City squares and accesibility: sakarya/ari̇fi̇ye town square

City squares have an important role on the integration of the society with their different functions. When the concepts of "City squares" and "accessibility" are taken into consideration together, it can be stated that the presence of city squares enables members of the society possessing different characteristics, such as children, elderly, people who cannot speak the common language and people suffering from loss of sense or limb, can coexist together independently, freely, safely and comfortably. Accordingly, the city squares need to be designed by taking into consideration the criteria of spatial features that will enable all members of the society to be together, regardless of physical characteristics. However, in existing examples, it can be seen that the presence of the members of the society with different physical characteristics is ignored. In this dissertation study, the accessibility of the city squares, plays as the most important public spaces that have never lost their significance, and play an important role in terms of integration of the society with their different functions, are tackled. In a public area, in a natural environment, where the inadequacy of access can be experienced, field tests are conducted with the participation of disabled persons to assess the conformability of the areas to the universal design criteria. By considering the big problems they have to face in the process of social integration, the members of the subject group are selected from visually handicapped individuals. The research is conducted to assess the data obtained in the field, and it is aimed that the recommendations that will be brought forward will set an example in terms of designing accessible squares that will be suitable for the usage of the visually handicapped, solve problems of access and be in conformity with universal design parameters. Key Words: Accessibility, Universal Design, Disabled İndividuals, City Squares.