Examination of urban open spaces in accordance with flexible design criteria

Urban open spaces are living spaces that people share in common use.Today, the decrease in urban open spaces, the diversification or differentiation of human needs, people becoming more mobile, and the increase in environmental problems such as pandemics, as a result of which the role of urban open spaces has changed over time, creating different usage needs and requiring different functional features, have led designers to design changeable, transformable and more flexible spaces. Urban open spaces with flexible design criteria provide users with opportunities such as a variety of experiences and the ability to meet changing and transforming needs, ensuring that users are satisfied with the space and that the space has a more active and long-lasting structure. In this study, the concept of urban open space and the concept of flexibility are explained. Flexible design criteria in urban open spaces have been determined in line with the concept and characteristics of flexible design. Considering the determined flexible design criteria, the square project competitions in urban open spaces have been examined and evaluated according to the criteria.