Changing sense of life and housing in Istanbul metropolitan: Varyap Meridian example

Rapid developments in globalization, technology and information systems are leading to changes in living conditions. Cities that have a limited and homogeneous population grow, along with the industrialization, grow into one another and reveal the "metropolitan city" notion. Metropolitan cities have begun to be seen as attractive centers that have the potential to provide employment to large masses economically and that can provide better living conditions for individuals. The strong attraction of the center effect created by the city; accelerating migration from rural to urban areas. Increased migration leads to multiculturalism and rapid changes in values, lifestyles and social structures. In addition to these, migration also brings about transformation of the structural environment. Changing living conditions with metropolitanism, as well as causing the differentiation of human needs, also transform the perception of "housing", the primary living space of an individual. In the direction of differentiating human needs, expectations, wishes and desires changes the individual's (residential user's) perception of housing, and how he perceives and interprets it. The change in housing perception inevitably leads to a change in the dwelling, and these two processes influence each other. Strong and harmonious communication between the person and the space (environment) offers better quality of life for the person and increases the user satisfaction in the dwelling. In today's metropolitan cities, housing projects are not designed according to the needs of the users and, built and marketed as a consumer object. These housing projects impose on the user an identity and a way of life that has shaped by the urbanized society's consumption culture. "Luxury mixed-use living projects" are designed specifically for the luxury needs of the middle-upper and upper socio-economic income group living in metropolitan cities. While the metropolitan city is becoming more crowded and chaotic, such projects offer a privileged, prestigious, comfortable and luxurious life, as well as offering a living space with a similar socio-cultural group for those who want to get away and protected from the "others". The emerging new generation of closed and secure mixed life projects are seen as a sign of development and modernity. Those projects, reserves social facilities, equipments, technological functions and an interior space which designed to the finest detail, are confronted as self-contained compact cities; however it describes an utopia for low-income people who will never have them. In this context, the purpose of the thesis; to understanding the changing living conditions in Istanbul metropolitan area, in terms of satisfaction of housing and housing environment, determining which vital expectations and priorities increases or decreases the importance for the user and, to reveal how the perception of housing changes. For this purpose thesis contains studies on; globalization, city, metropolis, people and behavior, housing, housing perception and user satisfaction in housing. In the introduction and the first chapter of the thesis; the purpose, scope and method of the thesis are explained. In the second chapter; the adventure of the concept of the city until the birth of today's metropolitan city was taken up by touching on the concepts of globalization and metropolism. In the third chapter; under the heading of "metropolitanization and changing life", the basic communication process of human being, human behavior and needs have been explored. Also; with the changes in social life, the changing vital conditions of society, culture, and family are mentioned. It also focuses on what kind of changes and transformations these conditions are exposed to. Along with this, vital expectations and priorities differentiated by metropolitanization are explained with examples. In the fourth chapter; the concept of housing transformed by metropolitanism has been examined. By focusing on the relationship between human and environment, the concept of space has been defined and as a space the dwelling and user satisfaction has been mentioned. So the impact of metropolitanization on housing perception has been examined. In the fifth chapter; within the scope of the thesis study; the example of "Varyap Meridian" has been discussed and the case study is evaluated together with the "Istanbul International Finance Center" and similar mixed projects, which are expected to carry Istanbul considerably among the world's financial centers. In addition, the reasons for preferring the "Varyap Meridian" project are explained in detail. In the sixth chapter, survey findings are included. In this chapter; the changing residential perception was investigated by using "Varyap Meridian" example which is a luxury mixed-use life project. Findings obtained from the survey are examined comperatively with the sample studies; "Housing Complexes in Eminönü and Surroundings" (Kellekci, Berköz, 2006) and "Mashattan Houses" (Durmuş, 2010), within the framework of "Hierarchy of Housing Needs" (Israel,2003) and "Post-occupancy Evaluation" (Francescato, 1989). Under the influence of globalization and metropolitanism encompassing the whole of the world, how the changing living conditions in Istanbul transforms the perception of housing in terms of cultural, economic, communal, social and psychological significance.