Innovative approaches in multifunctional urban agriculture: Urban Bostans-İstanbul

It is thought that the rapid increase in the world population, natural disasters (floods, drought, forest fires, earthquakes, etc.) caused by global climate change, the Covid-19 epidemic and the efforts of cities to become sustainable and smart will cause food security problems in cities in the future. For this reason, urban agriculture is seen as an important solution to ensure food security in cities in the future. In this context, the aim of the thesis is to use innovative approaches in multifunctional urban agriculture; to determine whether it contributes to the ecological, socio-cultural and economic sustainability of urban bostans. This work; it consists of seven stages: determination of the research topic and purpose, literature review, determination of the research area and boundary, data collection, analysis, evaluation and conclusions and recommendations. As the research area, Istanbul city bostans; İmrahor, Kuzguncuk and Roma Bostans were selected. Literature review and Rogers' "Diffusion of Innovation Theory" were used to create the research questions. Simple Random Sampling Technique was used to determine the participants. Focus group discussion, survey study, semi-structured interview and expert evaluation were conducted. These data sources were documented by the researcher and deciphered using the content analysis technique. MAXQDA computer-assisted qualitative data analysis program, Mentimeter and IBM SPSS 26.0 programs were used as analysis tools. In the process of interpreting the findings and coding the data set, in addition to the multiple data sets, notes regarding the observations made by the researcher during the fieldwork were also used. Sustainability indicators of urban agriculture; they were determined as environmental awareness, waste management, water management, soil management, biodiversity, governance, community interaction, social facilities, equality and inclusion, education, health, security, income and employment, financing and support. By scoring these indicators, the "Sustainable Urban Bostan Report Card" of urban bostans was created. In the research findings; urban bostans have multifunctional features (production, public health, education, community socialization, waste management, etc.); it has been determined that innovative approaches that can be applied in urban agriculture are vertical farming systems and soilless farming (hydroponics and aquaponics) systems. Obstacles to the implementation of innovative approaches in urban agriculture; it was determined as lack of awareness, lack of information technology literacy, inadequate infrastructure, lack of government incentives and support, lack of financial support and lack of expert support. In conclusion; according to the ecological, socio-cultural and economic sustainability indicators and sub-criteria of urban agriculture, results regarding the current situation of urban bostans and innovative urban agriculture approaches that can be applied in urban bostans have been determined and suggestions have been made. According to sustainability indicators and sub-criteria; it has been determined that Imrahor Bostan is the most sustainable urban bostan. The design steps of innovative approaches in urban agriculture (vertical farming systems and soilless farming systems) have been determined. In the case of İmrahor Bostan, a sample unit was designed and cost analysis was made for innovative urban agriculture approaches that can be applied in urban bostans. Keywords: Multifunctionality, Istanbul urban bostans, urban agriculture, sustainability indicators, innovative approaches