Analysis of urban mobility through gender perspective: Istanbul case

As population increase and technological improvements lead to the massive extension of the cities, transportation systems become more and more important. In parallel to the development of the cities, urban transportation systems have been under major transformations. With population increase, new settlement areas have emerged in peripheries of the cities, and those areas have been connected to the city center by new transport axes. However, the designed axes could appeal to certain parts of the urban population and eventually led to the exclusion of disadvantageous urban groups. The design of transportation systems that weights on highways and private cars rather than public transportation systems have resulted in the exclusion of women, elderly and disabled individuals from urban life. However, the urban and transportation design approach that was once completely highway and men dominated, has been recently going through a transformation, especially in European cities. Local administrations and major development agencies like World Bank, have displayed several endeavors of implementing a gender-oriented planning approach that regards for each groups' needs in the city. In this respect, a variety of projects and policies have been developed and produced. In Turkey, studies on gender-oriented urban and transportation systems planning have a quite recent history. Unfortunately, the studies have not reached the desired level yet. A gender oriented urban planning is not available for Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey. While gender oriented discourses and goals have been included in some local governments' agenda, there is still no detailed and effective work on the subject. In İstanbul, where about 15 million people live, women's problems and concerns in transportation systems are usually undermined, and so far no solution has been delivered. In this thesis, a survey has been conducted with individuals residing in İstanbul, and some gender-related issues have been detected in the urban mobility context. Through parametric tests, it has been examined whether there are significant differences between men and women related to urban mobility. In the light of the analysis results, some suggestions have been made for urban transportation systems that have a gender perspective. These recommendations are made with intention of more active and safer participation of women who have been forced to live in more limited areas and excluded from urban space due to the gender roles.