Urban planning and urban design principles at mass housing areas: A survey over Kayseri applications of housing development administration of turkey (TOKİ)

Rapid and continuous population increase has caused a continuous gap in housing supply in urban areas and. Mass housing has hold an important place in solving housing need of low income groups with its cost-efficiency, time saving and quality among the different approaches.Mass housing has been considered as a significant subject for urban planning and urban design studies. Environmental quality ensured by the mass housing projects contributes also to the planning and design quality of city macroform. Hence, the mass housing projects should be handled and applied principally with respect to the existing values and context of the city.Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) has had expanded legal authority and responsibility in housing production as the single responsible public body within the housing sector in Turkey since 2000. Even if the planning and urban design approach adopted and produced by TOKİ could be an essential model for the remaining part of housing producers, it has been criticized due to the sameness and lack of identities in planning and design in its productions.There are 22 projects in Kayseri which are produced by TOKİ. 20 of these projects are housing projects while the other two projects are infrastructure and social provision projects. In this study, these 20 mass housing projects have been analysed under two main groups as Kayseri Greater City Municipality area projects (11) and the other districts projects (9). These projects have been assessed for planning and urban design criteria according to income groups. Positive and negative consequences of TOKİ applications from the view point of physical environmental quality and planning and design proposals for mass housing projects are the outcome of the thesis.