Evaluation of urban open and green spaces in the context of permaculture design principles, the case of Yedikule orchards

Living healthy (spiritual and physical health) and happiness is the right of everyone. Open and green spaces are one of the basic urban facilities that provide this right of healthy living and daily requirements for the society (resting, doing sports, playing games etc.) connecting with nature. However, these areas are gradually diminishing due to environmental problems and unhealthy growth of cities, and they lose their natural qualities because of not being efficiently designed and often transformed into areas where resources are wasted. In the context of urban design, permaculture reveals applicable design principles that can provide the needs of urban open and green spaces as well as the environment and social demands in terms of quality of life. In other words, permaculture focuses on simple and practical ways to design habitats considering the natural cycle of the landscape itself within self-sufficient features. xiii The thesis aims to establish and evaluate the permaculture design principles in relation to urban open and green spaces in the perspective of global warming and climate change as well as efficient use of resources. In addition, permaculture is also on the agenda in terms of orchards, which are currently maintaining the agricultural function in cities is another reason for the study of the thesis. In the thesis, at first; definition, functions and benefits of urban open and green spaces that is related to the design approaches explained. Then the concept of permaculture, the ethics of permaculture design principles, action fields and design phases were researched, examples from the world and Turkey were examined and in the evaluation section, relationship between urban open and green spaces was established. Yedikule Bostanları chosen as the case area, which is located at Istanbul (Historical Peninsula) Land Walls. The reasons to determine this place are that the agricultural actions already carried out in this area as well as that being located at one of the World Heritage Sites of Istanbul and the urban design projects that are on the agenda. Accordingly, the historical background of Yedikule Orchards was investigated; location, environment, structural and functional features were determined and inventories and analyzes were prepared, interviews were made with the related association and the related protection plans were examined and the current situation was revealed in the context of the design projects discussed on the agenda. With this accumulation, the orchards were examined in terms of permaculture design principles, and in terms of every principle, potential situations were identified on the detailed table as strong, weak and very weak. In the conclusion section, in terms of permaculture design principles, the deficiencies of Yedikule Bostanları, the necessary things to do and the contributions to be achieved by applying these principles have been determined.