planned Areas Zoning Regulation and the Istanbul Zoning Regulation contain technical explanations of the functions within the area in the use of public spaces. Instead of a comprehensive and detailed definition of public space, a definition of public space was made with short explanations.
When examined in terms of the inclusiveness of public spaces, only the Istanbul Zoning Regulation includes a clause for disabled and elderly individuals, and there are detailed explanations for design such as standard dimensions, building materials, etc., which are necessary for easy access and use of the area.
Beyazıt Square has been one of the oldest squares in Istanbul, located on the historical peninsula. University buildings are located on the north side of the area, Ordu Street is on the south side, the Grand Bazaar is on the east side and university buildings are located on the west side. Multiple transportation alternatives are provided to the area, and it is possible to access by rail, public transportation, buses and on foot. The history of the square, surrounded by monumental buildings, dates back to the Byzantine period.
In the face of changing dynamics such as socio-economic structures and political factors in cities, squares are also in constant change. Beyazıt Square, located in the Historic Peninsula, is also an important center where changes and arrangements have been made continuously from the Byzantine period to the present, with the effect of changing contextual and functional dynamics. The square differs morphologically in 3 different ways according to its periods. The area known as Theodosius Forum during the Byzantine period also became a symbolic area for the city during the Ottoman period when it was surrounded by monumental structures such as the Old Palace(Eski Saray), Beyazıt Complex(Beyazıt Külliyesi) and Darülfünun. Some of the historical buildings and the remains of some are still in the square today. It preserved its square character, which had less intervention in the Ottoman period, but was exposed to rapid renewals and non-permanent decisions, especially since the republican period.
In Beyazıt Square, which is the study area of the thesis, investigations were made about the components of inclusivity. The properties that the field has and does not have are shown on the parameters created as a result of the examinations.
As a result of literature and case studies, spatial components that affect the inclusiveness of the public space; It is divided into four main groups as comfort, accessibility, sociability and activities. First of all, the access parameter was examined among the public space inclusivity components, which have 24 parameters in total. Within the scope of access; easily recognizable (open area), sharp separation from the private area, integrated pedestrian paths, permanent area, accessible for disadvantaged groups, users from different socio-economic levels, use of parks, accessibility with different transportation modes, signs and directions sub-parameters of presence of elements were determined. the second component, the comfort component; It includes parameters such as the area being clean, providing a safe environment, being sufficient in terms of urban furniture (sufficient in relation to sun, shade, wind and similar natural environmental elements during peak usage times), sense of belonging, and natural environments against urban stress. When the activities are examined as the third component, there are parameters such as that there should be no private use, that they contain different activities at certain time intervals, that they are designed according to their historical meaning and texture, that there are interesting functions / different uses, that they guide the behaviors of the users. The last component, the sociability component, is defined as the time users spend, the users come together, the participation of different demographic groups, the use of the area at night, the interactive area (both group and individual activity).
As a result of the examinations supported by observations and photographic studies carried out in the area, the area has the parameters of being easily recognizable in terms of accessibility, separating it sharply from the private area, having integrated pedestrian paths, being permanent, using the park, being accessible with different transportation modes, but it is not accessible for disadvantaged groups. It has been determined that there are no users from different socio-economic levels, the presence of signs and guidance elements is insufficient. When Beyazıt Square is evaluated in terms of the comfort component, it has been observed that the area has the parameters of being clean, providing a safe environment, feeling of belonging, having natural environments against urban stress, but the area is not sufficient in terms of urban furniture. When the square is evaluated in terms of the activities component, it has been determined that there should be no private use, that it has different activities at certain time intervals, that it has the parameters to be designed according to its historical meaning and texture, but that there are interesting functions in the area and that it does not direct the behaviors of the users. Finally, when we evaluate the area through the sociability component, it has been determined that the area has the parameter of night use, but users do not spend time, users do not come together, different demographic groups do not participate and there is no interactive area.
After the detailed examination, the components of public space inclusivity, which were created as a result of the literature research after the observation, photographing and interview carried out in the field, were examined separately in order to question the inclusiveness of the area on the case of Beyazıt Square. As a result of the examinations, it has been determined that the area is partially inclusive in terms of inclusiveness as a result of studies and observations, especially the inadequacy of the sociality component of Beyazıt Square. It has been determined that public spaces have partially lost their inclusiveness.