Kamusal açık alan olarak meydanlarda kentsel yaşam değerlendirmesi: Sivas tarihi kent meydanı örneği
A urban life evaluation in the squares as the public open space: Sivas historical town square example
Yazar: DİDEM ÜNER PÜŞMAN
Danışman: DOÇ. DR. CEMİLE TİFTİK
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü / Kentsel Tasarım Ana Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2019
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture ; Şehircilik ve Bölge Planlama = Urban and Regional Planning
Dizin: Kent meydanı = Urban square ; Kentsel yaşam = Urban life ; İnsan-çevre etkileşimi = Human-environment interaction

Özet:
Tarih boyunca kamusal alanlar hiçbir ayrım gözetmeden toplumun bir arada bulunmasını ve ilişki kurmasını sağlayan en önemli odak noktaları olmuştur. Kamusal alanın mekansal boyutu olan meydanlar da sahip olduğu fiziksel, sosyal ve kültürel koşullar ile insanların birbirleri ile etkileşim halinde olmasına, kentsel yaşamın canlanmasına ve gelişmesine katkı sağlayan mekanlardır. Meydanlar sadece bireyler
için bir karşılaşma alanı olarak değil paylaşımda bulundukları, birlikte ürettikleri bir yer olma görevini de üstlenirler. Bu sebeptendir ki, meydanların ana unsuru öncelikle 'insan'dır. Tüm bu nedenlerden dolayı kamusal açık alan olarak meydanların kentsel yaşama dahil olabilmesi için sadece fiziksel boyutu ile değil insanlarla kurduğu ilişkiler üzerinden de değerlendirilmesi gerekliliği doğmaktadır. Odağı insan olan kamusal açık alanlar oluşturmak bireyin çevre ile nasıl bir etkileşim halinde olduğunun, çevreyi nasıl değerlendirdiği ve şekillendirdiğinin bilinmesi ile başlamaktadır. Çevresel psikoloji yaklaşımının vurguladığı birey-çevre etkileşiminin anlaşılması için önce insanın davranışının anlaşılması gerektiği görüşü bu noktada önem kazanmaktadır. Bu kapsamda tez çalışmasının amacı; meydanların fiziksel nitelikleri ile meydanı kullanan insanların davranışları ve tercihleri arasındaki ilişkiyi çevresel psikoloji yaklaşımı doğrultusunda ele alarak meydanların kentsel yaşamı ne
düzeyde desteklediğini saptamak ve seçilen çalışma alanı üzerinden değerlendirmektir. Bu amaç doğruştusunda araştırmanın ''Meydanların kentsel yaşamı teşvik eden özellikleri nelerdir?'' temel sorusuna cevap verilmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışma alanı olarak, içerisinde önemli tarihi eserleri barındıran yoğun ağaçlı bir park iken uygulanan düzenleme projesi ile kentin kimlik öğesi olması hedeflenen Sivas Tarihi Kent Meydanı seçilmiştir. Tez kapsamında kentsel yaşam düzeyi, üç aşamadan oluşan karma yöntemli analiz yaklaşımı ile değerlendirilmiştir. Davranış haritalama, davranış örüntüleri gözlemi ve anket çalışmasından oluşan bu yöntem ile Sivas Tarihi Kent Meydanı'nın kentsel yaşamı teşvik eden ve kısıtlayan özellikleri belirlenmiştir. Uygulanan üç farklı analizin sonuçlarından elde edilen bulgular karşılıklı incelenerek meydanın kentsel yaşam değerlendirmesi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ortaya çıkan sonuç doğrultusunda meydanın kentsel yaşamı destekleyen özellikleri ön plana çıkarılırken, eksiklikleri veya ihtiyaçları tespit edilerek kentsel yaşama daha çok dahil olabilmesi adına atılabilecek adımlar için önerilerde bulunulmuştur. Çalışmanın sonucunda araştırma temel sorusunun cevabı olarak meydanların kentsel yaşamı teşvik edebilmesi ve kentsel yaşama dahil olabilmesinin farklı kullanım amaçlarına hizmet edebilmesi, davetkar etkinliklere sahip olması, uzun süreli vakit geçirmeyi destekleyecek mekan ve öğelere sahip olması, kalabalık grupların kullanımına olanak sunması, esnek ve erişilebilir mekan ve öğeleri barındırması, mevsimlere uygun kullanım alanları ve öğeler içermesi, yeşil alan ve ağaç miktarının doğru ve yeterli şekilde kurgulanması ile mümkün olacağı belirlenmiştir. Tüm bu özellikleri barındıran meydanların daha çok tercih edilerek kent yaşamında önemli bir yer edeceği tespit edilmiştir.

Abstract:
Public open spaces, which are one of the most important parts of the cities, have been the places that have contributed to the unification of the society, meeting its social needs, and gaining a place within the society. Squares are the first developing spaces in public open spaces and still maintain their importance in urban life. The most important features that distinguish the square from other public open spaces are that it is located within certain boundaries and allows the urbanite to spend time in the place. The squares have survived by showing physical and functional differences according to socio-cultural values, belief systems, economic and political structures of societies.
Throughout history, public spaces have been the most important nodes that make the society to live together and to be in a relationship without any discrimination. The squares spatial dimension of the public spaces have physical, social and cultural conditions and it is also the place where people interact with each other, contribute to the development of social and cultural life with these conditions. The squares are not only meeting point but also undertake the task of being a place for individuals to produce together and to be an intersection.
In order for urban parts to be positively involved in urban life, there is a need to have the potential to meet the expectations and needs of its users. The important point is that space can meet the needs of the individual not only physically but also socially and psychologically. If space does not meet the needs and expectations of the individual, they do not prefer to use the space and space becomes urban gaps that break with urban life. For this reason, the main element of the squares is 'human'. Because of all these reasons, the squares as a public open space have to be evaluated not only based physical dimension but also on the relations with the people to be involved in urban life. The spaces designed in this way become valuable spaces that are included in the urban life instead of being simple public spaces for the people. Creating public open space focusing on people starts with the knowledge of how the individuals interact with the environment how they evaluate and shape the environment. In this point, the importance of the idea that human behavior must be understood in order to understand the individual environment interaction is emphasized by the environmental psychology approach. The most important task in people-oriented urban design approach falls to the designers. In this context, behavioral sciences are the most important resource for occupational groups interested in urban design when designing spaces for people. The relation between behavioral sciences and urban design led occupational groups to benefit from environmental psychology which is an interdisciplinary approach.
Behavioral sciences indicate that the individual evaluates the public space in three different stages and first attempts to comprehend and perceive. The individual goes through the process of evaluating the perceived space and creates feelings about the space. When people react to these feelings, behaviors start to form. If this process is completed positively by the individual, the continuity of the position is ensured and an active public space is formed. At this point, the features of the built environment gain importance because if the features of the place are not perceived as positive by the individual and not turned into behavior, the place does not prefferred. For this reason, the place cannot be included in urban life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between physical qualities of the squares and the behaviors and preferences of the people using the square in accordance with the environmental psychology approach and to determine the level of support urban squares. For this evaluation, a case area is selected. Sivas Historical Town Square, which was chosen as the study area, was preferred in line with the reasons that it was located in the center of the city and that the city did not have a defined square until that square project was realized. 
In the first part of the study, the social and physical dimensions of the public space and the definition of public open spaces are made. Then, the concept of the square, which is one of the spatial reflections of public open space, its features and its development in the historical process were evaluated. In addition, the concept of the square in Western and Eastern civilizations is examined. Finally, square formation process in Turkey is analyzed in detail and is gave some example square in Anatolian cities in Turkey. In the second part, the relationship between the individual, public open space and urban life is discussed with an environmental psychology approach. Environmental psychology approach has been explained in detail and its contribution to the study has been described. In the last part of the study, general information about Sivas and Sivas Historical Town Square was transferred within the scope of the field study and mixed method urban life analysis was conducted. It is determined the characteristics of Sivas Historical Town Square which encourage and restrict urban life by the methods containing behavioral mapping, behavior settings observation, and survey study. The findings obtained from the results of the three different analyses were mutually examined and the public life evaluation of the square was carried out. Behavior maps have helped us to understand which location of the square is used more intensively for transition or spending time purposes. In this way, the characteristics of the positions preferred by the individual to spend time were examined. The observation of behavioral settings was used to determine that which opportunities provided by the square were used by individuals. Finally, with the questionnaire method used, the demographic information of the users was obtained and at the same time, it was tried to understand the purpose of usage of the square, time preferences in usage and how they evaluated the spatial and social characteristics of the square. According to the results obtained, Sivas Historical Town Square is a square which is used by many different groups and has continuity. Although the users have different positive-negative evaluations and opinions, it is preferred to spend time, providing socialization and contributing to the identity of the city. It is thought that the square will increase the level of preference and use of the square by eliminating some deficiencies both identified in the observations and expressed by the citizen. In this context, the amount of green space and the number of trees should be increased firstly. Thus, both a green area will be created within the urban fabric and the shadow area which people needs will be created. The green area only should not be considered as a regular, clean visual landscape and its contribution to the citizen and the city should be considered within the framework of the ecological approach. The add of flexible urban furniture that can move according to the purpose of users, which can be shaped according to individual or group usage will directly affect the people desire to spend time in the square. By designing spaces and elements that will awaken the desire for creativity and discovery, children's opportunities to participate in urban life will be increased. Various activities that enable the citizen to be more involved in the square should be carried out not only in summer but in all seasons. Especially in winter, the weakening of the connection of the square with urban life due to seasonal conditions can be prevented by activities suitable for this season.
In summary, it is possible to say that Sivas Historical Town Square, which is an important public open space in Sivas city center, supports urban life in part. However, it is thought that taking into account the deficiencies identified within the scope of this thesis study will help to maximize urban life. Thus, this historical square reflecting the cultural values of an important Anatolian city such as Sivas; it can become a model urban living space that is human-oriented, preferred and sustainable and serve a different purpose.
As a result of the study conducted on the example of Sivas Historical Town Square, it was tried to give the answer to the main question of 'What are the characteristics of the squares that promote urban life?' Thus, it is determined that increasing the level of participation of the squares in urban life will be possible for squares to have for different aims, to have inviting activities, to have a place and elements for spending more time, to allow the use of crowded groups, to hold flexible and accessible space and elements, to provide areas suitable for different seasonal conditions. 
In conclusion, the idea of the squares containing all these features will be more important in public life is determined as a result of this study. The contribution of this study to the urban life of the squares was questioned. In order to create public open spaces, which are mostly used, which are included in life, provide socialization opportunities to individuals and which are human in the center, it is thought that it will create a perspective that will shed light on for all the designers.