Evaluation of the children's playgrounds in terms of qualification and design principles; the case of İstanbul Gaziosmanpaşa

Due to irregular and rapid urbanization, ecological activities have been ignored, and the quality of life of people in the city has been adversely affected. Because of this; urban residents should have easy access to open-green areas in cities to relax. Children's playgrounds, which are open-green areas; while it is an important urban element that meets the play needs of children, it is a recreation area for adults. The material of the research consists of children's playgrounds in the Gaziosmanpaşa district of Istanbul. There are 85 parks in the district, covering a total area of 239,410 m². The parks were examined in accordance with the principles of competence and design. Qualification criteria in parks; In the neighborhood scale, the amount of playgrounds per capita and the walking distance of the parks to the houses in the neighborhood were examined. While evaluating the playgrounds in terms of design principles, observations were made in the field and the field observation form was filled. As a result of the study, the amount of playground per child in the district was found to be 1.89 m². It has been observed that the amount of playground per child is more than 1 m² in 7 of the 16 neighborhoods in the district, less than 1 m² in 8 of them, and there is no children's playground in 1 neighborhood. Although the district is below the standard values, the amount of playground per capita is higher than the numerical values of many provinces and districts. When the adequacy criterion of the playgrounds is examined, the walking distance by age is examined; although the neighborhoods are not within walking distance, it has been determined that neighboring neighborhoods are supported by playgrounds. When the playgrounds are examined in terms of design principles, it has been determined that they meet many criteria. With this study, it is aimed to create a comprehensive children's playground inventory.