The role of urban design tools in providing public space quality

Public spaces, which play an important role in the development and maintenance of social life, face many problems today. Public spaces become inadequate with the increase in population, and are shaped as random and unqualified residual areas in the city due to the disruptions in planning, urban design and management processes. These public spaces, which are not designed from a holistic point of view, are either abandoned or used only as a way of transition when they do not meet the physical, functional, psychological and social needs of the users. This situation creates security problems in public spaces and causes public life to become blunt. To prevent these problems, various design tools are used in many developed countries to develop public spaces. Urban design tools are guidelines that guide the designer and the practitioner, direct the design, control, maintain and increase the the quality of public space. As urban design tools has not yet been developed in Turkey, this study aims to investigate how we can benefit from the urban design tools used abroad in increasing the quality of public space in Turkey. In the study, public space quality dimensions, criteria and components were identified by making a literature search at first. Later, the design tools used to improve the quality of public space used in developed countries were examined in terms of their place in the legal planning-urban design policies of the country, their relations with other guides, their target audience, their status, scope, design and implementation criteria. After that, it was determined that which components and which design principles related to different urban elements come forward about public space quality. Finally, draft titles and design principles which should take place in a design guide to increase public space quality in Turkey were developed. This study is expected to lead to central and local governments in the preparation of guidelines for the development of public places in Turkey.