The evaluation of urban transformation areas within the context of healthy neighborhood design principles: Altın Hamle urban transformation area

Due to the technological and economic developments from the past to the present, overpopulation and rapid urbanization across the world, there are many problems in terms of health, safety, sustainability, access to services, equality, traffic and living standards. Various studies have been initiated to solve these problems and healthy city parameters have been produced by different institutions and organizations in order to provide better living conditions. Urban regeneration and healthy neighborhood design have a common framework in terms of the audience they address, the purpose of implementation, the area where they are applied and the gains they want to achieve. The urban transformation process reshapes the environmental, economic, physical and social structure of cities. It is of great importance to shape the transformation areas in accordance with healthy neighborhood design in order to prevent the problems that will be experienced if the process planned to be carried out to solve the problems and to provide healthy living spaces is not well managed and to ensure user satisfaction. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate urban transformation areas in the context of healthy neighborhood design principles and to discuss the positive and negative qualities of current practices in terms of healthy neighborhood design. The field study of this thesis was carried out in three stages. First, spatial analyses related to the healthy neighborhood design checklist were conducted. Secondly, a survey was conducted with experts and users to evaluate the urban transformation area within the scope of healthy neighborhood design. Finally, as a result of the survey and spatial analysis, the project area was evaluated based on the healthy neighborhood design principles and checklist. Google Earth, Photoshop, Autocad, SPSS and Excel programs were used for analysis and evaluations. Altın Hamle Urban Transformation Project was selected as a sample area because of its location, being a mixed-use area, being planned holistically in an area of more than 50 hectares, offering living space to different user groups, and recently undergoing and completing a transformation process. A comprehensive literature review was conducted for the analysis and survey to be conducted in the field, and a healthy neighborhood design indicator set and checklist were prepared accordingly. At this stage, studies and analyses conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Healthy Cities Association (HCU), urban quality of life indicators, European Urban Charter, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) were taken into consideration for the parameters determined for healthy neighborhoods. For healthy neighborhood design principles and indicators, apart from these institutions and organizations, the studies of Yazıcıoğlu Halu (2010), Bird et al., Urban Land Institute, Nsw Department of Health, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts who conduct research on healthy neighborhoods were taken into consideration. In addition to these sources, land use map, infrastructure map, planned areas zoning regulation annex-2, Konya metropolitan municipality zoning regulation, TSE and survey interviews were taken into consideration as the measurement method of the indicators. As a result of the analyses and studies, it has been determined that healthy neighborhood design indicators are applied in the transformation area selected as an example, but although the majority of the indicators of healthy environment and sustainability, security, public participation and cooperation and housing parameters are present in the area, there are also missing aspects that need to be corrected. When we look at the field analysis, it was analyzed that the size of the reinforcement areas, except for the secondary school and worship areas, do not meet the minimum standards, but there are no problems with accessibility in the area. It is thought that this thesis study will provide guidance in terms of ideas while analyzing the healthy neighborhood design of urban transformation projects planned or carried out in a holistic manner, and will contribute to the formation of better quality, healthy spaces. The thesis is also important because of its contribution to the literature by synthesizing the parameters and indicators used for healthy city and healthy neighborhood design principles in the world and Turkey as a result of conceptual research. With the field research conducted within the scope of the thesis, the criteria determined for healthy neighborhood design principles can be tested. In this way, it is also important for the city of Konya as it opens the door to discuss the missing points of urban transformation.