Spatial entropy in making sense of pedestrian activities in urban space; The case of Edirne

The study is a field study with the primary objective of examining the relationship between public spaces and pedestrian movements in cities. The concept of spatial entropy is employed to provide an analytical explanation of the network of tacit knowledge embedded in urban factors and pedestrian movements. This enables an investigation of the potential for semi-passive participation by urban dwellers in the evaluation of urban space and in future improvement and planning activities. The first phase includes a literature review on the city, public space, pedestrian mobility and the concept of spatial entropy. With this research, the parameters of pedestrian movement and urban environmental factors are identified, and the scope of the field study is defined by determining the criteria sets that will coincide with the method to be applied and the main motives of the study. In the field study phase, application areas are identified from the city of Edirne through a topological-morphological analysis. The eight areas are analyzed and mapped in terms of criteria that may affect pedestrian movements. Then, to obtain seasonal day and hourly data of pedestrian movements over a period of one year at the points determined in the areas, raw data obtained from videos recorded on different days and hours are processed and pedestrian movements are mapped under the parameters of speed, orientation and acceleration. In the final stage, the data sets and mapping of pedestrian movement data and environmental factors are analyzed using Shannon entropy theory. Through entropy theories, comparable analytical data are produced in terms of the amount of information load, order and disorder. The findings are evaluated, compared and interpreted through maps, mutual analyses, graphs and charts.