Housing performance evaluation: Altinşehir residences, Mardin

Gated housing settlements, which were started to be built between 1980-1990 with the tendency to create a new living area in Turkey, have also been produced in Mardin since 2013. Perception of gated housing settlements as a means of prestige by middle and upper-income groups and their expectation of living away from crowded city center have increased the demand for living areas that incorporate these features over time. Although the production of gated housing settlements in Mardin has increased in recent years, there is no research that measures the attitudes of users towards these settlements. In this context, Altınşehir Gated Settlement (or Altınşehir Residences), which is the first widely gated housing settlement built in Mardin, was examined to measure the satisfaction levels of its users in order to provide data for the designs of such living areas to be built in the future. Questionnaire and observation techniques were used in the study, in which the performance of the residences was measured through the satisfaction levels of the user. The survey, which was planned to be conducted with the users at a time when the Covid-19 epidemic was especially intense all over the world and in our country, was conducted over the digital environment instead of face-to-face administration, with the concern that the participation would be low. The questionnaire, which was prepared in digital environment for a more effective research process, was sent to the users via a link on the social platform. The questionnaire, which aimed to measure user satisfaction, consists of 4 sections and 61 questions. The first section consists of 8 demographic questions to determine the user profile while the second section consists of 34 questions to determine housing satisfaction. Section three consists of 15 questions to determine the satisfaction of the residential neighborhood (neighborhood satisfaction). In the settlement area with 350 residences, a total of 120 users participated in the survey. The findings show that users are highly satisfied with their living areas. The fact that the site is far from the city center, creating a safe and decent environment for its residents and the diversity and usefulness of the houses in it are the main determinants that increase user satisfaction. The findings show that in order for a gated housing settlement to meet user expectations, it primarily depends on being self-sufficient and creating a safe environment.