Square in today's cities: The case of Konya

Squares are places that make the citizens feel the consciousness of being a citizen. Squares are areas where people express themselves and give meaning in many areas such as social, cultural, commercial and political. Squares, as public urban spaces, strengthen the sense of place by establishing their ties with the past, leaving a trace in the social memory. Considering the historical development process in the city of Konya, there are places that are described as squares. These places have gained the quality of a square by forming the nodal points of the city as a requirement of social, cultural and social life. In this study; The importance of the squares of the city of Konya, which has come from the past to the present, in the urban setting and life has been mentioned. At the same time, the use of the squares has been preserved and the quality of the city of Konya as historical places has been emphasized today. For these purposes, first of all, the concept of the square is discussed and the physical, cultural and social factors that are effective in the formation and formation of the square are explained. The squares that were shaped in the historical process in Europe and are still actively used today were selected and examined in terms of the classification and evaluation of the squares, it was aimed to find common data. In Konya, Zafer Square, Government Square and Mevlana Square were chosen as study areas. At the end of this study, the squares selected from the world and the spatial qualities of the selected squares in the city of Konya were evaluated by making a comparative analysis.