Grey matter: perception of semi-open/open semipublic/semi-private spaces in the housing areas by young adults

Due to the dense patterns in the Istanbul urban tissue, the need for outdoor usage around residential areas tends to vary from being planned (constructed) of semi-private/semi-public open/semi-open spaces to unconstructed outdoor spaces almost constituted by coincidence. In this study such spaces are named as grey matters-GM referring to the grey matter tissue in the brain which is a greish material maintaining denderites, axons and nerve cells and enables electrial impulses. In the metaphorical senses grey matter takes a similar role with the semi-private/semi-public open/semi-open spaces in the housing circles. Grey matters create venues for social interaction just like electrical impulses in the social life. The changing daily living culture in the city adresses shifts in the spaces for neighbourhood interactions in terms of preferences. This shift is mainly related to demographic characteristics and daily living cultures of young adults; as well as the particular features of the grey matters. The study aims to explore tendencies of the educated young adults for using GM regarding perception, usage and the role of GM in their social interaction. Some semi-private/semi-public open/semi-open spaces are considered and used as the outdoor extensions of their dwellings. So the GM areas do not necessarily have to fit the architectural definitions of planned/designed shared residential open spaces. The reasons are sought for young adults about the understanding of these particular GM. The approach is grounded theory method in which the research question is extended through the data gathered from the field in a systematical order. The data is analysed by the interpretive qualitative method. The in-depth interviews are selected as the core tactic since every GM is unique for a particular residential area. With respect to the demography and daily living culture, the young adults' preferences for GM usage vary. The reseach displays that young adults need outdoor at least for "taking some air". Nevertheless the GM spaces are not always the text book examples in architectural senses. As some semi-private/semi-public, open/semi-open residential spaces are not considered to be a place for out-door activities and social interaction; some other spaces architecturally considered to be formulated by coincidence are percieved to be the most prominent open-air areas of the dwellings. This can be explained through the perception, usage and supportive social interaction role of GM; regarding demography such as age sub-groups for young adults, marital status, having children, income level and daily living culture such as flexible work patterns, family background, life-style preferences. Moreover, the physical features of the available GM such as shade/sun exposure, the green elements, benches/chairs/tables/other necessary equipments, the connection with the sea-front/the sea-view (specific for Istanbul), possibilities for coffee/tea consumption and smoking drive the tendency to use. The research focuses on 23-37 ages of young xxii adults with higher education degrees, specifically living on the metro line route on the European side, Istanbul. The research axe begins with Maslak where the headquarters of large banks and investment companies are located along with housing settlements of small apartments in large blocks, and continues with Beşiktaş with old housing blocks in the old city centre accesible to universities. There exists a wide range of job opportunies and social life ending with Şişli/Beyoğlu where a certain life-style with the city-centre living tendencies in a very dense housing pattern takes place. The study is conducted in Istanbul since it is appealing to university graduates due to career prospects, wide range of social attractions and cultural activities. The shift of the space between buildings or a walking path on the open-air stairs into a GM for young adults is a formulated without designing. In this very densely constructed urban axis, young adults prefer to use some particular spots in their neighbourhoods as if they were their own backyards, lawns or porches. They read study, exercise, connect socially, even make work-oriented small meetings, and drink coffee/tea and smoke. Moreover, they spend time with their children, partners, pets and neighbours in such spaces. They build a sense of belonging and even own GM even if they are no man's lands regarding the urban definitions. Thus; the dwellers' shifting grounds on demographic patterns and life-style tendencies, i.e. housing motivations, career prospects, similar levels of education, status, and their effect on perception, usage and supportive role in social interaction in the GM is explored. Demography in this research adresses the age phases within 23-37 of ages (early phase/ 23-27, middle phase/ 28-32, latter phase/ 33-37), gender and marital status of young adults. In the much earlier stages of young adulthood, the apartments are shared mostly with family members or friends. Thus; their usage of GM is oriented more likely with a certain level of privacy. Since the home is shared with other people, young adults spend the time for their private life around the house. For instance meeting with friends or a private conversation takes place out of the shared living area. In the cases of sharing home with parents or a room-mate leads to GM usage earlier than age of 23 (beginning around the ages 17 or 18). Having children can be considered as a major game changer since young adults use GM areas with respect to children's playground demands. Moreover the levels of income indicate different perceptions, usage and social interaction manners among young adults. Daily living culture notion refers to the individual preferences, life-style tendencies, and urban life patterns as Thorkild states in his study which connects the factor of lifestyle for the residential choice. In this case, the perception of GM is prominent and strongly related to the personal background. The background includes the socio-economic status, being raised in the city or rural areas, and the culture. Moreover, the religious beliefs, conservative tendencies and the professions are also components of the daily living cultures referring to work patterns. Some jobs are undertaken at home-offices and completed in flexible hours. For instance, a freelancer photographer's work pattern is not similar to bank accountants'. The understanding of leisure spaces, types of activities, and seasonal usage changes formulate different daily living cultures. Physical features of GM areas stand for the specific characteristics of that particular GM. It can be assumed that a space that is not designed for sitting, chatting or drinking some coffee would not be used for such activities. On the contrary some GM areas in the unconstructed catogory are used frequently due to their unique features such as sea-front location, sea-view, protective formation from unplesant weather conditions or easy-to-access position. For instance the public stairs connecting two different street levels are used for activities mentioned above. First this paper frames literature, then describes constructed and unconstructed GM notions. Then the analysis of data obtained via quantitative and qualitative research strategies are displayed with respect to grounded theory approach. Descriptive statistics culminated by questionaires make reference to the interpretative qualitative findings of 49 in-depth open-ended interviews. It can be stated that, the young adults give importance to the social life in the city centre. The demography, daily life and living culture of young adults are studied together with physical physical features of GM. The GM formation categories are listed as (1) constructed and (2) unconstructed. They their unique features and locations in the urban context are studied. These are taken as the characteristics that manupulate perception, usage and supportive role in their potential to evoke social interaction possibilities. Keywords Grey matters (GM), young adults, residential areas