A study on ecovillage model and improvement of its application method in Turkey

Today, our world is confronted with environmental problems such as global warming, sea-level rise, depletion of natural resources and increasing wastes, as well as social problems like weakening of ındıvıdual communication and decrease in the rate of happy and healthy individuals. The consept of sustainability comes to the forefront with the solution proposals developed. Although the starting point of the sustainability and its widespread use in the ecological context, it can be used in dfferent fields such as social, cultural and economic. According to United Nations Environment Programme, half of the world's population live in cities as urban activities make biggest negative impact on the environment. The Ecovillage movement, which focuses not only on environmental sustainability but also on social, cultural and economic sustainability, is adopted as the basis of sustainable development. This study offers suggestions on improving the applicability conditions of ecovillages in Turkey by examining the evolution of ecovillage movement and successful examples in the world with comparative assessments between Turkey. After explaining the purpose, importance and method of the study in the introductory chapter, in the second chapter, basic definitions related to the subject are defined. In the third chapter, the scope of the four sustainability dimensions are examined. Then, selected case studies from the world and Turkey are examined according to these four dimentions. In the sixth chapter, the findings are evaluated by making comparisons. In the last part, the findings of the literature review and case studies are evaluated.