Fuzzy set model in the evaluation of urban life quality: case study district of zeytinburnu

The city and its environment are important because it is the place where the greatest proportion of people live on the face of the earth. The quality of life, one of the goals of sustainable development, is a concept that aims at providing economic and social welfare in a secure and comfortable urban environment. The studies being carried out today at the international level open the way for governments to develop urban policies and measures to apply at the urban level directed at the quality of life. However one hears of the need for studies directed at visually enumerating the quality of the city and at finding solutions. To develop the method to be used in the recognition and evaluation of the quality of urban life forms the subject of this thesis.Today?s technology is quite rich from the point of information and technique. So the creation of various forms of data based on informational and technical standards simplifies the development of systems of organizing and evaluating data. For example geographical information systems (GIS) give planners the possibility of administering them effectively and profitably and new statistical methods have been put in place for use in different fields.Many techniques used in evaluating the quality of life include inadequate evaluation of data and application. Because in the discussion, problems like inadequacy, loss of information and the diminution in the definitiveness of the investigation can open the way to problems concerning the trustworthiness of the studies. So where information is concerned there is no room for error in human intelligence, perception and thought processes. For these types of uncertainties and categories fuzzy set theory is newly beginning to be used in environmental applications. In this study there is an attempt to develop a method using fuzzy set theory in order to identify relative urban qualities of the quarters, with the smallest unit of the city being the dimensions of a building and the unit below it. The main headings of the study are summarized below.SECOND CHAPTER: Conceptual definitions and indicatorsIn the second chapter of the study space is given to the sustainable development concept to identify problems and clarify general concepts that appear in the literature and urban quality definition and the indicators related to this. What is discussed is how the concept of sustainability has been taken in hand on an international, national, regional and city scale; administrative work on an international scale; decisions and goals on a national scale; understanding of urban quality; and environmental, social and economic indicators on an urban scale. In order to increase the quality of urban life it is necessary to first ascertain the existing quality situation. Ascertaining quality of life requires the recognition of quality indicators. In order to get these subjects into the open a broad study of the literature was undertaken as the first step.Various intervention domains are created through laws that are intended to come into effect under the title of `urban transformation?. However, neither the criteria, according to which selection of these domains are assessed nor tangible indicators or researches convincing why these specific areas are chosen are existent; nor an integrative perspective is present. Therefore, concrete evaluation results re needed than ever, especially in our country. Both national necessities and the up-to-dateness of the international life quality studies in this respect constitute the very motive of this present thesis. With the topic titles analyzed in this chapter, substructure of the thesis is constructed, and seeking solutions for the assessed problems gives birth to a new approach in the following methodology phase.THIRD CHAPTER: The Purpose and TecnicsThe third chapter is composed of the parts constituting the thesis? purpose, method and hypothesis. The purpose of the thesis is to improve the assessment method aiming to relatively appraise the city?s troubled areas along with their different dimensions, to create a life quality set at local level and to put forward a method for the assessment of all these. This purpose avails one; 1) to determine the life quality at local level; 2) to make a relative comparison between areas with sustainability and livableness problems; 3) to analyze the troubled areas within the settlements by means of various parameters; 4) to fix intervention and action areas having priority; 5) to create public opinion regarding matters in public discussion; 6) to form a sound basis for social strategies at local level; 7) to observe the changes along the process.Similarly with this process, the thesis? management is composed of;1) Defining life quality concept and indicators2) Classifying the indicators3) Weighing the indicator groups4) Indexing-(Through Aristotle and Fuzzy Set Method Techniques)5) Assessment-It is hence possible to define the life quality indicator matrixes for every level in order to carry out comparisons at various levels, by moving from specific through general. Availability of these indicators, however, and which institutions shall be responsible for their ensuring should be defined on legal grounds. As it might be understood from the above examples, these indicators may diversify depending on the local level, being the life quality increase to be fixed as a state policy and the general frame of the information substructure to be created on national basis, for the relative comparisons related thereto.FOURTH CHAPTER: The Fuzzy Set MethodIn the fourth chapter, one must focus on the question of how to express them as a single parameter in order to be able to compare multiple quality indicators. Which method and which technique can be used to turn these indicators into a single index value? The result of combing sources on this subject it was determined that the fuzzy set theory has begun to be used today for these types of studies. In this chapter in order to create the method to be used in the evaluation of data, fuzzy set theory that is used in many scientific fields and includes specific numeric results and auxiliary techniques are discussed.FIFTH CHAPTER: Field ResearchIn the fifth chapter the area and the characteristics of the area in which this method will be used are dwelt upon. In line with today?s tendencies one of the districts that come to the fore among the topics of urban change and reducing earthquake risk is Zeytinburnu. So in order to research an area this district was preferred for the study. In the first stage the physical quality points of the districts of this district and in the second stage the quality evaluation of the buildings in the district, physical quality data was collected using the method mentioned above. But the purpose was to separate the urban quality areas into different categories and evaluate them.The thesis is valuable from two points of view. The first of these is the development of the method that includes a multidimensional evaluation in the urban change studies and the clarification of priorities. The second will make it possible with the same method to follow planning goals directed at increasing urban quality. The third and most important is that from the scientific approaches many political approaches appear. With these kinds of inclusive studies the level of the political approaches that is obtained from the scientific approaches can be openly investigated and revealed.SIXTH CHAPTER: ConclusionIn the sixth and final chapter, the value, advantages and disadvantages of this method of urban quality evaluation that can be a subheading to studies like change, improvement, district renewal and urban renaissance are revealed.Increasing population, while unbalanced growth and consumption are causing irreversible problems throughout the world, globally the earth is hardly able to meet the current generation?s needs, let alone the next ones. Natural resources are being consumed irresponsibly, natural and artificial life spaces? get more unbalanced, and the basic purpose of the sustainability, namely ?creating life quality for all the people, aiming at a development process that protects the ecosystems and community systems making life possible and worth living? is becoming a dream. It is thought that the expression ?defining the countries? own life quality indexes through correct methods and how the economic activities in the city will meet the citizens? needs, from the limited resources by increasing or maintaining their life quality? is to be added to the definition of sustainability. This matter still remains as a significant issue for all the living on earth.In such sort of study, it is of great importance to focus on defining or assessing the life quality indicators at a systematic level within larger context.