Post-Occupancy Evaluation: A Diagnostic Tool to Establish and Sustain Inclusive Access in Urban Open Spaces Case Study: Kyrenia Town Centre

Urban centres offer extensive choices and opportunities to their users for participation in cultural, economic, political and social activities. Inclusive urban centres accept user differences or segregation they also create potential to achieve more from social justice and inclusion which is a process of well-being by providing social engagement, health outcomes and economic welfare. To provide clear access to desired facilities in town centres, a more influential way is to increase the quality of life for society. Inclusive access is a chief quality which has been designated the functionality of an urban open space by vulnerable user groups as people with disabilities. Satisfying inclusive access in the town centre is dependent on the design strategies which include solutions for maximal use of urban open spaces. Those design strategies must address the environment-fit design model that entails the adaptation of the built environment with suitable arrangements towards a broader range of capabilities. Post-occupancy evaluation assists to clarify the real quality and performance of urban centres. It is also a powerful tool which refers to make a diagnosis of the inputs of inclusive design guidelines and enables design experts to determine the preferences and needs of users via evaluations from the users’ perspective. In this study; a new model of post-occupancy evaluation methodology is suggested for establishing and sustaining social inclusion in urban centres. The post-occupancy evaluation was carried out to test inclusive access in the Kyrenia Town Centre for both disabled and non-disabled people. A survey and structured observations with behavioural mapping were used to examine urban space users’ preferences, needs and satisfaction levels regarding desirable qualities of urban centres: adaptability, safety, comfort, dignity, density, legibility and autonomy. By using representatives samples, systematic observations were performed to obtain data necessary to complete behavioural maps and then a survey was conducted. As a conclusion, the survey findings showed that Kyrenia Town Centre possesses physical and social barriers, which represents challenges for both disabled and nondisabled users. Accordingly; the post-occupancy evaluation could be beneficial for the development of inclusive design policy and it should be one of the important stages of the design process to determine the necessities of the most inclusive environment by disabled people as well.